Run complaints through the chain before calling in the IG Published July 13, 2007 By Senior Airman J. Paul Croxon 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The office of the inspector general tends to have the air of myth about it. To some, the IG is the frightening agency that swoops in to punish; to others, the IG might be one stop shopping to rectify any wrongs. The truth is the IG is neither of these; it's an impartial, outside party that merely acts as quality control for Air Force and Defense Department policy. One of the core tasks of the inspector general is addressing complaints. However, an IG complaint is specific in its content. "Anyone may file an IG complaint, and we're happy to sit and listen to the problem and try to find the solution," said Lt. Col. Joe Williams, 319th Air Refueling Wing inspector general. Military members, dependents and civilians may stop by or call the IG office to file a complaint with the option of remaining anonymous. However, not all complaints justify IG intervention; many can be resolved quicker and more appropriately through other means. "The first step for the majority of complaints is to work the issue through the normal chain of command," said Colonel Williams. "Many times, the perceived offending party is unaware of a problem and happy to fix it once it is brought to their attention." According to Colonel Williams, the IG isn't given special powers to fix problems. "We're just empowered by the AFI [Air Force Instruction] to ensure there isn't a violation of policy or Air Force guidance," said the IG. "We're not victim advocates and can't fix something just because a person is unhappy. However, we are happy to listen to the complaint and can refer it to an agency better suited to its resolution, such as military equal opportunity, the judge advocate general or even first sergeants and commanders." A current trend among complaints is to take a complaint to the highest level before giving the chain of command, or sometimes even the IG, a chance to address it. "What we're seeing now is a spike in congressional inquires," said Colonel Williams. "A congressional inquiry requires a response but not necessarily action within 24 hours. It costs thousands of dollars in man hours and usually results in routing the problem to a squadron or agency for resolution. A congressional inquiry usually results in exactly the same course of action as the chain of command would have required." For example, if a person felt wronged by a base agency or unit and went directly to their congressman with the complaint, the IG along with wing, group and other commanders would be forced to set the mission aside to develop a response within 24 hours. Once the response is delivered, the IG would go to the perceived offending unit with the problem who likely is unaware of any wrongs and promptly corrects the problem. It's quicker to inform the IG first, or better yet, take the problem directly to the offending party via the chain of command. "If someone feels wronged, we want them to come to us first," noted Colonel Williams. "If they feel uncomfortable with the wing IG, the contact information for Air Mobility Command inspector general is on bulletin boards around base." Some of the other agencies and avenues to call for complaints are the: Military Equal Opportunity Office, 747-3192 Legal Office, 747-3607 Commander's Action Line, 747-4522 or commandersactionline@grandforks.af.mil