McChord welcomes NSI inspectors

  • Published
  • By Airman Leah Young
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  The 62nd Airlift Wing welcomes members from the Air Mobility Command Inspector General Team and the Air Force Inspection Agency as they arrive June 1, to conduct the 62nd AW's Nuclear Surety Inspection.

The teams will evaluate the five areas of the Wing's Nuclear Surety Program throughout the inspection: Management and Administration, the Personnel Reliability Program, Tools, Test, Tiedown and Handling Equipment, Safety, and Logistics Movement, said Mr. Tom Thompson, 62nd AW Nuclear Surety Manager.

Management and Administration will look at wing, group and squadron Leadership involvement in the program. The Personnel Reliability Program area will focus on the 4th Airlift Squadron, the 62nd Medical Squadron, and the 62nd Force Support Squadron. Tools, Test, Tiedown and Handling Equipment will examine tiedown devices and chains, maintained by the 62nd Aerial Port Squadron. Safety will focus on compliance with nuclear safety standards and the Nuclear Surety Managers' management of the program. The Logistics Movement area will evaluate the Wing's ability to execute Prime Nuclear Airlift Force missions, including the 4th Airlift Squadron flying the mission, the 62nd Maintenance Group selecting and preparing the aircraft, and the Command Post's role in monitoring mission movements, Mr. Thompson said.

"Our goal is to leave the inspectors with the sense that we're leading the Air Force in strengthening the nuclear enterprise," said Maj. Casey Collier, 62nd AW Nuclear Security Manager. "We're aiming for five out of five Outstanding ratings in the major graded areas, and I believe we're ready to achieve that."

The 62nd AW's Nuclear Surety Program has won an Air Mobility Command and Air Force Safety Award eleven of the last twelve years.

"As long as nuclear weapons exist, the United States must sustain a safe, secure, and effective nuclear arsenal - to maintain strategic stability with other major powers, deter potential adversaries, and reassure our allies and partners of our security commitments to them," said the Honorable Robert Gates, United States secretary of defense.

The administrative phase of the inspection is scheduled for June 1 - 7.