The Department of the Air Force Inspection Agency (DAFIA) operates as a U.S. Air Force

Field Operating Agency This is a list of Field Operating Agencies (FOA) in the United States Department of the Air Force that are active. FOAs report directly to a functional manager in either the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force or the Air Staff (United States) ...

under the direction of the Air Force Inspector General. It provides independent assessments of acquisition, nuclear surety, operations, logistics, support, and healthcare to Air Force senior leadership. Additionally, the agency identifies deficiencies and recommends improvements for accomplishing peacetime and wartime missions. It also evaluates Air Force activities, personnel, and policies, and provides legal and compliance oversight of all Air Force-level Field Operating Agencies and

Direct Reporting Unit The structure of the United States Air Force refers to the unit designators and organizational hierarchy of the United States Air Force, which starts at the most senior commands. The senior headquarters of the Department of the Air Force, Headqua ...

Organization

The DAFIA consists of six directorates: Enterprise Support (ET), Inspections (ID), Medical Operations (SG), Mission Support (MS), Nuclear Inspections (NI), and Inspection Policy and Requirements (IR). The Inspections Directorate schedules, coordinates, and executes Compliance Inspections, Nuclear Surety Inspection Oversight assessments, and conducts Compliance Inspections of all Field Operating Agencies and Direct Reporting Units. The Medical Operations Directorate performs Health Services Inspections of all Air Force active duty, Reserve, and Guard medical units worldwide in partnership with acknowledged expert civilian accrediting agencies. The Mission Support Directorate provides administrative and logistical support for DAFIA.

History

The DAFIA (formerly, AFIA) traces its history back to 1927 with the establishment of the Inspection Division under the Chief of the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

. The division performed technical inspections in support of flight safety objectives. By the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, this function was aligned under the Office of the Air Inspector. In 1948, after the Air Force became a separate service, the Air Force chief of staff designated the Office of the Inspector General to oversee all inspection and safety functions. In the 1950s, all activities were consolidated at Norton Air Force Base,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, in the 1002d Inspector General Group commanded by the Deputy Inspector General for Inspection and Safety. On 31 December 1971, the Air Force Inspection and Safety Center was activated, replacing the 1002d IG Group. In August 1991, the center was divided into the Air Force Inspection Agency and the Air Force Safety Agency (now the

Air Force Safety Center The Air Force Safety Center is a Field Operating Agency with headquarters at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. Mission Safeguarding Airmen – Protecting Resources – Preserving Combat Capability. The Air Force Safety Center develops, implements, ...

). The Air Force Inspection Agency and the Safety Center moved to

Kirtland Air Force Base Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, in July 1993, due to the closure of Norton Air Force Base. In February 2021, the Agency realigned Oversight/Evaluation Directorate’s resources into the Inspection and Nuclear Inspection directorates. The realignment enabled organizational efficiencies and postured the Agency to better address Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF) and Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) priorities on readiness and lethality while minimizing risk to the nuclear enterprise. Additionally, this reorganization realigned SAF/IG’s inspections policy directorate to fall under DAFIA and established the Inspection Policy and Requirements Directorate, Operating Location–Alpha, located at the Pentagon, Washington, DC.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Air Force Inspection Agency Web Page
{{USAF Field Operating Agencies Inspection Agency Military in New Mexico