OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — More than 100 inspectors were to fan out across Osan Air Base this week to eye how well airmen here respond to emergencies, defend the base and stick to Air Force rules and methods.
Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing is undergoing a unit compliance inspection, which is important because the rating inspectors give becomes an official measure of the wing’s performance.
Inspectors from the Pacific Air Forces Inspector General’s office at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, are carrying out the UCI, which started Monday and ends Friday.
“People work very hard so their unit can get a high rating because a very good rating can be used in personal performance reports in the future,” said wing spokesman Capt. John W. Ross.
The inspection covers everything from bookkeeping methods to whether airmen follow the right procedures for aircraft upkeep and munitions storage.
Each unit within the wing has a checklist of items on which it’ll be inspected, specific to its operational field, Ross said.
Part of the inspection includes a test of how the wing handles emergencies.
It’s the only part of the UCI that may affect civilians and others on base “because it may result in temporary gate closures and traffic detours,” said wing spokesman Capt. John W. Ross.
Inspectors keep the details secret until they spring the mock emergency at some point during the week.
“It is intended to be as much like a real emergency as we can produce,” said Ross. “So we are not provided any details prior to actual exercise initiation.”
Wing leaders get briefed on what strengths and shortcomings may have been found.
“So we go back through and purge our processes that are no longer usable or valid and we also emphasize the programs that are operating very well for us,” Ross said.
During its last UCI in 2006, the wing received an overall “excellent” rating.
The 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base underwent its UCI last week and was expecting to get its rating Tuesday, said wing spokeswoman Capt. Tiffany G. Payette.
