Ex inspector provides insider CUI tips Published Oct. 26, 2012 By Nick Stubbs 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Consolidated Unit Inspection is just around the corner, and it's a big one, combining several inspections in one. While everyone involved at MacDill may have a pretty good idea of what to expect, a few insider tips from a former inspector can go a long way toward ensuring all goes well, said Tony Bradley, a retired Air Force Inspector General now working at MacDill's Emergency Management office. His first piece of advice is to recognize that inspectors are people, and that the Air Mobility Command inspector force is relatively small, utilizing a lot of augmentees to assist with the inspections. Bradley himself was an augmentee, called on to travel to AMC bases to conduct Unit Compliance Inspections. "Augmentees come from bases just like MacDill and have usually experienced the same issues -- good and bad -- that we may face," said Bradley. "It's not uncommon for the inspectee to have more knowledge or a better compliance program than the inspector sent to evaluate." That said, make no mistake about trying to pull anything over on the IG team, cautions Bradley. Inspectors have good sniffers and tend to dig when they sense a problem. Bradley's tips Things to do: 1. Be up front and honest. Integrity is an Air Force core value for a reason. 2. Check references in office binders, operations instructions, appointment letters, etc. to ensure they are still accurate and necessary. Also try and avoid the referencing "shell game" where one reference sends the reader to another reference, and that reference sends them to yet another reference. 3. Archive previous documentation. There is usually lots of "fresh ink" on OIs, appointment letters, etc. just prior to a compliance inspection. The inspector usually likes to see two or three previous versions of the "most current" document. 4. Ask questions like: What are some of the best practices you've seen? How do you comply with this requirement at your installation? What are your recommendations to solve this problem? 5. Showcase your successes. If you have a good idea, process, procedure or program make sure the inspector sees it and understands why it's successful. This is where the above-mentioned best practices come from. Things to avoid: 1. Don't try and hide information. The IG has pretty much seen every trick in the book. If he believes you are dishonest or hiding information, he will only dig deeper. 2. Don't be the "talking head" of your unit. Give the inspector access to those individuals who are actively involved in a particular subject area. If the inspector is reviewing your security manager program and Staff Sgt. Jones runs your security manager program, let the inspector and Jones deal with it. 3. Don't argue with an inspector. Elevate any concerns to your supervisor or commander, who can deal directly with the IG functional or team chief.