Incirlik stays ready

INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- The Air Force is evolving into a leaner, fitter force with a trend of innovation. One of the recent changes to the force is the Unit Effectiveness Inspection. Incirlik Air Base is gearing up and ready for the capstone inspection by the United States Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa Inspector General team next week.

Governed by the newly published Air Force Instruction 90-102, Air Force Inspection System, the UEI replaced the former Unit Compliance Inspection. The main changes include the responsibility of each base commander to create a Commander's Inspection Program and Inspector General teams to spearhead the quality control of each unit's self-assessment program. These inspections take place over a span of two years building up to the capstone, a week-long inspection by the major command MAJCOM IG team.

"The Air Force wants to take a look at how we're doing our business here," said Lt. Col. Charles Light, 39th Air Base Wing IG. "They want to verify that we have appropriate processes in place to ensure we remain compliant and identify areas where we aren't to identify valid fixes to get us there."

The visiting inspection team will arrive with a good view of how the 39th Air Base Wing handles day-to-day operations with the information reviewed on the Management Internal Control Toolset database. MICT, used Air Force-wide, contains references to with supporting guidance documents as proof of guidance agreement which units verify their compliance against.

"During the capstone visit the wing has the opportunity to clear up any areas of confusion or address any concerns they may have developed while surveying all of our information," Light said. "This is an opportunity for us to put our best foot forward, clear up any issues and ideally get feedback from USAFE."

The UEI promotes working to the potential of each unit on a daily basis, instead of working for a good rating during the inspection once a year, while making no changes then slipping back towards non-compliance once the inspection is done.

This is fostered by MICT Self-Assessment Communicator Checklists which are assessed used at the bare minimum of at least 2 two times a year. The SACCs help inspectors get an overall view of mission accomplishment over the past two years.

A newly arrived sergeant expressed her confidence in the 39th Air Base Wing.

"I feel like it's going to be a good experience for everyone," said Staff Sgt. Andrea Stalter, 39th Operations Support Squadron airfield management operations supervisor. "We're still working the same hours, we're still doing the same thing we do every day we're just making sure it's all there [for the inspectors]."

The resounding theme is around the wing is readiness. The 39th Air Base Wing Commander, Col. Craig Wills, explains inspection success is not always a product of perfect compliance. 

"The Air Force recognizes that we have resource limitations and occasionally these stand in the way of full compliance.  Under the new system, if an Airman is having a problem with his or her program, as long as they know about it and have identified a road map to fix the issue, then that's a success story," Wills said. "Our mission is not the UEI. Doing well on the UEI is a byproduct of combat readiness and everything else that we do to execute the 39th ABW mission."