Inspector General program assists service members in finding complaint solutions Published Sept. 23, 2009 By Jonathan Hicks 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The Inspector General Complaint Resolution Program enables a service member to report personal complaints of wrongdoing or injustice and have them impartially addressed through a resolution process. Lt. Col. Karen Castillo, who became the 81st Training Wing's inspector general in July, reveals the program consist of a lot more than meets the eye. "It's an extremely legally intensive program," she explained. "We work closely with the various legal agencies on base in evaluating our interviews and procedures." However, the program is more than just a glorified commander's action line. "Sometimes people try the shotgun approach out of frustration and submit their complaints to other programs at the same time, such as the commander's action line or (Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century," she said, suggestion instead that "choosing just one avenue for a complaint and allowing it to go through the complete process" may be more successful. In order for a complaint to be processed filed through the complaints resolution program, it must fall in into at least one of the following categories: Restriction -- when a member is denied access to report a wrongdoing. Reprisal -- repercussions for reporting a wrongdoing. Improper mental health referrals -- involves a commander's directed clinical assessment of a service member. Senior Master Sgt. Kyle Watkins, superintendent, said they get about 80 to 100 complaints filed a year, and out of those, "only 1 percent hit those top three areas." The rest, he said, are command-type issues such as harassment and enlisted performance reports. Sergeant Watkins' job is to oversee the process and ensure the proper person or agency is contacted to achieve a resolution to a complaint. His main recommendation is that members to be patient. "Depending on the circumstances, an investigation can be a very lengthy process, so members must be patient," he stated. However, Sergeant Watkins pointed out, many complaints are usually resolved much more quickly. "Most of the time we're able to obtain responses from commanders within 10 days if the complaint is a command issue," he said. Congressional inquiries are also the responsibility of the inspector general's office. Legislative liaison Stephanie Douglas said that congressional inquiries are the "type of inquiries initiated when a service member writes his or her congressman for assistance." The response time to those inquiries is usually within seven days, and the response must be signed or approved by the wing commander. "Some issues are resolved simply by communicating or just pointing people in the right direction," Ms. Douglas said. The IG office also manages the fraud, waste and abuse program that provides a reporting mechanism for issues of mismanagement and abuse of resources. Members should refer to Air Force Instruction 90-301, Inspector General Complaints Resolution, for the proper compliant filing procedure. For more information, call 377-3010 or e-mail 81trw-ig@keesler.af.mil.