Internal Review Chief balances mission with locale

WIESBADEN, Germany – When Carmen Nettles arrived from the Air Force Audit Agency in Colorado in March 2021 to lead Installation Management Command–Europe’s Internal Review and Audit Compliance Office, it was like coming home.
“Since I was born in Germany, taking a position here was an incredible opportunity to return to my roots while continuing my federal career with the Army,” said the IR Chief.
At that time, IMCOM-E was still primarily located at Sembach Kaserne in the Kaiserslautern area – the city Nettles was born in, and near her hometown of Glan-Muenchweiler.
It took 14 years after starting her federal service as an auditor with the Air Force in 2007 to return “home,” but it’s not so much the location as well as the work she does for the Army that has her feeling that she’s where she needs to be.
“What I do here is important because it ensures trust, readiness, and accountability,” she said. “By safeguarding our resources and improving operational processes, we ensure the command can effectively execute its mission to support Soldiers and their families.”
The IRACO conducts internal performance audits across installations throughout Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, with the primary objective to help the region director and garrison commanders assess risk by providing reasonable assurance that internal controls and governance processes are functioning properly – and if they aren’t, to identify the issues and causes so they can be fixed, explained Nettles.
“My primary mission is to serve as the director's independent, objective ‘eyes and ears’ for financial stewardship, operational efficiency, and risk mitigation,” she continued. “Working alongside a great team of professional auditors, I direct the planning and execution of independent internal audits, evaluations, and consulting services to ensure our command's resources are used efficiently, legally, and ethically.”
While there’s a lot involved, Nettles says the mission is interesting in that she gets “to meet and collaborate with professionals at all levels across IMCOM-Europe and the Garrisons. It gives me a great perspective on how the entire enterprise operates. What I enjoy most, simply put, is helping others.”
She also applies that “helping others” mentality by serving as the senior Program Manager for the Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) for the region.
“I have the opportunity to assist the director and command team to identify, shape, and transition high-potential GS-11 to GS-13 IMCOM-Europe employees into enterprise-minded, strategic leaders,” she said.
Despite being busy at work, she still finds time for some of her hobbies and interests off duty: “I love cars, motorcycles, having fun with family and friends, but I definitely also appreciate quiet moments where I can just read a good book or binge-watch a TV series.”