JUNE 7, 2017, FORT BELVOIR, Va. – The annual conference for Army inspectors general (IG) was held here April 25 through 27, bringing together more than 150 IGs from Army commands around the world to update them on relevant topics and to reinforce their agency’s best practices.
During the conference, which took place in Fort Belvoir’s Humphreys Hall, they collaborated to produce an Army inspection plan that synchronized IG inspections and eliminated any duplicate inspections concurrently administered throughout the Army.
The symposium also included briefings and updates on topics such as an update on the whistleblower reprisal, the Army’s transgender policy, and a demonstration of SIMmersion, a new software program that IGs will use when conducting interviews and investigations.
Sgt. Maj. Brian Meisner, who attended the conference for the second year in a row, said the event was beneficial because he will take back what he learned and share it with the unit’s noncommissioned officers who handle much of the caseload in his assistance and inspections divisions.
“It’s been very informative learning what other [IG units] are doing and looking at [IG] trends,” said Meisner, the assistant IG for U.S. Army North at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. “I can take back the best practices I’ve learned here and help my unit to better do things the way they should be done.”
Col. Robert Duke said the conference served as an excellent chance to network with other IGs and provide useful feedback to one another.
“[The conference is] a good chance to hear from some of the senior leaders in the Army and hear about some of the trends — tactics, techniques and procedure-wise — that are occurring across the IG enterprise,” said Duke, the command IG for the Kansas National Guard in Topeka, Kan. “It is also a chance to exchange ideas with fellow IGs and follow up on the various aspects of what we do.”
The senior leaders Duke mentioned were Kenneth P. Moorefield, the deputy IG for the Special Plans and Operations Division at the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey. Moorefield said it is vital that IGs across all agencies understand one another and their respective roles, missions and responsibilities. The conference, he added, is an important part of fostering that goal.
“This conference is an opportunity to develop a collegial and much better-informed dialogue [among IGs] and to determine what we can do better to communicate in the future,” said Moorefield. “I find it very impressive that the Army IG brings together their personnel from around the world … and they’re able to have an intensive dialogue over a three-day period and address so many issues. I’m not sure that you could do it any more effectively than the way they are doing it, and in fact, I’ve never seen it done any better.”
In his remarks, Dailey spoke passionately about the current state of the Army and how the organization must evolve in order to remain an effective military force. John R. Leonard, chief of the Operations and Security Branch for the Office of the Inspector General, said Dailey was “probably the best guest speaker I’ve ever heard. Period.”
The conference concluded with the announcement of Sgt. 1st Class Deneva Payne, the assistant IG for the Combined Arms Support Command at Fort Lee, Va., as the IG NCO of the Year.
By Dustin Perry, U.S. Army Inspector General Agency