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Touring the RAPCON

Senior Airman Lauren Hornbaker, 319th Operations Support Squadron air traffic control journeyman, gives a tour of the air control tower to Master Sgt. David Crawley, 319th Air Base Wing Inspector General Wing Inspection Team member Jan. 8, 2013 on Grand Forks AFB, N.D. The 319th Air Base Wing Inspector General office performed its first inspection recently under a new set of guidelines on the 319th Operations Support Squadron RAPCON tower. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Susan L. Davis)

Touring the RAPCON

Master Sgt. Destiny Hager, 319th Operations Support Squadron Radar Approach and Control (RAPCON) chief controller, shows a TCW Radar display to Robert Zafke, 319th Air Base Wing Inspector General Wing Inspection Team member Jan. 8, 2013 on Grand Forks AFB, N.D. The 319th Air Base Wing Inspector General office performed its first inspection recently under a new set of guidelines on the 319th Operations Support Squadron RAPCON tower. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Susan L. Davis)

319th IG performs first inspection under new guidelines

Published Jan. 28, 2014
By Staff Sgt. Susan L. Davis
319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The 319th Air Base Wing Inspector General office performed its first inspection recently under a new set of guidelines on the 319th Operations Support Squadron Radar Approach and Control (RAPCON) tower.

The new guidelines, set forth by Air Force Instruction 90-201, are designed to change the way inspectors evaluate units, and the way units respond to the evaluations. The new system allows commanders the ability to assess their own unique mission sets, and reduce the risk of undetected non-compliance.

"The idea is to improve effectiveness, compliance, readiness, discipline and surety," said Lt. Col. Aaron Bass, 319th ABW IG. "The good news about the way we are doing things now is that a unit cannot fail a wing IG inspection; there is no pass or fail rating system. Our role is simply to observe and report. After that, it's up to the unit to figure out how to address any problems we find."

Lt. Col. Jonathan Castellanos, 319th OSS commander, agreed.

"Write-ups are not a bad thing, they're a good thing," he said. "Anything the IG finds can only help us improve and make our mission more effective and streamlined. I would honestly rather hear constructive criticism than have a pat on the back. I am glad the inspection team took a good hard look and gave us something to really sink our teeth into."

The RAPCON was assessed for compliance on a range of topics including training records, safety regulations, record keeping, and safeguarding personally identifiable information.