482nd proves "Effective" during UEI

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The 482nd Fighter Wing successfully passed a thorough inspection of the wing’s ability to carry out its mission culminating in a capstone visit by Air Force Reserve Command’s Inspector General.

Col. David P. Garfield, Commander, 482nd Fighter Wing welcomed the 59 inspectors during the February Unit Training Assembly to validate and verify the wing’s Commander’s Inspection Program for accuracy, adequacy, and relevance and provided an independent assessment of the wing’s resource management, leadership, process improvement efforts, and ability to execute the mission.

“We were eager to welcome the inspectors to the base,” said Garfield. “We were ready for them to see what this wing was made of and to highlight the Airmen that push themselves every day to guarantee we are able to accomplish our mission.”

The capstone visit culminates a multi-year, continual evaluation of the unit’s effectiveness and is intended to help the wing commander understand the areas of greatest risk from undetected non-compliance. The Unit Effectiveness Inspection is a continual evaluation of performance throughout the inspection period—a “photo album” versus a snapshot.

All facets of mission accomplishment were evaluated, with major graded areas in: Executing the Mission; Managing Resources; Improving the Unit; and Leading People.

In a four-tier inspection rating system consisting of: Highly Effective, Effective, Marginally Effective, and Ineffective the unit earned an overall “Effective” rating with 14 individual Airmen identified as Superior Performers and 4 teams, 31 individuals, identified as Superior Teams.

These top performers and teams were chosen for their exceptional work and efficiency in their respective sections.

“I’m proud of the entire base and our ‘Effective’ rating,” said Garfield, “but I’m particularly pleased at the number of Airmen and teams identified by the inspectors as superior. They are indicative of the quality of Airmen we have in this wing!”

The final inspection report, not yet received, will include best practices and areas of improvement.

“We look forward to the report,” stated Col. Troy N. Vonada, the wing’s inspector general. “We know there are areas we could improve on and we are poised to aggressively tackle those for the betterment of the wing’s mission.”

The 482d Fighter Wing consists of over 2,500 full-and part-time members and flies 24 F-16 “Fighting Falcon” fighter aircraft. The wing is a fully combat-ready unit capable of providing F-16C/D multi-purpose fighter aircraft, along with mission ready pilots and support personnel, for short-notice worldwide deployments.

Currently, the wing has over 200 Airmen deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. These Airmen are proof positive of the wing’s ability to “accomplish the mission” and indicative of its readiness. The wing also recently returned from a 90-day rotation to Afghanistan this past fall where 18 F-16s and over 300 operations and maintenance personnel supported Operation Freedom Sentinel.

However, the wing will not relax. “The end of this inspection cycle culminates with this capstone,” said Garfield. “But the moment the inspectors left, we began the next two-year inspection cycle.”

“This wing will continue to push itself to excellence and prove to the next group of inspectors at our next capstone that we will always maintain high standards in every aspect of what we do,” Garfield said.