Airlift Group preps for inspection

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Carolyn Viss
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The 317th Airlift Group is preparing to welcome Air Mobility Command inspectors Nov. 19 to 24 for both a Unit Compliance Inspection and a Logistics Standardization and Evaluation Program inspection. 

Looking at both the group's self-inspection plan and how well they comply with "By-Law" regulations, all six squadrons will be closely evaluated said Col. Bernard Mater, the Group Commander. AMC administers UCIs and LSEPs approximately every 18 months. 

"One of the outcomes of the UCI is not just to identify if we are following the rules but how well we are following them," Colonel Mater said. "It's a form of feedback that tells us as a team in the Team of Teams how well we comply with Air Force Instructions and execute our worldwide missions." 

Although fairly new as the Group Commander, he believes they'll pass - he knows the Airlift Group has a long and distinguished history of serving our nation in an "excellent" manner - and his folks are some of the very best in the airlift business. They have had C-130s, aircrews, maintainers and support personnel deployed to Central Command for nearly 2,000 straight days and a significant portion of the Group is still there. What he's looking for is recognition of our efforts to develop some of our programs as "best practices" and to develop "outstanding" teams as well as acknowledging the tremendous support provided by the 7th Bomb Wing and the City of Abilene. 

"Everyone in the Airlift Group has worked very hard to prepare for this inspection," Colonel Mater said. "We've learned and re-learned one important lesson: that it's harder to rebuild a program that's been let go than it is to sustain a good program. So, no matter the outcome of these inspections, we are re-energized and focused on continuing to do things the right way as well as continuing to improve. We've also taken phenomenal steps to get things where they need to be and improve some already pretty terrific programs, which we hope AMC will recognize, as well as our Team Dyess and Abilene partners. We know that our successes, here and deployed, are in large measure because of the tremendous support freely given by the 7th Bomb Wing and Abilene's civic leaders - it is that 'Team of Teams' idea." 

The LSEP will be similar to the UCI, the colonel said; however, it will evaluate how well the maintainers are doing at generating, repairing and sustaining aircraft maintenance practices; how we, including our air crew, support those maintenance practices; and the maintainers' own Quality Assurance program. 

"Maintainers will be getting personal evaluations, or 'check rides,'" Colonel Mater said. "In addition to doing the tremendous job they do every day to safely generate, repair and sustain our aircraft, they have the added pressure of being checked for their ability to evaluate themselves." 

Again, in this area, the commander of AMC's premiere Airlift Group is proud of his people's efforts. "Our maintenance teams did a fantastic job getting ready for the last LSEP," he said. "Their excellent rating was key to our AMC Maintenance Effectiveness Award win for 2007." 

So with an already-excellent standard set, how does the group expect to defend their title as 'America's Premier Airlift Group'? They don't approach this from that perspective, Colonel Mater said. 

"Muhammad Ali, when asked what he thinks about when he steps into the ring to defend his title, said, 'You can't look at it like that,'" Colonel Mater recounted. "He said, 'When you step into the ring, you no longer own that title; you have to have the hunger and desire to earn it all over again.'" 

So that's what the Group will do, he said. 

"When the UCI and LSEP inspectors come, we will humbly and competently show why we deserve to earn the title," Colonel Mater emphasized. "Ultimately, we'll prove that we can safely, by-the-book and on time provide Global Reach for America."