From ‘need to know’ to ‘need to share’

  • Published
  • By Maj. Laurie Arellano
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  Next month, the 90th Missile Wing will undergo the toughest inspection it has faced in recent history as teams of inspectors come to the base to look into every program, operation and process the base uses to carry out its mission. 

Lt. Col. Mark Avery, 90th Missile Wing Inspector General, said every person in the wing will be impacted during the compliance inspection and the nuclear surety inspection, scheduled to begin Dec. 3 and lasts about two weeks. 

"The NSI is our license to operate," Colonel Avery said, "and the compliance inspection is our grade on how we do our day to day mission." 

Because Colonel Avery says this is expected to be a tougher, more thorough inspection than previous inspections, the self-inspection program is critical to preparing to be evaluated against the higher standards that the nuclear enterprise is held to. 

"We know we're beating you up," Colonel Avery said. "We want the wing to do great, but it won't be easy." 

Colonel Avery said wing members are in the midst of a change in culture and the self-inspection program is the pivotal to solving some long-term problems. 

"We have to be self-critical and identify problems up front" he said. "Don't sugar coat problems, dig into the root causes and work as a team to solve them." 

He also said teamwork and communication are keys to successful inspection preparation. 

In order to better and more efficiently coordinate wing response during an incident, the wing is learning to use a chat-room style program to share information and delegate tasks between the crisis action team and field agencies such as the emergency operations center or the security forces battlestaff. 

"Defense Connect Online is a DoD-based and maintained program that uses commercial, off the shelf software and a standard desktop configuration," said Lt. Col. Richard Sheldon, 90th Missile Wing Command Post chief. "There's no account required." 

That means any user with a need to quickly request or share information with the crisis action team can quickly log in and catch up on the latest information. 

"The purpose of using the chat room is to eliminate redundant phone calls and conflicting information," Colonel Sheldon said. "It makes the operation of responding more efficient and it provides more timely and accurate inputs." 

Colonel Sheldon said the chat room is not just an inspection tool, it's already being used by 24-hour work centers, the transportation control center and the command post, to share information on day-to-day contingencies such as changes in road conditions and alarm responses. 

"Airmen respond to contingencies every day, and they handle them at their level every day," Colonel Sheldon said. "And in the event these contingencies have to be elevated, the tools are in place to make that happen quickly." 

Both Colonel Avery and Colonel Sheldon said the wing will be more rigorously tested than ever before, and person will be critical to providing our ability to do each mission, from compliance with federal laws such as the records management program to the ability to coordinate emergency response to the ability to safely secure, maintain and operate America's nuclear deterrent force. 

"I firmly believe in the changes we're undergoing," Colonel Avery said. "We are the ones who can help prove to the American people we know how to do our jobs right."