1st SOW proves satisfactory during information assurance inspection Published May 2, 2008 By Tech. Sgt. Angela Shepherd 1st SOW Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- The 1st Special Operations Wing's information assurance program received a satisfactory rating after a thorough inspection April 1 - 11. The biennial inspection, also known as the Information Assurance Assessment Program was conducted by a team of eight people from Air Force Special Operations Command and the Air Force Communications Agency. The inspection team looked at several specific areas including the effectiveness of the IA program, the security of base computer systems, the quality of wing communications security operations and associated training. The overall objective of the inspection was to find ways to improve network security within the 1st SOW. "Hurlburt Field did a tremendous job in revitalizing the information assurance program and capitalizing on two staff assistance visits to exceed Air Force and major command expectations," said Maj. Tara Blose, chief of information assurance for AFSOC. Unlike an operational readiness inspection where there are five possible ratings ranging from unsatisfactory to outstanding, the IAAP gives only a satisfactory or an unsatisfactory. Of the more than 4,400 items the wing was inspected on, only 113 items were not in compliance, giving the wing a solid satisfactory. "Although the only two possible ratings are satisfactory and unsatisfactory, it must be known that the base is 99 percent in compliance," Major Blose said. "That is beyond remarkable, especially for a base with a continuously sky-high operations tempo dedicated to the Global War on Terrorism." Several Airmen were noted as standouts during the inspection for several different reasons. Among them was Tech. Sgt. Michael Manchee, 1st Special Operations Communications Squadron, Staff Sgt. Kenya Howard, 20th Special Operations Squadron, Senior Airman Angela Maksem, 1st Special Operations Comptroller Squadron, Tech. Sgt. Ralph Marcus, 1st SOCS, Staff Sgt. Samuel Dykes, 505th Communications Squadron, and Tech. Sgt. Bryan Bissonnette, 15th SOS. "I'm proud of the attention to detail our Airmen demonstrate every day," said Col. Brad Webb, 1st SOW commander. "Their dedication is directly responsible for the wing achieving this rating." The 1st SOW will be due for its next IAAP in 2010.