AFMC commander reports on state of command

  • Published
  • By Gen. Donald Hoffman
  • Air Force Materiel Command
Shortly after I assumed command one year ago, we set out to define our FY09 priorities for the men and women of AFMC. Through our corporate process we instituted the five Air Force priorities. This past year we made significant progress, and I would like to quickly highlight some of your accomplishments.

Reinvigorate AFMC Role in the Nuclear Enterprise:

This continues to be our number one priority as a Command. We worked hard to create clear lines of authority and responsibility within AFMC's nuclear sustainment enterprise by consolidating all major nuclear sustainment and future system development activities into a single organization - the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center.

Three major milestones occurred over the last year: on the second of March, AFMC stood up the Directorate for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration (A10) at AFMC Headquarters; on the first of November, AFMC became the single nuclear weapons authority for all CONUS-based weapons storage areas; and on four November AFMC gained approval from the HAF Nuclear Oversight Board to establish an Air Force Program Executive Officer for Strategic Systems. In conjunction with these milestones, we conducted our first rigorous WSA Logistics Compliance Assessment Program evaluation, with the mandate that "compliance is not an option."

We have implemented Positive Inventory Control Fusion, which provides functional users with a single source of data for enterprise tracking of Nuclear Weapons Related Materials, and implemented Integrated Maintenance Data System in the Missile community to support standard configuration management activities.

Implement Effective and Efficient Integrated Life Cycle Management:

We are currently working hard to rebuild and reshape the acquisition workforce. To establish clear lines of authority and accountability, AFMC will realign from a Wing/Group/Squadron structure to a Directorate/Division/Branch structure for most acquisition organizations. In addition, several new Program Executive Officer positions will be created. This will provide a greater number of experienced senior leaders to oversee the execution of our acquisition programs and address span of control issues.

Another significant on-going effort is an initiative to reconstitute the Life Cycle Logistics Workforce, a long overdue response to an erosion of the Acquisition Logistics function and workforce. This initiative is an unprecedented leap in building a future state of Life Cycle Logisticians who are armed and trained in the competencies necessary to ensure future sustainment of our Weapon System development. I have committed to advancing the LCL Reconstitution effort by standing up a Logistics Functional Office to serve as the AFMC focal point for LCL Workforce management and development.

Recruit, Train, and Retain a High Performing Workforce:

Over the last year we put our primary focus on the nuclear and acquisition workforce. We secured 518 new authorizations for AFMC's Nuclear Enterprise as a result of the Air Force Comprehensive Assessment of Nuclear Sustainment I. Combined with intra-Command transfers, our nuclear-focused manpower is growing by almost 1,000 billets across the Command. AFMC recently secured an additional 40 manpower authorizations through the Air Force Corporate Structure as a result of AFCANS II. We identified leaders and supervisors in key nuclear billets that require specialized experience and training. The AFNWC now provides some of that training by way of a Nuclear Management Fundamentals Course and a periodic executive-level "road show."

In the acquisition arena we increased our overall end strength by hiring 1,773 new employees. Strategic hiring and recruitment approaches, such as partnering with universities, contracting with private recruitment firms, job fairs, aggressive marketing campaigns, use of expedited hiring authority, and block hiring were fully put into place across the Command. This collaborative effort enabled AFMC to execute 103% of our civilian pay budget on civilian pay. Over the next year, we will continue to face challenges in civilian hiring but must remain focused to ensure we meet our objectives.

Nurture and Protect our People and Families:

Nurturing and protecting our people and families is necessary for our mission to succeed. Over the last year, we continued our Civilian Health Promotions Services by providing numerous benefits to our civilian workforce to promote healthy lifestyles including cholesterol checks, blood pressure checks, and a wide range of counseling and educational classes and events. We also piloted the only AF smoking cessation program expanded to support civilians. The program includes medication, classes, and access to a tobacco quit-line. As a result of this initiative, several hundred civilians quit using tobacco, and we intend to build upon this success during the upcoming year.

In this increasingly complex financial environment, staff members in seven of our Airman and Family Readiness Centers have become Certified Financial Counselors and we are training additional counselors at all locations to ensure all personnel have access to expert advice.

AFMC is the only DoD agency that reviews and tracks civilian employee suicides. This year, AFMC chartered studies by RAND to help us better understand this complex issue and identify methods for early intervention to assist our members struggling with stress in their lives. Through 2009, as before, AFMC continued to emphasize the importance of maintaining our Wingman culture.

Be Good Stewards of Government Resources:

I challenged each of you to use and conserve our resources as if they were your own. This past year, AFMC directly supported the President's 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by securing $260M (23 percent of all ARRA funds for the USAF) in appropriations for 551 facility projects across the Command. These "Shovel Ready" projects not only helped stimulate local economies, but significantly improved quality of life across the Command by repairing, sustaining, and modernizing old infrastructure and facilities.

Additionally, AFMC awarded 66 facility energy projects this year, valued at $71M - a tremendous investment as the Command continues to reduce its energy demand and water consumption. In fact, over the last year AFMC consumed six percent of our energy from renewable sources - doubling the AF's target of three percent. Our Energy Management Steering Group is in place to ensure AFMC continues to meet our energy goals.

Each of our accomplishments and successes can be attributed to the great people of this Command. Your continued efforts to improve our ability to execute the mission through innovative initiatives are impressive. The job is not over...many challenges remain, but I look forward to another great year delivering war-winning expeditionary capabilities to the Warfighter! Thank you for what you do every day.