Fighter Squadron IG Inspections
Every military service, in every country of the world has some sort of evaluation team that determines just how ready fighter squadrons are to go into combat. For a lot of services that evaluation team is called the Inspector General. Inspector General (IG) teams have been around for hundreds of years. They serve a valuable purpose but sometimes they lose sight of their reason for existing.Often times these readiness inspections become an end in themselves. The inspection scenarios can become unrealistic. The inspectors can become pompous and self-serving. Millions of dollars are spent and thousands of man-hours are worked to prepare for an inspection that has very little to do with the way that a squadron will actually fight and does almost nothing to improve combat capability. It becomes nothing more than feeding the IG machine.
Folks have complained about these readiness inspections for decades. Better and more flexible evaluation procedures could certainly be developed. Here's one idea that's been suggested repeatedly, especially since 9/11. Almost every fighter squadron in the US military deploys to the Middle East at one time or another. How about sending an IG team to watch a squadron generate their jets and launch for the real deployment? Novel concept. Actually watch it real world. Once in place, send an IG team there to watch real, daily operations for 3-4 days. Then go home and write your report. Evaluation complete, attaboys acknowledged, shortfalls noted with recommendations.
One of the reasons that doesn't happen is because IG teams don't want to be a second fiddle. They want to be the big dog on base when they arrive. They don't want to be asked to quietly remain on the sideline while real world activities go on around them and just observe. They certainly don't want to spend a week in a tent, shelter or hut in 120° temperatures, share a community toilet and stand in a chow hall line. They want their hotel bed, steak dinner and a couple beers at Applebee's and their very presence to cause trepidation among the underlings. Feed the IG machine.IG folks will say to do real world contingency evaluations would drastically increase their budget and that they don't have enough people to operate that way. Their budget and manning could easily be increased with the millions of dollars in savings from squadrons no longer having to waste hours and money prepping to pass the IG game.
Here's a couple examples of the absurdity of some of these operational readiness inspections, one a squadron about to deploy, another after returning. The first, a fighter squadron that has been given short notice orders, leaving in two months, for a six month deployment. A week after the deployment orders the already planned IG visit occurs and it doesn't go well. Lots of problems with maintenance. OK, now they're down to six weeks before the deployment. The IG tells them they'll be back before the deployment for a re-evaluation. Great, six weeks to prepare for another inspection. During that same time the squadron is also supposed to upgrade their pilots in the use of targeting pods, fly realistic get-ready-for-combat sorties and hopefully get some family time before departing. Feed the IG machine.
The second situation concerns a squadron that had been deployed for ten months. During that time their maintenance folks, in 130° temperatures, blinding sand storms and occasional mortar attacks, delivered jets to support all taskings in excess of a 99% rate. Upon return home focus immediately turned to the impending IG inspection. Ten months of preparation, numerous practice evaluations, get the IG rules down just right and millions of dollars spent. Almost the same results as the first squadron. You maintenance guys just aren't doing it quite right. We'll be back when you've got it straightened out. More time, more money, feed the IG machine. In both cases the IG could have watched real aircraft generations, real deployments and real operations. Yeah, the IG machine isn't built that way but it should be. IG teams aren't there so that fighter squadrons can prove their capabilities to them, they're there to make fighter squadrons better and make fighter pilot's lives easier.
You do that by putting out reports that show to the fighter world what kickass stuff some squadrons are doing and what mistakes others are making. You do that by eliminating the workload and money of long, drawn out spin ups by making all inspections, readiness and paperwork, no notice. Expect to see errors and mistakes but expect to see kickass stuff too. Help fix the bad stuff, stack praise on the good stuff. Sure, if your military service isn't on a regular, real-world deployment schedule, you've got to make up some kind of scenario to allow evaluation but make it realistic. (Let's see, maybe we don't have to put so much emphasis on the chem gear every time.)I've been a part of numerous wartime readiness inspections, as a participant and, even more, as an IG evaluator. The manpower and money utilized to put on a good show is a waste. IG expectations to see squeaky clean, all T's crossed and all I's dotted, every radio call concise and expeditious, do it our way or the sortie doesn't count, is unrealistic. It's come to the point where these inspections get in the way of improving a squadron's combat capability. It's time to overhaul the entire IG machine to save time and money and let fighter squadrons get on with the uncluttered business of preparing for combat.
GO INSPECT THE FU STORE NOW!
WE'RE ALWAYS READY.
HSRI's have nothing to do with the way my MDG's perform their daily taskings nor do ORI's and ORE's.
SAve us all some headaches and wasted money, send the inpectors to the sand box to observe the war fighters doing their jobs in a real world senario.
Doc
"Hey---I didn't get a hahrump from that guy!"
i certainly never saw any signs that they could, but, then again, i was Cav. %-)