MHAFB embraces new inspection program

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Brittany A. Chase
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  The first Commander's Inspection Program exercise, also known as Sharpshooter 14-02, kicked off April 13 at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.

This new inspection program enables commanders to find and fix problems locally, as well as provide high quality performance data to improve policy and programming.

The Sharpshooter 14-02 exercise lasted from April 13-17 and consisted of three parts, the processing line, transition day and the mission employment phase.

"In the old system, we had to spend a lot of time prepping for a nebulous inspection," said Maj. Christopher Johnson, 366th Fighter Wing director of inspection. "We ended up wasting a lot of time, energy, money and materials prepping for that one weeklong exercise."

The redirection of the old system allows for a better process that'll ensure mission success.

"United States Air Force in Europe was the test Major Command for the Commander's Inspection Program," said Johnson. "Once they tested it for awhile, it came down from the Air Force level saying it was working, and let's change and redirect it."

Once the problems in the old system were exposed, the Air Force redirected its focus to finding a better way to use its materials in the most effective way.

"Now Air Combat Command and the Air Force have us focusing our energy on preparing us for our base's mission," said Johnson. "This allows us to look at the things we are tasked to do as a wing. We are now able to base the exercise scenarios on what each squadron may actually be preparing to do in real-world situations, such as deployments or even temporary duty."

The new Air Force Inspection System allows for commanders to focus on top priorities for the base, better enabling them to fix any issues they may come across during the exercises.

"Previously bad news was bad news," said Johnson. "Now, bad news is good news which allows us to see the problem and fix it."

With Gunfighters taking on the new inspection, Airmen find it beneficial to have a more realistic grading requirement.

"I've been in more than 15 exercises," said Senior Airman Edmund Aldridge, 366th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics specialist. "The wing inspection team members were a lot stricter this time around which taught us what we need to improve on and how to alleviate the problem."

Being able to identify and fix the problems allowed for Airmen to grow as a team.

"There was great camaraderie throughout my shop," said Aldridge. "Everyone wanted to participate and help ensure mission success."

Building on Sharpshooter 14-02, the wing will hold a similar exercise this fall.

"Overall this first exercise has been a success," said Johnson. "We are still in the process of grading, but so far we've had a lot of good feedback from WIT members which gives us a good baseline of how we did. This allows us to learn and improve from here."