Air Force announces acquisition management reorganization

Air Force announces acquisition management reorganization

(EXCERPT) PRESS RELEASE -- Secretary of the Air Force, Directorate of
Public Affairs

Release No. 0820037 Aug 20, 2003

Air Force announces acquisition management reorganization

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Air Force officials announced a major
reorganization of the Air Force's acquisition management structure
today.

With an eye toward streamlined decision making, improved speed and
credibility, and increased accountability, Air Force Secretary Dr.
James Roche and Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper approved the
reorganization for the service's aircraft, weapons and command,
control and combat support acquisition programs.

As part of the reorganization the service will:

-- Move Program Executive Offices closer to the programs they oversee
by dual-hatting the Air Force's three product center commanders as
Program Executive Officers. The primary responsibility of the center
commanders will be program execution.

-- Gather all but two of the Air Force's aircraft programs under a
single PEO. Continue to have a separate PEO for the Joint Strike
Fighter and create a PEO for the F/A-22 Raptor.

-- Bring all non-space Air Force acquisition programs under the new,
streamlined PEO structure and eliminate the position of designated
acquisition commander at the product and logistics centers.

-- Assign a general officer or civilian member of the Senior Executive
Service to be the deputy for acquisition execution for the three PEOs
who also will be serving as product center commanders. A separate flag
officer or SES deputy for support will manage the day-to-day
operations of the center.

-- Maintain a small PEO support staff in Washington to facilitate
coordination between Headquarters Air Force, the Defense Department
and Congress.

The plan approved by Roche and Jumper maintains the PEO office for the
Joint Strike Fighter and the PEO for Services in Washington, along
with the new PEO for F/A-22. The PEO for aircraft (combining the
current PEO for Fighter and Bomber Programs and the PEO for Airlift
and Trainers) will be the commander, Aeronautical Systems Center,
Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The PEO for Command, Control
and Combat Support (C2&CS) will be the commander, Electronic Systems
Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. The PEO for Weapons will be the
commander, Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

"This realignment clarifies PEO and product center commander
responsibilities, removes inherent organizations conflicts, and builds
off Air Force Materiel Command's evolving acquisition enterprise
concept fostering greater interaction between program," the secretary
and chief of staff said in their memorandum describing the changes.

Under the realignment, Dr. Marvin Sambur, assistant secretary of the
Air Force for Acquisition remains the Service Acquisition Executive
for all non-space programs. PEOs continue to report to him. In their
role as center commanders the three product center commanders will
continue to report to the commander of Air Force Materiel Command.
Under Secretary of the Air Force Peter B. Teets has the responsibility
for the acquisition of space programs.

In the new organization, AFMC's Air Logistics Center commanders will
no longer be Designated Acquisition Commanders. While the elimination
of the DAC role for the ALC commanders does eliminate any direct
acquisition role for those commanders, they will remain highly engaged
in the acquisition process because of the important maintenance and
supply planning for support of new systems. The ALCs will still be key
players in sustainment planning as new systems are developed and
acquired.

"Our acquisition system -- fueled by our great acquisition
professionals -- have produced the best weapons systems in the world,"
Sambur said, pointing to successes in the Balkans, Afghanistan and
Iraq. "But, the processes we use to acquire these systems can and must
be improved to reduce cycle times and to increase the credibility of
our cost, schedule and performance promises. I'm convinced this new
alignment will help us get where we need to go."

Gen. Lester Lyles, commander of Air Force Material Command, echoed
Sambur's sentiments.

"It's been more than a decade since the current structure was put in
place and, while it's served us well, it simply is not agile enough to
meet today's rapidly changing and unpredictable threats," Lyles said.
"This new structure will allow us to deliver capabilities more quickly
and to look across our acquisition enterprise to ensure that we are
making the best use of our resources."

The new structure is expected to be in place in approximately two
months. The development of an implementation plan is underway. It will
identify the size of the Washington support staff, any required
movement of PEO staff to the product centers and other logistical and
organizational issues.

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---------------------------
Otis Willie
Associate Librarian
The American War Library
http://www.americanwarlibrary.com