IG complaint process

Who may file Air Force IG complaints?

Air Force IGs receive and process complaints from any source (including anonymous) regarding Air Force operations, organizations, functions, and personnel. However, it's always best for the actual "victim" or person who witnessed the alleged wrongdoing to file the complaint. If you have a concern and are unsure if you should file a complaint, contact an IG for guidance.

What types of complaints are appropriate?

Violations of law or Air Force instructions, Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA), mismanagement, injustices, and deficiencies should be reported through the appropriate grievance channels - in other words, all acts of wrongdoing. The subject of your complaint must be an Air Force program or person to justify investigation. Bear in mind, however, the fact that you may disagree with your supervisor(s) over management styles or have what you believe is a "personality conflict" does not constitute an injustice or mismanagement. If you are not sure your concern is a reportable matter, contact an IG for guidance.

When are IG complaints appropriate?

Individuals should attempt to resolve FWA issues and personal complaints at the lowest possible level, using command channels before elevating them to the next higher level or to the IG. Complaints must be promptly filed within IG, command, or other grievance channels. IGs may dismiss a complaint if there is no recognizable wrong or violation of law, regulation, or policy. Also, complaints more than 60 days old will normally be dismissed, unless there are extraordinary circumstances or special Air Force interests to justify an investigation. Remember, the sooner a complaint is filed, the better the chances are to resolve the matter.

Where (i.e., "With whom") should complaints be filed?

You may submit your complaint to any IG at any level, including the MAJCOM (AETC/IGQ); Secretary of the Air Force Inspector General (SAF/IGQ); and the Inspector General, Department of Defense (IG, DoD). However, AFI 90-301 encourages IGs to resolve complaints at the lowest level. Therefore, a good "rule of thumb" is to determine the lowest level commander who can "fix" the problem and submit your complaint to that commander's IG. If you believe that commander is part of the problem, then submit your complaint to the IG of the next higher commander. You should generally start by submitting your complaint to your local installation IG, who can provide guidance and determine if your complaint needs to be "elevated" to a higher level IG or placed in a different grievance channel.

The IG does not generally handle matters covered under other AFIs or directives. The following table (extracted from AFI 90-301 Table 2.9) lists appropriate referral agencies with programs for redress of the complaints indicated. (The table does not list every type of complaint that can be handled by other appeal channels.) If a policy directive or instruction provides a specific means of appeal or redress of a grievance, you must exhaust those appeal procedures before submitting a complaint to an IG. Further, you must be able to allege that the process was mishandled or handled prejudicially before an IG will process a complaint of mishandling. Mere dissatisfaction with the outcome of an appeal is not sufficient basis for an IG investigation.

How should complaints be filed?

If you believe you are unable to resolve your complaint in command channels, review the table to determine if the complaint should be filed with the IG. You may file a complaint if you reasonably believe inappropriate conduct has occurred or a violation of law, policy, procedure, or regulation has been committed.

Complete the personnel data information on an AF form 102 (typed or printed legibly) so it may be easily reproduced.

Briefly outline the facts and relevant background information related to the issue or complaint on the AF Form 102.

List the allegations of wrongdoing BRIEFLY, in general terms and provide supporting narrative detail and documents later when interviewed. Allegations should be written as bullets and should answer:

1.Who committed the violation?

2.What violation was committed?

3.What law, regulation, procedure, or policy was violated?

4.When did the violation occur?

Submit the completed AF Form 102 to any Air Force IG and setup a follow-on meeting to discuss the complaint.

If the IG is named in the complaint, contact the next higher level IG.

You are encouraged to discuss your concern with your local IG. However, if you feel you cannot discuss your concern with your local installation IG, you may contact higher-level IGs. The addresses and telephone numbers for your local IG, the AETC IG, SAF IG , and DoD IG complaint offices are available here.