News

BLAZE Team launches ORI preparation effort

  • Published
  • By Col. Jeff Dunn
  • 14th Flying Training Wing vice commander
COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. --  "It is not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference," said Paul "Bear" Bryant.

Fall in the South means one thing - football and plenty of it. Everyday teams prepare for a weekend challenge on hundreds of gridirons across the region. 

The 14th Flying Training Wing began preparing for a challenge of its own recently. Next May the winning spirit of the BLAZE team will be on display as the Air Education and Training Command Inspector General team of approximately 100 inspectors visits Columbus AFB to conduct an Operational Readiness Inspection. The key to success in an ORI is the same as success on the field - total preparation and hard work. The 14FTW kicked off the formal preparation for the 2008 ORI Wednesday with a briefing for all wing personnel in the Kaye Auditorium. The theme is "One Team - One Fight" and if we all pull together and work hard an outstanding result is in our future. 

While some military and civilian personnel were here for the 2005 ORI, many were not. Most of our first or second term Airman and first assignment pilots have never experience an ORI. Conversely, a large number of experienced personnel returning to AETC with from operational assignments have ORI experience, but not in an AETC environment. Lastly, for many at Columbus, this will be their fourth or fifth ORI. 

With this varied experience level, every BLAZE team member must have three things: an understanding of ORI fundamentals, an effective preparation plan and a clear understanding of the wing's expectations. These three things were the focus of the ORI Preparation kick-off briefings. 

Understanding ORI fundamentals means understanding that the ORI is primarily about compliance and communicating mission impact. The AETC IG breaks down the ORI into three key areas: a Unit Compliance Inspection, a deployment exercise and a Major Accident Response Exercise, which often simultaneously incorporates a Force Protection exercise. The two latter events are contingency exercises and are executed real time during the ORI, which we will continue to practice throughout the preparation period. Fundamentally, the ORI is a UCI, which is significantly different than an ORI in the operational world. A UCI validates CAFB's compliance with all applicable standards, instructions and legal requirements, to include instructions generated at the wing level and below. After demonstrating compliance, the minimum criteria for a Satisfactory rating, the wing then has the opportunity to showcase those areas where we exceed or far exceed the standards, the criteria for an Excellent or Outstanding rating. It is here where communicating positive mission impact plays a pivotal role in earning a rating beyond Satisfactory. Again, this effort can only begin after compliance had been clearly demonstrated by wing personnel and validated by IG inspectors. 

Under the AETC commander's, General William Looney, direction, the AETC IG has re-engineered changes in the ORI structure that affect the scope and depth of the entire inspection. While the details in some areas are extensive and you will be made aware of all these changes, the most important change is in the size of the IG team. A smaller visiting IG inspector team means fewer people and time visiting a work center. In one sense that's a good thing, but in another it's not. Your plan must quickly demonstrate compliance to allow for maximum opportunity to showcase exceptional performance. The more time spent determining compliance, the less time available to demonstrate where your programs exceed standards. They will only be in your workcenter for a short time and the clock will be ticking. The key to beating the clock is effective planning, which begins now. 

The 14 FTW ORI plan is a back-to-basics approach of establishing a sound compliance framework before the Christmas break, and picks up after the holidays with a focus on executing and fine tuning programs IAW the underlying compliance framework and developing a detailed, standardized method for communicating positive mission impact during the ORI. If you have been here for past ORIs, you will notice some significant changes in the methodology, both in depth and breadth. The AETC IG has provided the blueprint for success in the ORI and the 14th FTW plan mirrors that blueprint exactly. In addition, the wing plan provides web-based tools, checklists, access to current and past IG reports and a host of other resources vital to success. Become familiar with these resources. 

Colonel Dave Gerber, 14th FTW commander, summed it up succinctly, "Commanders need to understand and adapt to this ORI plan." 

As vice commander, I will directly oversee our ORI preparation efforts. We have a great ORI plan and great people in right places. Lt. Col. Tor Dietrichs, 14th Flying Training Wing Inspections, has put together a flight plan and roadmap for success. All we have to do now is execute the plan. It will take determination, leadership, and most of all, proactive communication. I encourage you to embrace this effort, get familiar with the plan and begin implementing it now. If we do the hard work of preparation now, come game time, we will show the IG that the BLAZE Team is the best team in the conference.