UEI underway

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Colby L. Hardin
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The 22nd Air Refueling Wing became the second Air Mobility Command Wing to be reviewed by the new unit effectiveness inspection program beginning April 3.

The UEI is a program where every unit in a wing receives a compliance inspection and a readiness review at the same time. Before 2013, the two were done separately.

"Everything you knew about the inspection system, throw it out of the window," said Lt. Gen. Stephen Mueller, Inspector General of the Air Force. "It's not at all like the way you grew up in the Air Force. That's one of the big challenges that we have."

The inspector general isn't the only one who has a good feeling about the new inspection program.

"I think the new Air Force Inspection System (AFIS) is a major step in the right direction," said Lt. Col. David Mazzara, 22nd Air Refueling Wing inspector general. "It eliminates the unnecessary expenditure of resources in preparing for inspections, and frees up those resources to improve our mission readiness."

Each wing commander is responsible for establishing their inspection program that ensures compliance in every unit. The wing inspector general and the inspection team are responsible for conducting the inspection.

The purpose of the UEI is to verify the wing's inspection program and catch any issues that the wing inspection team might have missed. The inspectors may ask Airmen about ways to improve the unit.

"Put simply, they are looking for areas of non-compliance which we haven't detected ourselves," said Mazzara. "They will also look specifically at our IG programs to determine if we are implementing the new inspection system appropriately."

The goal for the inspection is to improve each individual unit and the readiness of every wing.

"If they find an area where we are not fully in compliance, we should leverage their expertise to determine the most appropriate means to correct any deficiencies they identify," said Mazzara. "Ultimately this will make us a stronger, more capable wing in the long run."