Office of the Inspector General

Army Guard: Soldiers must submit complaints to an IG within one year of learning of the alleged problem or wrongdoing, or within three years since the date of the problem or wrongdoing. National Guard Bureau-Army and Department of the Army IGs may accept complaints submitted three to five years after the alleged problem or wrongdoing when extraordinary circumstances justify the complainant’s delay in reporting the allegation or issue—or in cases of special Army interest. Any complaint over five years old requires the approval of The Inspector General of the Army.

Air Guard: Airmen must submit complaints to an IG within one year of learning of the alleged problem or wrongdoing. IGs may accept and refer complaints that exceed the above time requirements if the complaint is of special Air Force interest, or the complainant is able to demonstrate that he/she was unable to meet the time standards due to unforeseen or extraordinary circumstances, and such circumstances justify the delay. Complainants must submit IG complaints within one year of learning of the alleged wrong. IG complaints not reported within one year will normally be dismissed unless the complainant is able to demonstrate he/she was unable to meet the time requirements due to unforeseen or extraordinary circumstances and such circumstances justify the delay. IG complaints not reported within one year may seriously impede the gathering of evidence and testimony.

All military and civilian members have a duty to promptly report gross mismanagement; a violation of law, policy, procedures, or regulations; an injustice; abuse of authority, inappropriate conduct, or misconduct; and a deficiency or like condition, to an appropriate supervisor or commander, to an IG or other appropriate inspector, or through an established grievance channel. Complainants should attempt to resolve issues and personal complaints at the lowest level possible using command channels before addressing them to a higher level or to the IG. The immediate supervisory command chain can often resolve complaints more quickly and effectively than a higher level not familiar with the situation. The IG system should be used when referral to the command chain would be futile or there is fear of reprisal. The IG may dismiss a complaint if, given the nature of the alleged wrong and the passage of time, there is reasonable probability that insufficient information can be gathered to make a determination, and/or no special California National Guard interest exist to justify investigating the matter. IGs may also dismiss a complaint if there is no recognizable wrong or violation of law, regulation, or policy.

You may submit your complaint to any IG at any level including the Inspector General, Department of Defense (IG, DoD). However, AR 20-1, and AFI 90-301 , encourages service members to resolve complaints at the lowest level. Therefore, a good “rule of thumb” is to determine the lowest level commander (e.g., company/battalion commander, Numbered Air Force commander, or Major Command 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 that have established grievance channels, appeal channels, or methods of redress. 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.

For Army Inspector General assistance, complete a DA Form 1559. For Air Force Inspector General, complete an AF 102. Mail or bring it to the Inspector General Office. If you do not have access to this form, any legibly handwritten or typed letter is acceptable. Please include your complete mailing address and daytime telephone number so we may contact you for clarification. In Addition, be sure to state the specific action you are requesting and include the following:

1. The details as to what occurred to better inform us of what happened.
2. Who you have contacted to try and resolve the issue (example: name of person in chain-of-command, name of supervisor, etc.).
3. Copies of any documentation pertaining to the complaint.