A team effort: IPAC sets high standards for MCAAT
USMC News
Story by Cpl. Trevor M. Carlee
Story Identification Number: 200321018131
CAMP KINSER, Okinawa, Japan(Feb. 7, 2003) -- The Installation Personnel Administration Center here recently achieved the highest score, 97.85, throughout all of Japan for the Marine Corps Administration Analysis Team inspection.
IPAC consists of six different sections that are responsible for the overall achievement. The six sections consist of leave orders, permanent change of station orders, temporary additional duty orders, new joins, legal services, internal audits and customer service. According to Master Sgt. Kenneth M. McTyer, internal audits staff noncommissioned officer in charge, IPAC, 3rd Force Service Support Group, all IPAC sections contribute in one way or another to getting Marines paid.
"It's like we have one body of many parts and no one part will work without the other," McTyer explained.
According to Chief Warrant Officer-3 Steven D. Wilde, officer in charge, IPAC, Headquarters and Service Battalion, the main thing IPAC is recognized for is making sure Marines get paid.
"(Manpower Information Systems Support Office-27) provides great support through their server, which we use to pay Marines," Wilde added.
In order to pass the Marine Corps Administration Analysis Team inspection, IPAC Marines went through a year's worth of preparations and practice inspections, according to Wilde.
"We went out to (Camp Pendleton) a little over a year ago for a workshop," the Annapolis, Md., native said. "They told us about major changes that needed to be made before the inspection."
Wilde added that during the year prior to the inspection, they assigned a Marine to hold courtesy inspections. The Marine is trained on what he needs to look for and then conducts three inspections to inform and train the Marines on what they need to fix.
In addition to the three courtesy inspections, Marine Corps Administration Analysis Team makes a Mobile Training Visit six months prior to the inspection.
During their visit, they perform a practice inspection and let the Marines know if they would have passed or failed and what they needed to improve.
This year, they visited only three and a half months prior to the inspection, but Wilde said his sections were still able to fix all of their problems in that amount of time.
"We knew we could fix any problems in three months. We just had to work real hard and sometimes real late," Wilde explained.
The IPAC here is responsible for approximately 3,800 Marines in 18 different functional areas. The inspectors spent a week rifling through files of information in those 18 functional areas, according to McTyer.
They go through a step-by-step process, pulling past and present cases, looking for discrepancies, such as Marines not getting paid correctly or on time, or Marines not being properly charged for leave taken.
"They went through our files with a fine-toothed comb," McTyer added.
The inspection is held once every three years and the team to inspect usually consists of a few officers and staff noncommissioned officers, according to Wilde.
The team that inspected this year was comprised of two officers and four staff noncommissioned officers.
The team begins its inspection on a Monday and continues throughout the week until Friday. The Marines at IPAC continued to do their jobs throughout the inspection, and were instructed to stop what they were doing only if the inspectors required assistance.
"Our Marines work real hard and they responded well to the entire situation," Wilde stated. "In addition to our Marines' help, the battalion adjutants played a key role in helping us achieve our goal as well as the endurance of the (Marines') families throughout the long hours we worked."
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