WIT vital to MFE

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kenneth Green, 18th Security Forces Squadron desk sergeant and Wing Inspection Team member, helps two airmen work through a vehicle-born explosive device scenario on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Aug. 21, 2014. Responsible for providing an accurate and unbiased report on their unit performance, WIT members are subject matter experts across the wing in their respective career fields. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airmen 1st Class Stephen G. Eigel)

WIT vital to MFE

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kenneth Green, 18th Security Forces Squadron desk sergeant and Wing Inspection Team member, debriefs Airmen after a mission focused exercise inject where opposing forces broke onto base and tried to take over on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Aug. 21, 2014. Responsible for providing an accurate and unbiased report on their unit performance, WIT members are subject matter experts across the wing in their respective career fields. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airmen 1st Class Stephen G. Eigel)

WIT vital to MFE

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kenneth Green, 18th Security Forces Squadron desk sergeant and Wing Inspection Team member, evaluates 18th SFS Airmen during the wing's mission focused exercise on Kadena Air Base, Japan, Aug. 21, 2014. WIT members are required to be trained, certified and sworn-in by oath before executing their duties as augmentees for the base Inspector General team, acting under the authority of the wing commander through direction from the wing IG to help ensure the wing is prepared to execute its wartime mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airmen 1st Class Stephen G. Eigel)

WIT vital to MFE

Published Aug. 21, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Keith James
18th Wing Public Affairs

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- With the start of the mission focused exercise, participating Airmen of the 18th Wing strive to demonstrate their abilities to survive and operate over the next few days of the wing inspection on Aug 18-22.

Evaluating and inspecting the Airmen on how well they perform during the MFE are the members of the Wing Inspection Team. The WIT focuses on testing their units on the four major graded areas which are executing the mission, managing resources, improving the unit and leading the people.

Trained, certified and sworn-in by oath, WIT members act under the authority of the wing commander through direction from the wing Inspector General to help ensure the wing is prepared to execute its wartime mission.

"The WIT plays an important part in supporting the mission of the 18th Wing," said Lt. Col. Brian Joseph, 18th Inspector General deputy. "They are responsible for providing accurate and unbiased reports on their unit performance, which allows the wing to identify issues that prevent us from executing our mission in an efficient and effective manner."

Integrated into the planning process long before the execution of an MFE, a WIT member's main role is to be the subject matter experts across the wing to inspect the various functional areas of their units.

Capable of conducting an inspection at any time, WIT members fill in throughout their units, prepared and ready to evaluate their units on the two types of inspections: compliance and readiness.

Compliance inspections are conducted at the group and squadron levels, while readiness inspections focus on how the wing integrates all of the group and squadrons capabilities into the overall mission.

"Inspection is an inherent function of command," Joseph said. "WIT members, along with the new Air Force Inspection System, work toward the Air Force's goal to develop a culture of continuous compliance and process improvement where preparation for an inspection is unnecessary and actually counter-productive."

Filling key roles, WIT members provide inputs for scenario development, inspecting assigned areas and functions, evaluating scenarios, participating in the after inspection completion brief and providing inputs to the inspection reports.

"The WIT are critical to the success of the wing-wide MFEs," Joseph added. "We rely on the WIT to help achieve the desired objectives of any scenario."