Looking at the Big Picture of a Small Office’s Typical Year

The Office of the Inspector General has four pillars that guide all of Team Exchange’s work: Inspections, Assistance, Teach and Train and Investigations. Everything we do connects to one of those pillars either directly or indirectly. You may have read articles that delve into the details of a pillar or a specific project. Let’s take a step back and look at the big picture of what this small office does in a typical year.

Our Assistance efforts are focused on the IG hotline. In FY24, the hotline opened 515 cases from complaints submitted online, via phone or by snail- and e-mail. These cases come from associates, customers, other IG offices and anonymous people. Issues range from needing help getting a refund for an online purchase to reporting fraud or inappropriate behavior at work. In FY25, we have opened 412 cases as of mid-August, a considerable increase from last year. We strive to close at least 80% of cases in under 30 days, and many are closed much faster. We have closed 375 of this year’s cases already.

We have two primary efforts under Inspections: Region-specific inspections and firearm counter inspections. Periodically, we also conduct inspections of headquarters directorates’ operations. In recent years, we have increased the number of firearms counters we inspect in a year. In 2024, we inspected 20 firearm counters, focusing on those that had more significant problems the previous year. This year, we are inspecting approximately half of the firearms counters. Last year, we conducted inspections across the Europe Region and inspected the Records Management processes at the headquarters. This year, we inspected 10 locations in the Western Region, examining a variety of topics including barber shops, self-service stores and Express stores.

Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull, center, and Exchange Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Master Sgt. Rich Martinez, left, with members of the Office of the Inspector General team. From left: Chief Martinez; Assistant Inspector General Chenelle Husband; Senior Vice President, Audit and IG Stephen Groll; Assistant IG Ashley Guerra; Chief, IG Inspections Faith Lee; Mr. Shull; Chief of Inspections Lt, Col. Roshun Steele; Assistant IG Yvette Baptiste; and Vice President Inspector General Will Davis (VP). (Not pictured: Assistant IG LaRon Pope, Senior Inspector General Paul Martinez and Assistant IG Robynne Shumate.) 

Our Teach and Train efforts stay relatively consistent from year to year. We brief during the onboarding process for new hires and at the new GMs’ orientation. As part of the Self-Assessment Program, we provide instruction on how to execute a self-assessment, and we collect and consolidate the information from the directorates. We also provide whistleblower protection training, as needed, and share information via Exchange Post articles like this one. In collaboration with Store Operations, we provide training to firearms associates based on inspection findings.

Investigations is our least active pillar as it only comes into play when Director/CEO Tom Shull or Senior Vice President, Audit and IG Stephen Groll directs us to conduct an investigation. These can stem from hotline complaints, emails to Mr. Shull or requests from outside agencies.

Although the IG office does not directly generate any revenue, our efforts help ensure that the Exchange is operating efficiently and effectively, and we are not losing money through fraud, waste or abuse. We are here to help make the Exchange better for everyone. If you have any suggestions for inspection topics, please reach out to us. IG Public Site – Home