513th Air Control Group excels in new inspection

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Caleb Wanzer
  • 513th Air Control Group Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The Air Force Reserve's 513th Air Control Group modeled excellence once again during a recent inspection by an Air Force Inspector General team.

The inspection, called a Consolidated Unit Inspection Phase 0, involved a total force effort with the 513th and the active-duty 552nd Air Control Wing. Nearly 60 Airmen from the Inspector General evaluated both units from 18-23 Nov.

513th Air Control Group Commander Col. Richard Wright is proud of the Airmen whose behind-the-scenes work made an excellent grade possible.
 
"I certainly appreciate the work that everybody did to get us ready," Col. Wright said. "When you look at the depth of the inspection, to come out with only 8 minor discrepancies, I couldn't ask for anything better."

The inspection team recognized a few Airmen for their excellent performance throughout the inspection.

The inspection team chief presented a challenge coin to Master Sgt. David Hall, a flight engineer with the 970th Airborne Air Control Squadron, for his superior performance with the unit safety program. Sgt. Hall manages the safety program as an additional duty, a job that is typically filled by a full-time safety specialist.

The Reserve unit does not have any full-time safety personnel because of its small size.

"We were able to leverage the experience that we've got from both the operations and maintenance side," Sgt. Hall said. "Tech. Sgt. Malachi Woodlee and Master Sgt. Marcus Dixon on the maintenance side were helpful with the program. They did an outstanding job."

Inspectors were also impressed with the teamwork between the 513th and 552nd. The inspectors reported a seamless total force integration between active duty and the Reserve unit. They found that training, simulators, sorties and briefs are conducted with a mix of active duty and Reserve crews, which shows no loss of training.

Another two teams from the 513th were named superior performers during the inspection: the commander support staff and the fitness program team, which did not receive any deficiencies within their programs.

The commander support staff was led by Master Sgt. Carla Barber, a knowledge operations manager with the 513th Air Control Group.

"Sgt. Barber is really one of our unsung heroes," Col. Wright said. "Based on the number of programs that were inspected, to come through that without a discrepancy is really phenomenal."

To earn an excellent rating, a unit must show performance or operation that exceeds mission requirements, according to the inspection report. The rating also requires that programs are efficiently managed and relatively discrepancy-free.

The 513th Air Control Group is the Air Force Reserve's only unit to fly and maintain the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft. The 513th is an associate unit of the active-duty 552nd, which "owns" the E-3 aircraft assigned to Tinker Air Force Base.

Total Force Integration is an initiative by the Air Force for active duty and Reserve Airmen to work, train and deploy together.