916th ARW first to comply with commander's inspection program

by Staff Sgt. Alan Abernethy
916th Public Affairs Office

9/3/2014 - SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The 916th Air Refueling Wing inspector general office recently became the first in Air Force Reserve Command to gain full compliance with the new Commander's Inspection Program, or CCIP.

"This validates our team's commitment to the new program; we are very happy to have gained compliance first," said Lt. Col. Scott Teel, 916th Air Refueling Wing inspector general, adding that all AFRC IG offices must be compliant by October 2014.

The work required to reach this goal culminated with Exercise Razor Sharp, a four-day event which combined an ability to survive and operate a conventional inspection with a non-conventional generation inspection, said Maj. Brian Way, 916th IG director of inspections. Additionally, the office conducted numerous other evaluations around the wing.

"None of this would have been possible without an office staffed with trained inspectors," added Way." Our team members came from other units within the wing."

The 916th IG office staff also includes Maj. Jarius Wallace, Senior Master Sgt. Ken Jefferson, Senior Master Sgt. Renee Murphy, and Senior Master Sgt. Jeff Williams.

Col. Gregory Gilmour, 916th ARW commander, also played a role in the success of the new program, said Teel.

"Col. Gilmour is a big supporter and deserves a lot of credit," he added. "He helped set-up a road map for a successful program and provided us with the required manpower."

While many Airmen only see an IG team in action during an inspection or exercise, extensive preparation goes into planning these events.

According to the CCIP unit implementation guide, version one, there are many steps to building a program. Called the "10 Big Rocks for CCIP Success," these steps are:

1. Learn the new Air Force inspection system
2. Put great Airmen in your IG office and train them
3. Transfer new IG duties to your IG
4. Build and train your Wing Inspection Team
5. Create your annual inspection plan
6. Inspect
7. Report findings to the wing CC
8. Hold monthly CC's Inspection Management Board
9. Track and close deficiencies
10. Send CC's inspection report to your Major Command CC

Gaining compliance required a lot of hard work and it was definitely a team effort, said Way.

"It's great to be the first wing to stand up and say, 'We are running the new CCIP program,'" he added.