Inspector General combats lack of communication Published March 20, 2006 By Lt. Col. Larry Walker 100th Air Refueling Wing Inspector General ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England (USAFENS) -- Someone once said, “listening is the fine art of hearing more than you want to hear.” After nearly a year on the job as the 100th Air Refueling Wing’s Inspector General, I have a newfound appreciation for the difficulties inherent in this statement. A vast majority of cases the IG receives stem from a lack of communication. Whether that communication gap is between a customer service representative and customer, among peers, or within the chain of command, the gap created often leads to issues that find their way to our office. A surprising aspect of the IG’s job is about 50 percent of the cases we work are solved by what we call an “assist” because a majority of our cases encompass us really listening to individuals’ needs, then providing them answers or identifying a source who can get answers to their concerns, then helping them to be heard. In other words, we listen. For productive communication without gaps, it is vital for the sender and the receiver to understand the message being communicated. The responsibility of communication falls on the receiver of the information; the sender must also ensure his message is understood. In the IG world, our highest visibility cases are covered by law, specifically 10 U.S. Code 1034, better known as the Whistleblower Protection Act. This act, along with the related Department of Defense and Air Force Instructions, gives people the right to make lawful communication alleging wrongdoing while protecting them from any adverse administrative actions for making that protected communication. These protections are known as restricted access and reprisal. Restricted access is defined as “boundaries or barriers upon military members through the use of direct or indirect means that reduce protected communications.” Reprisal is “taking or threatening to take an unfavorable personnel action or withholding or threatening to withhold a favorable personnel action on a military member for making or preparing a protected communication.” A recent, extremely important, change to the Inspector General Complaints Resolution Instruction concerning restricted access and reprisal greatly increases the number of people who can receive these “protected communications.” This change significantly adds, among others, flight commanders, command chief master sergeants and first sergeants. This means that lawful communications alleging wrongdoing to people in these positions are now protected by law from restricted access and reprisal actions. The Air Force recognized these positions were the most likely “first line of defense” for members to turn to in making protected communications. Alas, this protection is a dual-edged sword for some supervisors. By protecting these communications, the Air Force also said that preventing a member from making lawful communications to these people is restricted access, a violation of Air Force Instruction and the law. Again, communication is the key for supervisors to avoid falling into the pitfalls of restricted access. If a supervisor says “do not go see the first shirt without seeing me first, follow your chain of command,” that supervisor has restricted access to the first sergeant. However, if the supervisor says “while you always have the right to go see the first shirt, efficiency of command is best served by allowing your chain of command to do its job,” He would not be restricting access. While some may see this as a nuance, it points out the importance of clearly communicating, and then following up with troops to ensure that what they hear is not just “what they want to hear.” It ensures they hear what was meant. By focusing on how you transmit information, and also concentrating on how you receive information, you will become a better supervisor, customer representative, leader or peer, and hopefully save yourself from a potentially painful visit by the IG. We each owe it to every servicemember to listen to their needs and try to assist. By each of you performing this simple act of communicating, you will make my life boring but enrich the lives of those around you. Of course, if communication fails, the IG is always here to help.