The Inspector General available for complaints, self-inspections

  • Published
  • By Lois Walsh
  • 96th ABW Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Ensuring compliance with standards, policies, programs or instructions, or discovering the possibility of fraud, waste and abuse are just some of the activities that keep the Inspector General's office viable. 

The Inspector General, Col. Bradley Denison, and his staff of two investigative officers, Christine Andrews and Bob Buckland, provide a credible system for processing complaints. Besides violations to the standards or fraud, waste or abuse, the staff investigates complaints of reprisal and improper mental health evaluation referrals. They also provide oversight of special interest items that come down from the Air Force Inspector General or Air Force Materiel Command IG which require focus to ensure compliance. 

"I like to think of us as a sounding board when people don't know where to go," Mr. Buckland said. "We will tell them what the regulations dictate and then direct them to the right agency if it's not an IG issue. Some people might not know what the rules say."
Colonel Denison said that all complaints are thoroughly analyzed and "if our analysis indicates that there may be some validity to the claim, we can recommend going to a (formal) investigation." 

Although the office fields numerous complaints, only about one percent results in a formal investigation. So far this year, 86 complaints have been submitted with the majority of them being referred to other agencies. 

"The complaint analysis requires a lot of research, footwork and documentation to make a decision whether to refer a complaint if it has merit," Mr Buckland said. 

Colonel Denison said there are no major trends in the types of complaints they receive. They can range from pay to civilian employment issues, both of which do not fall under the IG umbrella. Although IG can sometimes expedite resolution, many complaints have to be referred back to the individual's chain of command. Cases that fall under the IG category of fraud, waste and abuse, do arise occasionally. 

"Because of the nature of the (Air Armament) Center's business, we sometimes get reports of fraud; however, when we look into fraud, we naturally discuss options with contracting, legal, and our local OSI to ensure the allegation is handled correctly." 

Colonel Denison said one of the biggest challenges is the self-inspection program (SIP), which falls under the IG. Now that there are no scheduled Unit Compliance Inspections, or UCIs, it is important that every unit is in compliance with the program. Eglin is vulnerable for a limited or no-notice UCI any time after February. 

"The command has really stepped up the program, placing emphasis on updating checklists, annotating critical write-ups and having an action plan to correct deficiencies," Colonel Denison said. "The message is for each unit to get their self inspection completed because each of the respective wings within the AAC will have to brief SIP results to their leadership." 

Mr. Buckland said the overemphasis of the self-inspection program is to get back to basics; people need to follow checklists to know their jobs and they can no longer wait until right before an inspection to run them since the UCI is either limited or no-notice. The goal is steady-state compliance. 

"It keeps the focus on being ready to do your mission on a daily basis," he said.
While the job might be tedious at times, both agree there is satisfaction in steering people in the right direction to satisfy their complaints. Someone from the office briefs at Newcomers' Orientation, First Term Airman Center and commander's calls about the services they provide. They stress that no person may restrict a member of the Armed Forces in communicating with a member of Congress or an IG. 

"We tell them we stand ready to review any complaint which falls under the IG umbrella, but can also assist them with something which belongs to another agency," Colonel Denison said. 

The IG office is located in Building 8 and an investigator can be reached by calling 882-5966.