Inspectors give wing green light Published Jan. 26, 2008 By Sandra Pishner 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- The 446th Airlift Wing sailed through the UCI, passing through mostly green lights, slowing down for some yellow, and stopping at only a few red. Overall, the Air Force Reserve Command Inspector General Team gave the McChord home team a glowing review for its ability to comply with DOD, Air Force, and AFRC instructions and regulations, as well as federal law. The AFRC/IG team arrived at McChord Jan. 8. Its purpose, as briefed by the team, was to provide Lt. Gen. Bradley, AFRC commander, an independent, objective and fair evaluation of the 446th Airlift Wing's compliance with the various policies out there. "Our team accomplished this by focusing on Special Interest, By-Law, and Common Core Compliance Areas that have a direct impact on your wing's readiness and mission accomplishment," said IG team briefers. According to Col. Lisa Tank, 446th AW vice commander, the AFRC grading standard of comply and non comply often times makes it difficult to determine how well a unit did. "Trust me .... the state of the 446th is phenomenal! The men and women of the 446th performed in their accustomed outstanding manner," Colonel Tank said. "Colonel (James) Stewart, AFRC/IG, commented to me that the 446th was the most gracious, supportive group of patriots he had seen in quite some time." In the grading system used, inspected areas either Comply (green with no discrepancies), Comply with comments (yellow with some improvement required), and Non comply (red, core problem with significant mission impact). In addition to the UCI, medical Reservists were subject to a Health Services Inspection and maintenance Airmen went through a Logistics Standardization and Evaluation Program. "In addition to the great job during the UCI, let's not forget the excellent ratings earned by the (aeromedical evacuation squadron and aeromedical staging squadron)during their HSI inspection, and the outstanding rating earned by our maintenance troops during the LSEP," said Colonel Tank. "There must be 'something in the water' around here." "My sincere thanks to the hours of energy and effort put forth (over a busy holiday season), ensuring our readiness for these events. Once again, the comments of 'the best active/associate relationship seen in the Air Force,' were made. Our folks are truly visionary," said Colonel Tank. Some visionaries in the wing were specifically recognized as Superior Performers and Superior Teams, such as Staff Sgt. Andrew Barrow, 446th Services Flight. "I think I was named a Superior Performer for our SORTS program," said Sergeant Barrow. "I'm a food services journeyman, but I help out with a lot of different additional duties. I guess they saw our SORTs program as noteworthy." Earning the Superior Performer moniker came as a surprise to Sergeant Barrow. "I just felt I was doing my job and not doing anything special. Everybody here was making sure everything was looking perfect; a lot of people were stressed out about the unknown. But, it went pretty smoothly, even with everything being so chaotic (before the IG team arrived). Other Superior Performers in the wing are: Ms. Nancy McGhee, 728th Airlift Squadron. Master Sgt. Joe Hunt, 446th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Master Sgt. Lisa Caron, 446th Mission Support Squadron Master Sgt. Nancy Teal, 446th Mission Support Squadron Lt. Col. Kevin Welin, 446th Airlift Wing Safety Office Capt. Jennifer Gerhardt, 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office Superior Performer Teams are: 446th Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms - Senior Master Sgt. Kenneth Mazzuca, Master Sgts. Marion Sanders and Daniel VanZanten, and Tech. Sgt. Michael LeFrancis. 446th Maintenance Squadron Fabrication Flight Training - Senior Master Sgt. Robert Stone, Master Sgts. Kevin Davis and Tim Ebora, and Tech. Sgt. Tom Wheeler. 728th Airlift Squadron Commander's Support Staff - Maj. Michael Bautista, Chief Master Sgt. Brenda Martin, Master Sgt. Aundrea Gonzales, and Ms. DeeAnn Ballard. 446th Maintenance Group Training Team - Master Sgt. Carol Patten and Tech. Sgt. Adam Harrison.