AFOTEC earns highest grade in all areas of unit inspection

  • Published
  • By Katherine Gandara
  • Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center

The Air Force Inspection Agency culminated a Unit Effectiveness Inspection of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center with a capstone visit Nov. 14-18. AFOTEC earned “highly effective” ratings in all four major graded areas of managing resources, leading people, improving the unit and executing the mission.

"The Unit Effectiveness Inspection capstone visit is a culminating event in a two-year evaluation process, and the AFIA team validated and verified that we are applying key concepts of compliance, critical self-assessment, and continuous process improvement to our organization’s daily operations," said Maj. Gen. Matthew H. Molloy, AFOTEC commander. “This system is designed to focus inspection efforts based on mission, risk and commander’s priorities of being mission ready is being inspection ready. I’m very proud of the AFOTEC team.”

The AFIA Inspector General team noted that in the area of managing personnel resources, AFOTEC leadership demonstrated exceptional stewardship in forecasting, prioritizing and managing civilian hiring, and managing Air Expeditionary Force deployments for military members. They also commented on AFOTEC’s success in leveraging the Reserve component to mitigate persistent gaps in their space and cyber test teams. 

In the area of leading people, AFOTEC's in-house operational test training program was identified as particularly noteworthy. AFOTEC’s comprehensive training curriculum ensures all newly-assigned members are properly trained through web-based, classroom and hands-on methods of instruction. The inspectors also highlighted AFOTEC's civilian development program as particularly robust, with the organization's executive director taking an active role in mentoring and developing AFOTEC's high-level civilian cadre. 

When it came to improving the unit, the IG team found that AFOTEC had exemplary processes in place to perform its mission. The IG report noted an exceptional data-driven decision mindset throughout the organization. In particular, AFOTEC’s Resource Review Board process was commended,  which analyzes test timeliness data analysis over a 10-year cycle to make risk management decisions on test resourcing based on expected slips and cancellations of programs. Additionally, AFOTEC’s Strategic Plan is noted as having a clearly identified vision, mission, and list of priorities and is in alignment with the Secretary of the Air Forces’ Strategic Master Plan, the Air Force Future Operating Concept, and the Call to the Future strategy.

In the area of executing the mission, the inspection team reported that AFOTEC improved an already solid command and control construct with sound policy, guidance, and mission assurance exercises that ensure synchronization of actions within the organization.

The AFIA IG team recognized three superior AFOTEC performers: Peter Padilla, Tonya Griego and Thomas Teasdale. The IG team also selected seven superior performance teams: facility strategic plan database, knowledge management, requirements review board, training program, security, strategic planning, and cyber testing.

"The scope and depth of the actual inspection was driven by AFOTEC’s past performance over the two-year cycle, Air Force trends, and inputs from our commander,” said Col. Thomas J. Timmerman, AFOTEC Inspector General. “We’re confident our feedback and improvement processes will help us to continue improving and adapting to our changing mission.”

AFOTEC is a direct reporting unit under Headquarters, United States Air Force. It is the Air Force’s independent test agency responsible for testing and evaluating, in operationally realistic environments, new systems being developed for Air Force and multi-service use.