Take a selfie with the new Air Force Inspection System

by Air Force Lt. Col. John Krellner
3rd Wing Inspector General

9/4/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- It may not seem like it, but our next Pacific Air Forces unit evaluation inspection has already started.

You may have heard this evaluation referred to as a look into our "unit performance photo album." This is a stark contrast to those of us who remember the "snapshot" of performance garnered by the operational readiness inspections of years past. This is really important for all Airmen to understand, because the chief of staff of the Air Force and the secretary of the Air Force have entrusted us with certifying our own ability to execute the mission. Let me explain how this works.

The new Air Force Inspection System relies on every Airman to continuously innovate, critically self-assess, report, and fix non-compliance as part of the commanders inspection program. The work we are doing today to lead, innovate, document deficiencies, and manage resources will represent the front cover of our 2016 UEI photo album. During the UEI, PACAF will simply validate and verify we effectively self-inspected and reported during the two previous years.

I see Airmen innovating, finding and fixing problems every day. However, if we fail to go the extra mile to document our innovation, shortfalls and fixes in Management Internal Control Toolset or the Inspector General Evaluation Management System, then our 2016 UEI photo album will contain a very blurry picture of how we executed the mission during these next two years.

What can you do? Focus on your job and your part of the mission; follow your technical orders and Air Force instructions. Highlight problems instead of hiding them. Be empowered to think and innovate. Embrace the mentality that identifying deficiencies is a strength, not a weakness.

Finally, when you correct problems or develop best practices; take the final step to ensure it is documented in MICT/IGEMS. Take a selfie, and put it in our wing photo album. If you make critical self-assessment and reporting part of your normal battle-rhythm, then you will find that a UEI will come and go with little additional effort. If you do not know how to report deficiencies, talk to your supervisor, wing inspection team representative or self-assessment program manager.

What is your wing IG inspection team going to do? During daily mission execution (deployments, Red Flag etc...), we will be there to help facilitate your self-reporting in MICT and IGEMS. When real-world missions do not test our full capabilities - the IG will organize exercises specifically tailored to help you self-assess those areas where you were unable to assess during daily training and mission execution.

The AFIS and UEI are great in that they discourage behavior like painting the grass green (ask someone who was around to see the old ORIs if you don't know what this means).

However, the strength and weakness of the AFIS lies with you. The AFIS needs every Airman to be a sensor and innovator. Be proud of what you do and make sure your selfies get included in our 2016 UEI photo album.