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446th rated effective, highly effective during inspection

  • Published
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  

The 446th Airlift ‘Rainier’ Wing recently underwent a Unit Effectiveness Inspection conducted by a team from the Air Force Reserve Command’s Inspector General Office Dec. 1-6.

 

The Rainier Wing was rated ‘Effective’ and scored ‘Highly Effective’ for the major graded area of Improving the unit, which is the highest rating a wing can achieve for any graded area.

 

“As one of few AFRC wings to earn a Highly Effective grade for Improving the Unit, I cannot tell you how proud I am of each and every Citizen Airman who helped make this inspection a resounding success,” said Col. Scott L. McLaughlin, Rainier Wing commander.

 

During the Capstone event, the 41-member AFRC IG team assessed the Commander’s Inspection Program as Effective. The team’s Executive Summary Report stated leadership at all levels emphasized the importance of the program, making it truly effective, reliable, and mature.

 

Prior to the UEI, inspectors assessed Management Internal Control Toolset communicators. As part of the UEI capstone event, inspectors conducted Airmen-to-IG group and individual sessions with Airmen and civilians.

 

“Inspectors are looking at units through the MICT communicators well before inspections and it’s a great tool for Airmen to be able to communicate issues to their functional manager,” explained Maj. Eric Hodges, 446th AW Inspector General, director of inspections. “Units can upload documentation that supports their responses to communicator questions, which allows the inspectors to virtually assess the program using the MICT system.”

 

The IG team assessed unit morale to be average overall with unit members expressing enthusiasm and support for their mission and leadership, according to the UEI Executive Summary.

 

As part of the inspection process, the 446th Security Forces Squadron underwent an active shooter exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Dec. 4.

 

The exercise was intended to both ensure the readiness of first responders directly involved and to heighten safety and awareness around the wing.

 

The exercise called upon participation and resources from several key squadrons such as the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, which provided medics to respond to simulated injuries received during the active shooter scenario.

 

The exercise was primarily planned by 446th Airlift Wing Inspector General Inspections in conjunction with the 446th SFS. Together, planners sought to achieve several key training objectives.

 

Among the most vital purposes of the exercise was to validate the efficacy of the shoot-move-communicate training to include the use of reasonable force. During the exercise, quick response forces reacted and had to make split-second decisions about the level of force that was necessary to engage.

 

The Rainier Wing, provides 2,100 combat ready Citizen Airmen to support worldwide airlift operations. From humanitarian aid to aeromedical evacuation, members of the wing operate the C-17 Globemaster III in some of the most austere places in the world, including the Antarctic. Located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the wing is strategically poised to serve as a power projection platform for the Pacific Rim.