Inspector general office offers assistance Published June 29, 2010 By 23rd Wing Inspector General office 23rd Wing deputy inspector general MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The inspector general office has often been viewed as a negative option whose main duty is to place an organization under pressure until they could find something wrong. This perception occasionally makes personnel reluctant from seeking the assistance of an inspector general to solve their issue. While we still have the authority to investigate serious allegations, the large majority of our service comes in the form of assistance. According to Air Force Instruction 90-301, "Inspector General Complaints," the primary focus of our office is to "sustain a credible Air Force Inspector General system by ensuring a responsive Complaints Resolution Program, characterized by objectivity, integrity, and impartiality." In order to place greater emphasis on the CRP and Fraud, Waste, and Abuse program, Air Combat Command decided to establish installation inspector general offices that concentrate on these two areas, while leaving the inspection and readiness function to the XPI section. This concept allows an inspector general office to focus exclusively on CRP and FWA issues. After complainants bring their problem to us, we conduct a complaint analysis. This is simply a preliminary review of your issue, any evidence presented, and applicable laws, regulations, procedures, and policies. While the review is considered preliminary, it's still thorough since we use the results to determine our next step. While the results of our complaint analysis can lead to different resolutions, the majority of our cases lead to what we in the inspector general field call an assist. An assist occurs when there is no evidence of wrongdoing; therefore, no inspector general investigation is required. To help you solve your problem, we can do a number of things such as making phone calls, asking questions to functional experts, soliciting information from the appropriate organization or agency, putting you in contact with the person, organization, or agency that can help you find a remedy, etc. These actions assist complainants solve their issues by facilitating a process and sometimes it's as simple as getting you an answer to a question that no one else could. While you should always strive to resolve issues at the lowest level on your chain of command a chance, our office always stands ready to assist. Hopefully next time you have an issue, instead of seeing us as a negative option, you'll think of us as a resource that can provide a helping hand. Remember, the sooner a problem can be solved, the sooner you can devote your full attention to the mission. For more information contact the 23rd Wing inspector general office at (229) 257-3341 or (229) 257-5696.