WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The Unit Effectiveness Inspection is accomplished by Air Force Reserve Command Inspector General and is a continuous evaluation of the wing’s performance based on four major graded areas (MGAs) of executing the mission, leading people, managing resources, and improving the unit.
You may not have realized this, but our UEI has started, and we are already being evaluated, virtually. Using the Mission Internal Control Toolset (MICT) communicators, also referred to as checklists, and the Inspector General Evaluation Management System (IGEMS), functional area managers and inspectors now continually evaluate the wing.
However, every other year, AFRC inspectors will still put boots on the ground at the 445th for our UEI capstone event. This event is a more traditional looking on-site visit by Air Force Reserve Command's IG and will take place June 2 – 7, 2016.
The CCIP will be evaluated to see how well we have policed and managed ourselves. The UEI will assess the wing’s effectiveness and validate the wing’s inspection program.
The most difficult part of the UEI is the culture shift and mindset change required to implement it correctly. Maj. Doug West wrote about this in last month’s article, “Every Airman a sensor.”
As we try to embrace this new inspection system, it is important to identify non-compliance to supervisors and program managers that complete MICT Communicators. This is for two reasons:
1. If we aren’t doing something that we are supposed to, but raise our hands and acknowledge it, it shows that we are aware of our responsibilities, realize we are not complying, and are trying to fix it. This looks favorably on the Wing, not poorly. When we are inspected (both virtually and in person), if inspectors identify problems that we have not identified, this is called undetected non-compliance, and this means our self-inspection program is not working correctly, and that we may, or may not, know what our responsibilities are.
2. When we identify problems that are associated with inadequate resources, it helps us justify getting more, or the correct, resources.
Hopefully this article has highlighted what a UEI is, reinforced that the UEI is a continuous inspection, and the importance of every Airmen being a sensor.
It is much better to be honest when talking to supervisors and completing MICT Communicators. If we aren’t, then we are opened up to AFRC finding undetected non-compliance, whether it is actually undetected or not.
The understanding of, and change in mindset required for the new inspection system is imperative, not only for our performance in the UEI capstone visit, but also for our performance as AFRC’s premier airlift wing.