UCI success requires preparation, awareness Published June 8, 2007 Courtesy of AFSOC Inspector General HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Unit Compliance Inspections show commanders how well their personnel are complying with public law, Department of Defense regulations and Air Force instructions. UCIs enable commanders to improve their units by assessing how well the "rules" are being followed. All unit members should be aware of the UCI process and how they can contribute to the success of their unit during an inspection. Each Airman doing their part to accomplish the mission is an essential element of the profession of arms and is a foundational element of leadership. Properly preparing for and succeeding in UCIs puts into practice the Air Force core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do. Here are some tips to ensure UCI success: First, start working on compliance immediately. The best place to start is the governing source of Air Force UCIs, AFI 90-201, Inspector General Activities. This AFI and its major command supplements detail what is inspected and how. Success depends on every Airman adhering to the standards set forth in AFI 90-201 as well as their underlying functional area guidance. Too many units start preparing for a UCI far too late. Although compliance is truly a daily activity, preparation for an inspection should start at least a year in advance. This provides sufficient time for the discovery of problems and allows opportunities to make corrections and improvements well in advance of the arrival of the inspection team. Moreover, without a fairly long history of compliant processes, many inspectors will not grade an area as fully compliant. Next, get the checklists and incorporate them into the unit's self-inspection process. MAJCOM IGs post their checklists on their Web sites or on their electronic publications Web sites. Each member must review the inspection checklist questions and the underlying source documents. For example, DOD or Air Force instructions and the Federal Acquisition Regulation applicable to a unit provide insight into how a particular process should work and how an inspector may inspect and rate that area. If questions about a particular checklist item or reference arise, the inspector responsible for that functional area should be contacted. This tells the inspector the unit is engaged and motivated, and ensures each inspection checklist item is clear and understood. Once checklists have been incorporated, the next step is to review your unit's last UCI report. This provides a review of any findings noted by the previous inspectors. Members can then assess each deficiency to ensure it has been corrected. Repeat findings are not only embarrassing but also directly reflect on leadership and inspection preparation. After reviewing the last inspection report, determine the health of the unit. Each section should run its checklist to identify strengths and weaknesses. This sets the baseline to formulate a plan to correct deficient areas. Inspection checklist items should be marked "in compliance" only when everyone is absolutely certain these items meet prescribed standards. The mantra is, "Trust but verify." Personnel sometimes erroneously convince themselves a checklist item is not applicable or an item is in compliance because most of the requirements are addressed. Now is the time, not during or after the UCI, to find ground truth. Next, develop preparation teams. Leadership should assign responsibility to specific individuals for each portion of the pending inspection. These members must be given guidance, time and resources to prepare long before the inspection. Attainable suspenses should be established to reaccomplish inspection checklists and to correct any deficient areas. This allows leaders to adjust priorities. Regular meetings with the unit leadership ensure corrective actions are undertaken, promote cross-flow of information and further build teamwork. Finally, request a headquarters staff assistance visit or perform an independent, robust self-inspection. Just as everyone prefers someone else to proof their work product to ensure no errors exist, an independent and objective SAV is a valuable tool to double check that areas are in compliance.