Gen. Arnold W. Bunch, Jr., AFMC commander, and Gen. Timothy M. Ray, AFGSC commander, cosigned a memorandum aimed at developing deeper collaboration between the program offices and operational wings, providing a venue for acquisition and operational Airmen to gain insight into each other’s communities, while creating a culture of continuous cooperation, collaboration and innovation.
“With today’s near-peer competition and the challenges we face in delivering the technology our Air Force needs to achieve our National Defense Strategy, we need to have a common understanding with the operational units to ensure what we deliver meets their current and emerging needs,” Bunch said. “Strong lines of communication and a robust exchange of information between our operators and acquisition professionals is critical to delivering what the Air Force needs to succeed.”
The program expands collaboration between combined systems program offices, lead wing and weapons system teams through mutual exchange opportunities between Airmen within each. This will provide Airmen with insight to each other’s mission(s) while also providing greater understanding of operational issues that affect acquisition programs and lifecycle management needs.
This collaboration is key to ensuring our Airmen have the right weapons to accomplish our critical national defense mission,” Ray said. “Working with the AFMC teams will enable us to leverage our mutual expertise to deliver the warfighting power our Air Force needs to remain the best in the world. This program enhances the critical relationship between the acquisition and operational communities.”
Per the agreement, senior materiel leaders from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center program offices will partner with specific AFGSC weapon system lead wings.
Biannual immersions will provide AFMC Airmen from the program offices with greater understanding of operational activities, to include sortie generation, flightline and back-shop maintenance, and operator perspectives on weapon system capabilities. AFGSC Airmen will be immersed into life cycle management activities related to weapon system development and sustainment, from design to acquisition, contracting and more.
AFGSC weapons system teams will monitor and consolidate information generated from the program exchange. Discussion forums will capture any operational or acquisition concerns resulting from the immersions for future action.
“This is a great opportunity to create enduring relationships between our AFMC and AFGSC Airmen,” Bunch said. “This is a way we can capitalize on the unique talents and expertise of our acquisition and operational Airman to better innovate and deliver what our Air Force needs to fly, fight and win into the future.”
By Marisa Alia-Novobilski, Air Force Materiel Command