Airman Care Center Resources: Complaint Resolutions When I was selected to join the 194th Wing’s Inspector General Office as the Director of Complaint Resolutions (IGQ) I knew I was in for a big transition. I was moving back into a wing after five years at the Headquarters and my first change in Air Force Specialty Code in 16 years. For my entire career I’ve worked in Public Affairs and enjoyed the opportunity to tell the story of the Airmen I work around day in and day out. This transition would be a big one for me – where my role remains important, but in a much different way. Now that I have settled into this new role, I am using my past experience in PA to share more broadly the services I can provide for our unit when needed. The IGQ is responsible for ensuring our wing complies with AFI 90-301, which affords all Airmen, Civilians, and Contractors with the opportunity to submit a complaint and when warranted be offered a fair and impartial investigation of the complaint (not the complainant) in order to support good order and discipline at all levels of our unit. I am also in charge of sharing information about the fraud, waste, and abuse reporting process and whistleblower protection. As the “Q” it is my role to be visible to Airmen, Civilians, and Contractors to ensure they know who to reach out to if they have an issue and how to do it. I have started that work by updating the traditional fliers you see hanging on bulletin boards and will start more non-traditional methods to get the word out in unit visits in the coming months. One of the largest aspects of my job is to investigate issues of reprisal and restriction and to refer or assist the chain of command in cases outside those two areas. As a neutral fact finder, I don’t make decisions on a case. I provide the Commander with the facts uncovered in an investigation and advise on the options they might consider in how to resolve the complaint. Equally important, it is my duty to ensure all complaints and the individuals involved in them remain confidential and information is shared only with those individuals with a direct need to know. Any communication with me, real or perceived, is a protected communication. You are guaranteed as an Airman, Civilian, or Contractor, the right to meet with me. Preventing you from doing so is considered restriction and is unlawful. Should you choose to meet with me, you also cannot be punished or have actions withheld due to meeting with me; that is considered reprisal. If you feel you have an issue that may need to be addressed, please do not hesitate to meet with me. Your chain of command should certainly have an opportunity to address the issue as well, but some issues require an outside perspective – that is what I’m here to provide. Our first conversation will help us to understand the best path to reach a resolution and you can always move the complaint forward or stop the complaint at that time. In the coming months, I hope to have an opportunity to meet you as a fellow Airman, to increase your awareness of the services I can provide, and to serve as a trusted place to seek resolution if an issue presents itself for you. As a new IG, I am committed to identifying issues that prevent our unit and our Airmen from being at their best and to supporting the command in their efforts to resolve them. By Lt Col Tawny M. Dotson, Ed.D. Director of Complaint Resolutions, 194th Wing Inspector General’s Office Lt. Col. Dotson can be reached by email at tawnym.dotson.mil@mail.mil

Congratulations to Senior Airman Brianna Soulier, 252nd Cyber Operations Group personalist, on her graduation from Airman Leadership School last night. ALS is an important and valuable step in an enlisted Airman’s leadership development.

Senior Airman Nelson Andersen is a member of the Washington Air National Guard’s 242nd Combat Communications Squadron, based at Fairchild Air Force Base outside of Spokane. The squadron provides a variety of communications connections in support of overseas or domestic operations. Andersen serves in the unit’s cyber transportation flight, handling routers, switches, and firewalls, and working with phone, internet, and non-classified internet protocol (NIPR) connections, “making sure traffic gets where it needs to,” he said. Read more here:

Members of the 111th Air Support Operations Squadron and the 116th Air Support Operations Squadron took part in the 2019 Lightning Challenge at Joint Base Lewis-McChord the week of July 29. The Challenge is a four day TACP skills competition made up of 20 two-man teams with operators assigned to Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Air Forces Europe, Air Combat Command, and the Washington Air National Guard. The 111th ASOS team, consisting of Master Sgt. Bridger Morris and Senior Airman Jonathan Alexander, won the Staff Sgt. Jacob Frazier Controller Award for best Joint Terminal Attack Controller team in the controller category. (Air National Guard photos by Airman 1st Class Mckenzie Airhart)

Members of the 194th Wing participated in the inaugural 194th Force Support Squadron 3K HYDRO-DASH-RUN over the August drill weekend. (Air National Guard photos by Senior Airman Timothy J. Tweet)

Congratulations to members of the 111th Air Support Operations Squadron who took home a top award in a recent competition of TACP Airmen from throughout the Air Force. The 111th ASOS team, consisting of Master Sgt. Bridger Morris and Senior Airman Jonathan Alexander, won the award in the 2019 Lightning Challenge, a four day competition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord that brought together TACP Airmen for events that tested the technical skills, physical ability and mental fortitude of the participants during the week of July 29. Read more here:

"An added benefit for the JTACs and pilots is getting a chance they don’t often have and talk about their missions and how they can better support one another. 'We get the opportunity to actually sit down with them, look them in the eye, start talking shop and figure out how we are going to solve any tactical problem,' said U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Cory Welton, 116th Air Support Operations Squadron, Washington Air National Guard superintendent."

The 194th has a new Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Allan Lawson. Here’s just a little bit about him, where he comes from and what he hopes to do for the Wing.

Guardsmen from the 111th Air Support Operations Squadron worked with the United Kingdom Air Support Operations Center during exercise Agile Hatchet July 20-27 in Salsbury Plain, England. Agile Hatchet is a multi-national command and control exercise that allows the 111th ASOS to integrate with NATO U.K. forces.

The start of another day of competition for our TACPs in the Lightning Challenge. It’s been a long week of long days for them, but they are still going strong.

Tactical Air Control Party Airmen from across the Air Force are on Joint Base Lewis-McChord this week to compete in the TACP competition, Lighting Challenge. Two of teams are from our very own 111th and 116th ASOS. Not only are they representing the 194th Wing, but they are the only Air National Guard representation in the competition. Here is a few shots of our Airmen in action. We know they will do great.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/333876/194th-provides-patriot-north-with-big-picture

“At the heart of the Airman Care Center is a concern for the relationships of our members. One way those relationships are supported is through chaplain-led marriage retreats, which offer a weekend reprieve for busy Airmen to restore and refresh perhaps their most important relationship. The next retreat is being held from 23-25 August at the beautiful Sun Mountain Lodge in Winthrop, WA, and features a curriculum new to the 194th Wing: Prepare and Enrich. This curriculum was developed from decades of research on what makes relationships happy and healthy, and its modular format allows facilitators to customize the material to the needs of Airmen. As such, the August retreat will explore how to make a marriage thrive in today’s busy world, who we are in relationship, and how to have a lot more fun. Meals and lodging are provided, while transportation and childcare are not. To sign up contact me at philip.m.lindholm.mil@mail.mil.” - Chaplin (Capt.) Philip Lindholm.