Commander lays out inspection plan, survey

  • Published
  • By Col. Chad Franks
  • 23d Wing
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  I'm extremely proud of the combat record and readiness of the 23d Wing. Our legacy is no accident. You and your families shape and ensure our success every day.

That's why I strongly believe the new Air Force Inspection System is a good thing for our wing and the Air Force. Inspection readiness is no longer a separate labor to be endured. You've shown that we have the right stuff, and you're already doing great work through the self-assessments, evaluations and improvement processes that must be part of any high performance organization's day-to-day activities. I know this is not easy, but it's all about professionalism and accountability. We establish this superior culture together over time, not through "just in time" preparation.

This year I've added inspection events to the wing calendar to ensure we're measured for compliance with "our" assigned responsibilities, a change from the "one size fits all" legacy approach to AF inspections. I've eliminated many of the traditional events. We're using as many existing large-scale exercises and training events as possible to measure our performance and to search for undetected areas of noncompliance, even in areas that we consider strengths. Together with smaller-scale inspections, you'll begin to see a photo album of wing performance take form, one that encourages the identification of deficiencies, tracks performance trends and fixes problems. In many ways this will be a major change from the old system. I need you to invest yourselves in this process to ensure its success.

On March 31, 2014, we'll host the Air Combat Command inspection team for our Unit Effectiveness Inspection (UEI) capstone. It will be their chance to view all of the areas that you take pride in every day. Unlike before, the inspectors will focus on four major graded areas: managing resources, leading people, improving the unit and executing the mission. There's a lot to review and the process begins now, by looking at the photo album we're building. Perhaps the most important step in ensuring a meaningful capstone is full wing participation in our UEI capstone survey.

I highly encourage each and every one of you to take the survey. For those of you that are married, I encourage your spouses to also take the survey, which has been tailored for their use and may be accessed from a home computer. Candid and honest responses from across our wing team will make this meaningful.

A few of additional comments:
1. The survey is open and ready for your inputs. It takes approximately 20 minutes or less to complete.
2. All of the information you provide is protected in IG channels, and none of the data will be released outside of ACC/IG or Secretary of the Air Force IG.
3. If you are a civilian employee, please indicate that you are a "Department of the Air Force civilian" at the appropriate question.
4. You cannot select both Spouse and Military Member or civilian. You have to pick one.
5. This survey will close on Jan. 30, 2014

The survey can be found here.

Thanks very much for your time and for all that you do. ... I know each of you come to work every day and strive to "do the ordinary things better than anyone else."