Reference & AI

DAFI 90-301

Air Force

INSPECTOR GENERAL COMPLAINTS RESOLUTION

Reviewed by Guilherme Correia, active-duty U.S. Air Force

DAFI 90-301, "INSPECTOR GENERAL COMPLAINTS RESOLUTION", is a Department of the Air Force publication, dated January 4, 2024.

Published

January 4, 2024

OPR

SAF/IG

Headquarters, Department of the Air Force

Official document

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DAFI 90-301 — index record

NumberDAFI 90-301
TitleINSPECTOR GENERAL COMPLAINTS RESOLUTION
PublishedJanuary 4, 2024
Certified currentJanuary 4, 2024
Guidance memorandumApril 29, 2026
Office of primary responsibilitySAF/IG
Issued byHeadquarters, Department of the Air Force
Status on the indexCurrent
Last index actionGM, May 1, 2026
Source indexAir Force e-Publishing
Index last readOctober 20, 2026

Copied from Air Force e-Publishing (index). The publication itself is the authority; this page does not summarize or interpret it. Verify the current edition on the index before acting.

From the publication itself

Text below is lifted mechanically from the official PDF (169 pages, read October 20, 2026) with no editing or interpretation. Quote the document, not this page.

Purpose, in the publication’s words

This instruction implements Department of the Air Force Policy Directive (DAFPD) 90-3, Inspector General. This publication applies to all Regular Air Force (RegAF) and United States Space Force (USSF) personnel, Department of the Air Force civilian employees, Air Force Reserve (AFR) personnel, Air National Guard (ANG) personnel, and the Civil Air Patrol when conducting missions as the official Air Force Auxiliary. Failure to observe the prohibition against reprisal in paragraph 5.2. or the prohibitions against restriction in paragraph 6.2. by Regular Air Force military members, Air Force Reserve military members on active duty or inactive duty for training, and Air National Guard military members in Title 10 status is a violation of Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice or Article 132 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Department of the Air Force civilian employees who violate these provisions are subject to administrative or disciplinary action. Air National Guard personnel not in federal status are subject

Summary of changes, as printed

This publication has been substantially revised and needs to be completely reviewed. Major changes include the inclusion of US Space Force and updated National Guard responsibilities; updates guidance on reporting complaints against colonels; adds the IG oath; clarifies procedures when there is a perceived conflict of interest; introduces the “tentative conclusion letter” and associated procedures for all investigations recommending a substantiated finding; updates collection, notification and reporting of adverse information; creates processes for screening IG records for the Defense Sexual Assault Advocate Certification Program (D-SAACP) as well as personnel selected for IG positions; clarifies and updates procedures for addressing Department of Defense Hotlines cases; clarifies and updates procedures for marking IG records, responding to official use and Freedom of Information Act requests. Adds reporting and tracking requirements of William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, Section 554.

Contents

  1. Chapter 1—THE INSPECTOR GENERAL COMPLAINTS RESOLUTION PROGRAMp. 12
  2. Section 1A—The Department of the Air Force Inspector General Complaints Resolution Programp. 12
  3. Section 1B—Authority of The Inspector General (TIG) of the Department of the Air Forcep. 13
  4. Section 1D—Roles and Responsibilitiesp. 16
  5. Section 1E—The Wing IG Programp. 31
  6. Section 1F—Commanders and the Inspector General Programp. 32
  7. Section 1G—Administering the IG Complaints Resolution Programp. 34
  8. Section 1H—Training Requirementsp. 36
  9. Section 1I—Wear of the Inspector General Badgep. 37
  10. Section 1J—Education of Department of the Air Force Personnelp. 37
  11. Chapter 2—FILING AN IG COMPLAINTp. 39
  12. Section 2A—Filing a Complaintp. 39
  13. Section 2B—Complainant’s Rights and Responsibilitiesp. 40
  14. Section 2C—How to File an IG Complaintp. 44
  15. Chapter 3—MANAGING IG COMPLAINTSp. 46
  16. Section 3A—Introduction to the Complaints Resolution Processp. 46
  17. Section 3B—Step 1: Contact (< 5 Days)p. 49
  18. Section 3C—Step 2: Analysis (≤ 20 Days) Conducting a Complaint Analysisp. 53
  19. Section 3D—Step 3: Tasking: Transfer, Assist, Refer, Dismiss, or Investigate (≤ 5 Days)p. 68
  20. Chapter 4—IG INVESTIGATIONSp. 77
  21. Section 4A—Procedures for Initiating an Investigationp. 77
  22. Section 4B—Step 4: Pre-fact Finding (≤ 5 Days, see Table 3.1)p. 79
  23. Section 4C—Step 5: Fact Finding (≤ 21 Days)p. 81
  24. Section 4D—Step 6: Writing the Report (≤ 34 Days)p. 89
  25. Section 4E—Step 7: IG Quality Review (≤ 7 Days)p. 92
  26. Section 4F—Step 8: Technical Review (≤ 3 Days)p. 92
  27. Section 4G—Step 9: Legal Review (≤ 10 Days)p. 93
  28. Section 4H—Step 10: Reworking the Report (≤ 5 Days)p. 94
  29. Section 4I—Step 11: Completing the Case (≤ 7 Days)p. 95
  30. Section 4J—Step 12: Higher Headquarters Review (≤ 23 Days, see Table 3.1)p. 98
  31. Section 4K—Step 13: SAF/IGQ Review (≤ 5 Days)p. 100
  32. Chapter 5—REPRISAL COMPLAINTSp. 101
  33. Section 1034 (10 USC § 1034)p. 101
  34. Chapter 6—RESTRICTION COMPLAINTSp. 111
  35. Chapter 8—COMPLAINTS AGAINST SENIOR OFFICIALSp. 126
  36. Chapter 9—DOD HOTLINE COMPLAINTSp. 132
  37. Chapter 10—IG RECORDS MAINTENANCE AND RELEASEp. 142
  38. Section 10A—Directive, Terms and Overviewp. 142
  39. Section 10B—Maintenance of IG Recordsp. 142
  40. Section 10C—Restrictions for Use of IG Recordsp. 145
  41. Section 10D—Official Use Requests (OUR)p. 145
  42. Section 10E—Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Requestsp. 148
  43. Section 10F—Making Release Determinationsp. 148
  44. Attachment 1—GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING INFORMATIONp. 150
  45. Attachment 2—WITNESS INTERVIEW FORMATp. 174
  46. Attachment 3—SUBJECT INTERVIEW FORMATp. 180
  47. Attachment 4—SUSPECT INTERVIEW FORMATp. 186
  48. Attachment 5—PRIVACY ACT STATEMENTp. 193
  49. Attachment 6—QUARTERLY PROHIBITED ACTIVITY REPORT TO DIG (DIEM)p. 195
All 120 contents entries
  1. Chapter 1—THE INSPECTOR GENERAL COMPLAINTS RESOLUTION PROGRAMp. 12
  2. Section 1A—The Department of the Air Force Inspector General Complaints Resolution Programp. 12
  3. 1.1. Overviewp. 12
  4. 1.2. The IG Complaints Resolution Programp. 12
  5. 1.3. Relationships Within the IG Systemp. 12
  6. Section 1B—Authority of The Inspector General (TIG) of the Department of the Air Forcep. 13
  7. 1.4. Delegated Statutory Authorityp. 13
  8. 1.5. Investigations not Covered by the Authority of the IG Systemp. 13
  9. 1.6. Authority to Direct Investigationsp. 13
  10. 1.7. Authority to Conduct Investigationsp. 14
  11. 1.8. Authorized IG Positionsp. 14
  12. 1.9. Authority for IG Access to Records/Documentsp. 14
  13. 1.10. Program Benefitsp. 15
  14. 1.11. Mission Focusp. 15
  15. Section 1D—Roles and Responsibilitiesp. 16
  16. 1.12. SAF/IG Responsibilitiesp. 16
  17. 1.13. SAF/IGQ Responsibilitiesp. 17
  18. 1.14. SAF/IGS Responsibilitiesp. 18
  19. 1.15. SAF/IGX Responsibilitiesp. 19
  20. 1.17. Deployed Forcesp. 21
  21. 1.18. Center/Host/Wing/Delta IG Responsibilitiesp. 22
  22. 1.19. Judge Advocates (JA) at every level assist IGs by:p. 25
  23. 1.20. The Judge Advocate General (AF/JA) assists SAF/IG by:p. 25
  24. 1.23. Equal Opportunity (EO) Office personnel at every level assist IGs by:p. 27
  25. 1.26. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) supports SAF/IG by:p. 28
  26. 1.27. The Air Force Audit Agency (AFAA) assists SAF/IG by:p. 29
  27. 1.28. The Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Public Affairs (SAF/PA)p. 29
  28. 1.30. The Surgeon General of the Air Force (AF/SG) assists SAF/IG by:p. 30
  29. Section 1E—The Wing IG Programp. 31
  30. 1.34. Wing/Delta IG Program Backgroundp. 31
  31. 1.35. Establishment of the Wing/Delta IG Programp. 31
  32. 1.36. Wing/Delta IG Organizationp. 31
  33. Section 1F—Commanders and the Inspector General Programp. 32
  34. 1.37. Assigning Additional Duties to IGsp. 32
  35. 1.38. How the IG System Helps the Commanderp. 32
  36. 1.39. Roles of the IG in Relation to the Commanderp. 32
  37. 1.40. Commander Support of the IG Systemp. 33
  38. Section 1G—Administering the IG Complaints Resolution Programp. 34
  39. 1.41. Commander Directed Investigations (CDIs)p. 34
  40. 1.42. Administrative Procedurep. 34
  41. 1.43. Data Managementp. 35
  42. Section 1H—Training Requirementsp. 36
  43. 1.44. IG Training Requirementsp. 36
  44. Section 1I—Wear of the Inspector General Badgep. 37
  45. Section 1J—Education of Department of the Air Force Personnelp. 37
  46. 1.45. Department of the Air Force Inspector General Duty Badgep. 37
  47. 1.46. Wear Criteriap. 37
  48. 1.47. Educating Department of the Air Force Personnel on the IG Systemp. 37
  49. 1.48. IG Oathp. 38
  50. Chapter 2—FILING AN IG COMPLAINTp. 39
  51. Section 2A—Filing a Complaintp. 39
  52. 2.1. Procedure for Filing an IG Complaintp. 39
  53. 2.2. Approval of Official Travel to Submit Complaintsp. 39
  54. Section 2B—Complainant’s Rights and Responsibilitiesp. 40
  55. 2.3. Complaints Resolved Through Other Agencies and Grievance Channelsp. 40
  56. 2.4. Complainant’s Rightsp. 40
  57. 2.5. Complainants’ Responsibilitiesp. 42
  58. 2.6. Removing Complaints from the IG Systemp. 43
  59. 2.7. Requests to Delay Command or Personnel Actionsp. 43
  60. Section 2C—How to File an IG Complaintp. 44
  61. 2.8. Procedures for Filing an IG Complaintp. 44
  62. Chapter 3—MANAGING IG COMPLAINTSp. 46
  63. Section 3A—Introduction to the Complaints Resolution Processp. 46
  64. 3.1. Overviewp. 46
  65. 3.2. Protection of Informationp. 46
  66. 3.3. Procedures for Managing IG Complaintsp. 47
  67. 3.4. The Complaint Resolution Processp. 48
  68. Section 3B—Step 1: Contact (< 5 Days)p. 49
  69. 3.5. Procedure for Receiving Complaintsp. 49
  70. 3.6. Higher Headquarters Taskingsp. 50
  71. 3.7. Complaint Intake Proceduresp. 50
  72. Section 3C—Step 2: Analysis (≤ 20 Days) Conducting a Complaint Analysisp. 53
  73. 3.8. Procedure for Complaint Analysisp. 53
  74. 3.9. Conducting a Complaint Analysisp. 53
  75. 3.10. Complaint Analysis Proceduresp. 54
  76. 3.11. Documenting a Complaint Analysisp. 54
  77. 3.12. Processing Allegations/Issues of a Special Naturep. 55
  78. 3.13. Other Agencies and Grievance Channelsp. 62
  79. Section 3D—Step 3: Tasking: Transfer, Assist, Refer, Dismiss, or Investigate (≤ 5 Days)p. 68
  80. 3.14. Transferring a Complaintp. 68
  81. 3.15. Procedures for Transferring a Complaintp. 69
  82. 3.16. Procedures When Another Appeal or Grievance Channel Existsp. 70
  83. 3.17. Assisting a Complainantp. 70
  84. 3.18. Procedures for Assisting a Complainantp. 70
  85. 3.19. Referring a Complaintp. 71
  86. 3.20. Procedures for Referring a Complaintp. 71
  87. 3.21. Dismissing a Complaintp. 73
  88. 3.22. How to Dismiss a Complaintp. 76
  89. Chapter 4—IG INVESTIGATIONSp. 77
  90. Section 4A—Procedures for Initiating an Investigationp. 77
  91. 4.1. Overviewp. 77
  92. 4.2. Investigating a Complaintp. 77
  93. Section 4B—Step 4: Pre-fact Finding (≤ 5 Days, see Table 3.1)p. 79
  94. Section 4C—Step 5: Fact Finding (≤ 21 Days)p. 81
  95. Section 4D—Step 6: Writing the Report (≤ 34 Days)p. 89
  96. Section 4E—Step 7: IG Quality Review (≤ 7 Days)p. 92
  97. Section 4F—Step 8: Technical Review (≤ 3 Days)p. 92
  98. Section 4G—Step 9: Legal Review (≤ 10 Days)p. 93
  99. Section 4H—Step 10: Reworking the Report (≤ 5 Days)p. 94
  100. Section 4I—Step 11: Completing the Case (≤ 7 Days)p. 95
  101. Section 4J—Step 12: Higher Headquarters Review (≤ 23 Days, see Table 3.1)p. 98
  102. Section 4K—Step 13: SAF/IGQ Review (≤ 5 Days)p. 100
  103. Chapter 5—REPRISAL COMPLAINTSp. 101
  104. Section 1034 (10 USC § 1034)p. 101
  105. Chapter 6—RESTRICTION COMPLAINTSp. 111
  106. Chapter 8—COMPLAINTS AGAINST SENIOR OFFICIALSp. 126
  107. Chapter 9—DOD HOTLINE COMPLAINTSp. 132
  108. Chapter 10—IG RECORDS MAINTENANCE AND RELEASEp. 142
  109. Section 10A—Directive, Terms and Overviewp. 142
  110. Section 10B—Maintenance of IG Recordsp. 142
  111. Section 10C—Restrictions for Use of IG Recordsp. 145
  112. Section 10D—Official Use Requests (OUR)p. 145
  113. Section 10E—Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Requestsp. 148
  114. Section 10F—Making Release Determinationsp. 148
  115. Attachment 1—GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING INFORMATIONp. 150
  116. Attachment 2—WITNESS INTERVIEW FORMATp. 174
  117. Attachment 3—SUBJECT INTERVIEW FORMATp. 180
  118. Attachment 4—SUSPECT INTERVIEW FORMATp. 186
  119. Attachment 5—PRIVACY ACT STATEMENTp. 193
  120. Attachment 6—QUARTERLY PROHIBITED ACTIVITY REPORT TO DIG (DIEM)p. 195

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REF: DAFI 90-301, effective January 4, 2024

Air Force e-Publishing — DAFI 90-301

This is an index record, not the publication. The official PDF is the authority; verify the current edition before acting.

Reviewed by Guilherme Correia · Military Toolkit editorial

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