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Hails & Farewells, and CUI countdown!

  • Published
  • By Col. Mike Hornitschek
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing commander
It's a summer of change for the 375th Air Mobility Wing as we say goodbye to some wonderful wing leadership and welcome some equally impressive new teammates.

Last Thursday we welcomed Col. Pat Gooley, a 22-year Air Force communications veteran, as our new 375th Communications Group commander, replacing Col. Dennis Simpson who retired after a 26-year career. Along with Colonel Gooley, we welcome his wife, Laura, and children, Kayla and Lauren, as part of our Team Scott family. Col Gooley will lead the 375th CG which is one of only six comm groups in the USAF; a true testament to the size and scope of the Scott AFB mission and its 30 plus tenet organizations.

The 375th CG's mission is both impressive and daunting. It takes commanders with impeccable leadership, skills, and credentials to not just survive, but thrive in such an assignment. One such leader is Colonel Gooley. He is a career communicator with credentials in combat crew communications, maintenance, instructor duty, info protection, info assurance, a combat environment, and multiple commands, as well as staff experience at the MAJCOM, Joint, and DoD levels. Few have done as much in only 22 years of active service.

Additionally, it was last Friday we welcomed Col. Peter Guisti as our new 375th Operations Group commander, who replaced Col. Terry Ward whose next assignment will be across the street at HQ AMC. We extend a gracious thanks to Terry, Bev, Allie, and Cale for their dedicated service over the last two years, and we extend a warm welcome to Susan, Nick and Caroline to our Scott AFB family as well.

Colonel Giusti is a career airlifter, having logged almost 4,000 hours in the C-37, C-20, C-9, C-141, & C-21A--make no mistake about it, he knows the DV airlift business. He comes to us directly from Suffolk, Va., and Joint Forces Command where he served as the Chief of the Doctrine and Education Group for the Joint War-fighting Center. While there he led the CJCS's joint doctrine program, developing multi-national and U.S. Joint doctrine, officially defining the way the U.S. conducts military operations around the world, on subjects as diverse as Anti-Terrorism, Strategic Communications, and Humanitarian Operations.

We will we putting them both to work right away and use their leadership experience as we are days away from our Cyber Compliance Readiness Inspection from DISA and 36 days away from AMC's first-ever Combined Unit Inspection.

Combined Unit Inspection
The Combined Unit Inspection (CUI) is a new concept from the Air Force; one that incorporates a historically targeted inspection and transforms it into a multi-pronged wing-wide inspection. This idea is meant to consolidate and streamline this process, and the 375 AMW is the test bed. So, in August we'll be seeing the following:

CI - Compliance Inspection
A compliance inspection that assesses areas mandated by law as well as mission areas identified by senior Air Force and MAJCOM leadership as critical or important to assess/assure the health and performance of organizations. Non-compliance with the established directives in these areas could result in significant legal liabilities, penalties, or significant mission impact.

ASEV - Aircrew Standardization and Evaluation Visit
The principal AMC compliance inspection for validating unit aircrew standardization/evaluation and training processes, and to ensure program standardization among command flying units (to include Aeromedical Evacuation Squadrons).

ATSEP - Air Traffic System Evaluation Program
A compliance inspection that evaluates the ability of the air traffic system (air traffic control, airfield management, ATCALS maintenance, and Terminal Instrument Procedures) to meet the standards and operational requirements of military and civil users.

HSI - Health Services Inspection
A compliance inspection, conducted by the Air Force Inspection Agency that assesses the functioning and execution of Air Force Medical Service programs and processes at the local level in order to provide senior leadership with accurate data upon which to base policy decisions. It also assesses the ability of Air Force medical units to fulfill their peacetime and wartime missions, including provision of medical care, success in training and equipping deployable personnel, and support of the host wing mission. For August's inspection, this will only apply to the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.

LCAP - Logistics Compliance and Assessment Program
A compliance inspection that involves performance based evaluations of key logistics areas, processes, ensuring standardized, repeatable, technically compliant process execution in aircraft maintenance, supply, transportation, aerial port, and logistics plans.

SEPWO - Stan/Eval Program for Weather Organizations
This inspection will assess the quality and adequacy of Air Force weather technical support for operations at the wing level. Evaluations are based on compliance with USAF standards as well as MAJCOM and local procedural policies and guidance.
Each area will act as a form of assessment for each respective sub-group and will hold that sub-group to a pre-determined standard of operation. Some standards have been governed by law, some by function, while others are determined by the Air Mobility Command. Regardless each inspection will demand the professionalism and cooperation of each individual working on this base.

As with every other inspection, there is much work to be done, with many more challenges before the inspection deadline, but there is nothing that we cannot handle or "shine" through together. Here at the Scott Campus of Leadership University, we believe that every experience is a leadership event, one in which all members are both student and instructor each and every day. We welcome this challenge, and I am confident our teams will rise to the occasion with 3-7-5 ... Showcase Pride!