News

Inspector general here to help resolve issues

  • Published
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. --  The Inspector General role has been around since our country began. Dating back in part to the Continental Army's custom of having an independent party review the readiness of combat troops.

The lineage of the United States Air Force IG began with the American Army of 1777 and was established as an official Air Force function in 1948 by Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, the Air Force Chief of Staff at the time.

Vandenberg defined the IG mission as determining the combat and logistic effectiveness of the Air Force, ensuring the maintenance of discipline and security, and investigating matters involving crime and other violations of public trust. Subsequently, the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 institutionalized the IG for both military and civilians within the Department of Defense. The establishment of installation-level IGs occurred in 1996.

Lt. Col. Steven Lee, 446th Airlift Wing IG, is the focal point for personal complaints and fraud, waste and abuse complaints. His role is to be an unbiased fact finder, or "honest broker" in resolving complaints. Lee says people are always welcome to submit a complaint to their IG or Congress person, but he recommends people first consider these suggestions before filing an IG or Congressional complaint.

1. Consider using your chain of command. Experience has shown supervisors and commanders are best able to resolve most complaints because they are the people closest to the issue. In addition, they often can get results much quicker than working through the IG system.

2. Use in-place grievance channels. Some matters are not appropriate for the IG system because they are handled through other grievance channels. One example is a complaint alleging discrimination. This would fall under the purview of the Military Equal Opportunity office. Another example is the appeal of an OPR/EPR. In this case, you would go to the military personnel flight to initiate an application for correction to military records. An often unknown fact is most offices already have an established grievance channel through which to file your complaint.

3. Timeliness of complaints. It is very important for complaints to be promptly filed in order to provide the best possible assistance. According to AFI 90-301, Inspector General Complaints, if more than 60 days have passed from the date of the occurrence and the date of contact with the IG, the complaint might be dismissed unless there are extraordinary circumstances or a special Air Force interest is involved. This is because investigations rely heavily upon the accuracy of testimonial evidence. The ability of witnesses to recall details of events that occurred months earlier are often flawed, and the facts can be difficult to ascertain.

Finally, you should understand that filing an IG complaint will not normally delay or prevent completion of command actions such as retirement, reassignment, discharge, or nonjudicial punishment, for example. This is because IG's do not have the authority to place individuals on administrative hold.

Before you make a complaint, be aware that you have the responsibility to provide factual information that you believe to be relevant to the issue and to cooperate with investigators or inspectors.