Inspectors take less trips and lean on digital systems under sequestration

  • Published
  • By Benjamin Newell
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va., --  Sequestration is forcing Air Combat Command's inspector general to choose trips carefully, while units being inspected must shift to readiness tracking systems.

In response to degraded readiness statuses for units throughout the command, the IG is also redefining what readiness means. Each inspection is tailored to the status of units that may have no aircraft or pilots with funded flying hours.

"It's important that we remember to ensure the American people and our combatant commanders that units are ready to provide the capabilities they always have," said Col. Rickey Rodgers, chief of the IG's inspection section. "We still owe our nation the defensive posture it expects and deserves."

In a recent trip to the 113th Air National Guard Wing at Joint Base Andrews, Md., the IG saw one of its first examples of a readiness inspection under sequestration. During the trip, the wing did not launch aircraft, or even spin up its fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons, a common step during inspections.

The report produced during the trip was a fraction of the normal size, at 26 pages versus the typical 100 or more page analysis.

Rodgers cites new opportunities interact with units as a plus side of the sequestration. "One of the things we can do is piggy-back on existing exercises," said Rodgers. "For example, take a Red Flag deployment to Nellis [Air Force Base, Nev.]. We can use that as a key inspection item, by just sending a smaller inspection team to observe Red Flag deployment activities, and mark that process off the inspection requirements for that unit."

While this solution may require more flexibility by personnel at the headquarters level, including shorter notice for more compact trips, it saves each individual unit from producing artificial deployment scenarios during each inspection. This can result in significant savings throughout the Combat Air Force, according to Rodgers.

"It's important to note that we have 41 career fields performing inspections for us," said Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Schwenk, superintendent for the office of the inspector general. "We have people from many specialties who inspect within their career fields, and that gives a fresh perspective on the jobs our Airmen do."

ACC's IG is responsible for inspecting 225 units, with each getting one inspection every two years. That pace doesn't slow down, even though funding for trips to bases is evaporating.

"I think one of the down sides here is what I call touch points," Rodgers said. "When our teams leave, believe it or not, many of the commanders say they appreciated that one-on-one attention. Meeting Airmen, seeing their workspaces, even sitting down to lunch with them is critical, and we have seen that diminish."

Replacing the traditional physical inspection and slew of binders that accompany self inspections are digital systems like Management Internal Control Toolset. These allow units to update their inspection checklists in real-time and be seen by inspectors, higher headquarters and local commanders whenever information is needed.

Inspection teams also pick up the phone more often, working through inspections from a distance with partner units, rather than physically showing up at the base with upwards of 75 inspectors.

"This has been a perfect storm for the IG," said Schwenk. "We've been putting into place these digital systems, and stepping back from large base exercises as part of inspections already. Sequestration is just forcing us to speed up that process and tailor each inspection specifically to a unit's degraded readiness."

Rodgers believes predicting the future of inspections may be as difficult as forecasting budgets. Some of the Combat Air Force will lose pilot currencies and suffer unforeseen consequences due to inactivity. "This could be the new normal," he said. "But, by shifting some of the ways we perform inspections, we can still perform our mission and ensure that units in our Combat Air Force, which need to be ready at a certain time, are fully inspected."