Contracting squadrons consolidate AF wide

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Brooke Brzozowske
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
FE WARREN AFB, Wyo. --   An Air Force-wide transformation program focuses on contracting organizations and will require collaboration and support of other key acquisition functions. 

The new Installation Acquisition Transformation program targets the inefficiencies in the current acquisitions model such as the redundant procurement of similar goods and services, the inability to effectively source requirements and the inefficient use of contracting expertise spread across 71 different locations. 

The IAT Roadshow recently visited Warren to formally introduce this new concept to the installation and their respective small business partners of Cheyenne and surrounding neighbors. 

The current model has 71 contracting offices and about 3,300 personnel that now focus only on their own installation's purchases. 

Additionally, there are 71,000 contract activities that are responsible for $13 billion of installation spending, said Col. Harold Cunningham, Air Force Space Command Contracting Division chief. 

The new IAT model will have Air Force Materiel Command as the lead major command, then organized into five geographic installation acquisition regions. The new IAT strives to highlight the importance of strategic sourcing while simultaneously improving customer support. 

The development of the five new regions will have direct impact on Air Force savings by promoting open communication between each of the regions rather than handling each of the base purchases individually, thus discouraging redundant purchases. 

"The goal is to do things more efficiently. The current way we do business isn't as efficient as we could be," Colonel Cunningham said. 

Wing-level contracting squadrons will decrease in size and the people will do limited buying but will still report to the wing commander and continue to play a crucial role in wing support. 

There will still be a contracting presence at each installation to help articulate the wing's performance-based requirements, to handle contracts to keep them responsive to wing's mission, to provide limited authority, to issue contracts for emergencies and understand local small business capability and advise them of opportunities. 

"We are currently in the planning stages and execution on this isn't anticipated until January 2010," Colonel Cunningham said. "Our goal is to leverage the dollars we spend, and save the Air Force money." 

The new transformation only applies to a base-level contracting within the United States, which spends about $15 billion per year. 

The transformation will not include purchases such as major weapon systems, logistical support to weapon systems, laboratory support and research, development, test and evaluations.