Colonel McGregor deeply impressed with wing's inspection performance

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  • By Megan Just
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. --  After the 43 members of the Air Force Reserve Command inspection team returned to their headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., Aug. 24, Team March members breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The unit compliance inspection may have lasted just a week, but March reservists and civilian employees have been preparing since the Fourth Air Force staff assistance visit last October, their working hours and stress levels increasing as the inspection starting date approached.

The results of the unit compliance inspection are in, along with the results of the health services inspections and logistics compliance assessment program, which also finished this week.

"Overall, we couldn't have been any happier with the support from Team March and the results that the units received," said Brig. Gen. Derek Rydholm, Air Force Reserve Command Inspector General. "To walk away from an inspection of this magnitude with virtually no critical comments and in compliance in all but one area is a significant accomplishment."

It was obvious that a tremendous amount of work went into preparation for the inspection as witnessed by these results," the general continued. "Leadership at all levels is focused on emphasizing and tracking progress being made in the areas needed to be fully compliant. Team March is made up of great people and we appreciated the opportunity to meet many of the key players who keep the multitude of missions and programs running smoothly."

Col. Karl McGregor, 452nd Air Mobility Wing commander, was likewise impressed by Team March's performance during the inspection.

"We've come a long way getting ready for the unit compliance inspection," said Colonel McGregor. "For a wing of this size, it was a very good inspection, very clean, with no real surprises."

Comparing the UCI with the October 2009 Staff Assistance Visit from Fourth Air Force, the wing improved from 297 answerable items to just 75 total findings, with just 23 of those being answerable findings.

"We had zero critical failure areas for which we have responsibility," Colonel McGregor said. "That's an improvement the size of the Grand Canyon in my opinion."

In the wing's final UCI report, Col. Gerald David, UCI team chief, recognized 12 superior performers, 9 superior teams and 4 individuals for their military bearing. Colonel McGregor's list contains an additional 48 members and 8 teams that were nominated by their squadrons.

Practically every mission area in the wing was inspected during March's UCI.

"We had some major and some minor write-ups, but overall, we knew beforehand exactly where our programs were weak," Colonel McGregor said. "Generally, the write-ups were for areas where we just did not have the time to recover the required history or where the resources weren't available to get ourselves to a position where there were no findings. I consider the UCI report a baseline for us to further improve our programs; it tells me where we need to focus resources to be successful."

During the logistics compliance inspection program, the 452 MXG, 452 MOS, 452 AMXS, 752 AMXS and the 452 MXS all received grades of outstanding.

"I've never seen a better inspection," said Colonel McGregor. "I do not believe the command has ever seen a better inspection. Especially notable was the 752nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (KC-135) with zero failed items on 337 events. It's unheard of and I was told it couldn't be done. Yet there it is, the entire maintenance complex received grades of outstanding. It amounts to over 800 Airmen pulling in exactly the right direction all at the same time, a real team effort. And it wasn't just maintenance; you can't pass an LCAP if your two aerial ports and the Logistics Readiness Squadron don't pull out excellent grades as well."

During the LCAP, inspectors evaluated 4,298 items. Just 162 of the items didn't pass. Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Air Force Reserve Command commander, responded to the news of the wing's LCAP success with a single word, "Superb!"

In the health services inspection, all inspected squadrons passed with scores of satisfactory, with the 452nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron achieving a score of excellent.

"All the medical units prepared very well for the HSI," Colonel McGregor said, "They self-identified issues and made great strides by placing the right people into critical positions. They were on the right track for excellence and the inspection verified that they were taking positive corrective actions."

While inspections like the LCAP and HSI assign overall scores, during compliance-type inspections like the UCI, commands are simply given a list of findings.

"What you look for is no critical findings. No findings that are complete show-stoppers and you look to minimize your major findings," Colonel McGregor said. "We have a little bit of work to be done still; but, overall, it was a solid, impressive performance.