Photo By Sgt. Elizabeth Clark | Master Sgt. Willie O. Gordon Jr., the NCOIC for the Assistance and Inspection side of...... read more read more
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Soldiers utilizing the IG office often make the mistake of not going through their chain of command first. Master Sgt. Willie O. Gordon Jr., the NCOIC for the Assistance and Inspection side of IG, says that “99% of the intake they get through Assistance and Inspection can be handled at the company level.” Soldiers who have any issues should go through their chain of command to give their company commander a chance to fix their issues, according to Gordon.
The core duty of IG is to be the eyes and ears of the commanding General. “We observe maintenance operations, training meetings and the training management process, and we make observations during unit’s physical training,” said Lt. Col. Ralph Hillmer, Command Inspector General. The inspectors will go out to units to observe training, such as physical-readiness training, to ensure that units follow regulations.
“We use that as a time to assess how the units do things and then after we sit down with their company leadership and provide feedback on our observations,” said Hillmer. “During that process, we collect best practices that those units are observed doing and share best practices that other units are doing to that command team.”
The inspectors give an outside perspective, so they are able to see shortcuts in the standards that commands might have missed. The inspectors make sure that Soldiers uphold the Marne Standard, which is the wear and appearance of the Army uniform, and can report deficiencies to sergeant majors.
“This morning we were out watching the 385th Military Police Battalion’s reconditioning PT,” said Gordon. “We tell the division sergeant major and the commanding general what we see. It’s what they need to know.”
Most Soldiers who come into the Inspector General’s office on Ft. Stewart ask questions on regulations or their chain of command. While the “typical view of IG is that they’re the boogeyman organizations,” said Gordon, “IG is available to answer any questions Soldiers, first sergeants, and company commanders have about regulations.”
They stay away from personal feelings and so are able to correct inaccuracies when they see it.
As a third party, they can assist the commanding general by telling him the good, the bad, and the ugly going on in units under his command, and they are also able to assist units by explaining the standards so that they might correct them.
The IG office consists of 17 staff members who are part of the process of inspecting units, reporting to the CG, and helping Soldiers, leaders, and command teams with any issues they present. “I know that if a Soldier, leader or command team comes in they have nothing to worry about,” said Gordon about the staff. “They are extremely competent and professional. They have the solution people are looking for.”
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2017 09:46 |
| Story ID: | 222807 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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