AIR FORCE INSPECTION AGENCY
The Air Force Inspection Agency, with headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., is a field operating agency that reports to the Secretary of the Air Force Inspector General.
Mission
The Air Force Inspection Agency, or AFIA, is the primary action arm of the Secretary of the Air Force's inspection system. AFIA provides independent and timely assessments of acquisition, nuclear surety, operations, logistics, support and health care to Air Force senior leadership; identifies critical deficiencies and recommends improvements for accomplishing peacetime and wartime missions; and evaluates Air Force activities, personnel and policies. Additionally, AFIA provides legal and compliance oversight of all Air Force-level field operating agencies and direct reporting units.
Organization
The agency is organized into three inspection directorates and one support directorate:
The Eagle Look Directorate conducts Eagle Looks, or management assessments, of Air Force operations, support, logistics, maintenance, and acquisitions processes and programs.
The Inspections and Oversight Directorate schedules, coordinates and executes both compliance inspections and nuclear surety inspections oversight assessments. The directorate is the Air Force Inspector General's action arm, responsible for oversight of all Air Force nuclear surety inspection oversight and the conduct of compliance inspections of all direct reporting units and field operating agencies.
The Medical Operations Directorate performs Health Services Inspections of all active-duty, Reserve and Guard medical units worldwide in partnership with acknowledged expert civilian accrediting agencies.
The Mission Support Directorate administers the infrastructure for AFIA and manages the personnel, financial, information systems, logistics and internal resources to ensure inspectors have the knowledge and equipment to conduct assessments. Additionally, the directorate provides administrative support to inspection teams throughout the Eagle Look process and is responsible for maintaining historical archives of all reports and tracking follow-up actions.
Products and Services
AFIA has four major mission areas:
- Conducts management reviews, known as Eagle Looks. Eagle Looks, conducted by trained inspectors, are aimed at ensuring Air Force programs and processes function as intended. Reviews span from operations and logistics issues to support, acquisition and medical functions that culminate in a written report and executive briefing that provide senior leaders with findings and recommendations to improve their programs. Fully trained and experienced inspectors have conducted the following reviews: Air Expeditionary Force Wing Execution, Deficiency Reporting, Joint Protection Enterprise Network, Munitions Global Asset Prepositioning Execution, PRIME Readiness in Base Services, Management of Scientific and Technical Information, Nuclear Surety Inspection Process, Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources Reconstitution and Warfighter Urgent Needs.
- Conducts health services inspections assessing medical readiness, management effectiveness and quality of health care delivery at all Air Force medical units. Additionally, by agreement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, AFIA inspects all radioactive material permits held by the U.S. Air Force.
- Conducts compliance inspections and nuclear surety inspection, or NSI, oversight assessments that focus on compliance with programs required by federal law, executive order, Department of Defense directives and Air Force policy. Compliance inspections are conducted on 24 field operating agencies and five direct reporting units. NSI oversight assessments are done when major commands conduct NSIs and Joint NSIs. Additionally, an NSI oversight assessment team accompanies the Defense Threat Reduction Agency as the Air Force representative during the conduct of a Defense NSI.
- Publishes TIG Brief magazine, a worldwide publication that provides authoritative guidance and information to Airmen to improve the performance of inspectors and those they inspect. TIG Brief includes articles on lessons learned, best practices, anticipated or actual problems, recommendations to improve management, safety, security, inspection and operational techniques and contemporary issues facing the Air Force. Published since 1943, it is the Air Force's oldest publication.
History
AFIA traces its roots to 1927 with the establishment of the Inspection Division under the chief of the Air Corps. The new division performed technical inspections in support of flight safety objectives. By the end of World War II, this function was aligned under the Office of the Air Inspector. In 1948, after the Air Force became a separate service, the Air Force chief of staff designated the Office of the Inspector General to oversee all inspection and safety functions.
In the 1950s, all of these activities were consolidated at Norton AFB, Calif., in the 1002nd Inspector General Group commanded by the Deputy Inspector General for Inspection and Safety. On Dec. 31, 1971, the Air Force Inspection and Safety Center was activated, replacing the 1002nd IG Group. In August 1991, the center was divided into the Air Force Inspection Agency and the Air Force Safety Agency (now the Air Force Safety Center). Both AFIA and the Safety Center moved to Kirtland AFB, N.M., in July 1993, due to the closure of Norton AFB.
Point of Contact
Air Force Inspection Agency, Public Affairs Office; 9700 G Avenue, Suite 340; Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5670; DSN 246-2946 or 505-846-2946
March 2009
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