Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
September 17, 2008
Pg. 1
Gen. Norton Schwartz, the new chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, says he wants to repair the "unfortunate deterioration" of the relationship between the service and its contractors while also re-establishing trust in the service's beleaguered acquisition system.
Schwartz said that solving problems in Air Force acquisition, exemplified in last week's Pentagon decision to scrap a competition for the next-generation refueling tanker amid numerous missteps (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 11), is among his top priorities. The tanker procurement is now on hold indefinitely, leaving the Air Force without dates for recapitalizing the aging KC-135 fleet.
Schwartz says that the acquisition system must not get caught up in developing or buying "excessive performance," a comment he says was not directed at the tanker competition. But he intends to refocus the service on generating clearly articulated requirements, which are intended to feed less-complex, easier-to-audit acquisition programs.
The system has been "influenced by interests" outside those of the needs of the U.S. military, he said during his first speech as chief of staff to the annual Air Force Association meeting in Washington on Sept. 16. The comment referred to heated and public positions taken through lobbying efforts and advertising campaigns of both would-be tanker providers, as well as influence from Capitol Hill.
He also took aim at retired general officers who have taken sides in the controversial competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS North America. While retired general officers often take jobs at various defense contractors or consulting firms, Schwartz says they should not publicly take positions on acquisition issues while citing their former experience, to avoid the appearance that the "military leadership could be bought." His comments were met with applause from the crowd.
Schwartz further outlined plans to boost manpower for the understaffed unmanned aerial system (UAS) operator career field. UAS support from the Air Force for the war on terrorism was one point of contention leading up to the abrupt firing of the former chief service general, T. Michael Moseley, and the last Air Force secretary, Michael Wynne.
Schwartz hopes to go from about 300 UAS operators now to about 1,100 in five years. To do so, he says the service will funnel about 100 pilots from each undergraduate pilot training class directly to UAS operations, bypassing their work on manned aircraft platforms; this is intended to boost the manpower fairly quickly. In parallel, Schwartz plans to establish a career field for UAS operators so that they are "not a leper colony" -- a comment about the perception of UAS pilots as less-skilled than colleagues piloting manned platforms.
A separate pilot program will be established to begin outlining how to train UAS pilots apart from other pilots. The program, which will begin in January, would train about 10 active-duty officers to fly unmanned systems, develop lessons during the process, and then subsequently apply them to another group of 10 officers and so on. These are officers who had not undergone undergraduate pilot training.
Schwartz says he's not closed to the idea of allowing enlisted airmen to operate UAS, an approach now used by the Army.
-- Amy Butler
September 17, 2008
Pg. 1
Gen. Norton Schwartz, the new chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, says he wants to repair the "unfortunate deterioration" of the relationship between the service and its contractors while also re-establishing trust in the service's beleaguered acquisition system.
Schwartz said that solving problems in Air Force acquisition, exemplified in last week's Pentagon decision to scrap a competition for the next-generation refueling tanker amid numerous missteps (Aerospace DAILY, Sept. 11), is among his top priorities. The tanker procurement is now on hold indefinitely, leaving the Air Force without dates for recapitalizing the aging KC-135 fleet.
Schwartz says that the acquisition system must not get caught up in developing or buying "excessive performance," a comment he says was not directed at the tanker competition. But he intends to refocus the service on generating clearly articulated requirements, which are intended to feed less-complex, easier-to-audit acquisition programs.
The system has been "influenced by interests" outside those of the needs of the U.S. military, he said during his first speech as chief of staff to the annual Air Force Association meeting in Washington on Sept. 16. The comment referred to heated and public positions taken through lobbying efforts and advertising campaigns of both would-be tanker providers, as well as influence from Capitol Hill.
He also took aim at retired general officers who have taken sides in the controversial competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS North America. While retired general officers often take jobs at various defense contractors or consulting firms, Schwartz says they should not publicly take positions on acquisition issues while citing their former experience, to avoid the appearance that the "military leadership could be bought." His comments were met with applause from the crowd.
Schwartz further outlined plans to boost manpower for the understaffed unmanned aerial system (UAS) operator career field. UAS support from the Air Force for the war on terrorism was one point of contention leading up to the abrupt firing of the former chief service general, T. Michael Moseley, and the last Air Force secretary, Michael Wynne.
Schwartz hopes to go from about 300 UAS operators now to about 1,100 in five years. To do so, he says the service will funnel about 100 pilots from each undergraduate pilot training class directly to UAS operations, bypassing their work on manned aircraft platforms; this is intended to boost the manpower fairly quickly. In parallel, Schwartz plans to establish a career field for UAS operators so that they are "not a leper colony" -- a comment about the perception of UAS pilots as less-skilled than colleagues piloting manned platforms.
A separate pilot program will be established to begin outlining how to train UAS pilots apart from other pilots. The program, which will begin in January, would train about 10 active-duty officers to fly unmanned systems, develop lessons during the process, and then subsequently apply them to another group of 10 officers and so on. These are officers who had not undergone undergraduate pilot training.
Schwartz says he's not closed to the idea of allowing enlisted airmen to operate UAS, an approach now used by the Army.
-- Amy Butler