Browsing: Air Force

Muddled governance, ineffective change management and revolving door leadership were among the forces leading to last year’s demise of a costly and high-stakes Air Force logistics modernization program, according to newly released findings from an internal inquiry. The Air Force canceled the Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS) last November after spending $1 billion for what one top manager termed “negligible” capability. But the acquisition review team offers a more upbeat take, concluding that much of the work done on the system “can be reused.” The ECSS “wasn’t the failure people think it was,” the team adds. “It was the first…

The Air Force on Monday awarded IBM an $11.8 million contract to integrate its military personnel and pay processes into one system. As part of the Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay System Program (AF-IPPS), IBM will design “an enterprise resource planning-based solution to meet all personnel and pay requirements,” according to a Defense Department announcement. Work is expected to be completed by December 2014. The new personnel and pay system will replace the Military Personnel Data System (MilPDS) and the Defense Joint Military Pay System (DJMS) for the Air Force, according to a December 2012 Mitre report. The new system will…

By one estimate, it’s one of the best constructed facilities in Afghanistan, but soon the $34 million military center in Hemland province could be torn down because, well, it turns out troops are leaving and the U.S. government might not have really needed the building in the first place. Special Office of Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko outlined the scope and history of the expensive problem in a letter this week to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, which you can read about here. But for a virtual tour of the building’s clean, spacious and barren offices and meeting…

About 400 civilian employees will be leaving Robins Air Force Base in the latest of  a series of early-out offers, according to a news release today. The package, unveiled last month, combined an early retirement option with a buyout worth up to $25,000. The 403 workers at the Georgia installation who ultimately accepted must be off the payroll by the end of next month. The base, an Air Force logistics hub about 100 miles from Atlanta, employs some 15,000 civilians, spokesman David Donato said in a phone interview. This early-out round is the fourth since 2011; a total of 680…

For those of you who follow environmental initiatives, the Air Force has been on a recycling kick recently. Whether its recycling scrap metal or trying to reduce waste by using compostable silverware, the Air Force is trying to cut down on as much garbage as it can. And now it has a mascot for its efforts. From the Air Force: CHUCK-IT, the recycling mascot, targets children between the ages of 5 and 12 and is the latest addition to the “Win the War Against Waste” tool kit — an outreach campaign developed to support the Air Force’s worldwide environmental objectives…

As an Army brat, Octavia Hall has always been around public service. She spent most of her life in Germany bouncing around several bases. Hall said it was both her family and her community who encouraged her to serve. “When I went out to the bus stop, I remember the soldiers coming over to talk to us about going to school, getting a good education, asking about our career goals. They contributed a lot to my wanting to serve,” Hall said. As military families do, Hall’s family moved again, this time to Maryland. In high school she was active in cheerleading and a singing-show group she compared to the…

The Senate on Saturday repealed the long-standing “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which prohibited openly gay men and women from serving in the military. The final vote was 65-31 in favor of repeal. The bill now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it next week. View our sister websites, including ArmyTimes.com, for more coverage.

The Air Force pulled a recruitment ad off its website after the rock duo The White Stripes threatened to sue the agency for using one of its songs without permission. The ad, which aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl, included an instrumental version of the Detroit band’s popular song, “Fell in Love with a Girl.” According to a statement posted on the band’s website, the song was re-recorded and used without permission. The band said it would be forced to take action to stop the ad if it wasn’t removed. The band took particular issue with its song being used to help recruit airmen…

The Air Force likely will have some explaining to do following this particularly poorly thought-out photo op, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Seems the Air Force thought it was a good idea to have a Boeing 747 fly very low around Manhattan while being escorted by an F-16. Apparently, the FAA and the New York City Police Department were told of the stunt, but no one warned the public. Understandably, more than a few New Yorkers made for the exits, as reported by WSJ: The low-flying 747 sent workers worried about a repeat of the Sept. 11, 2001,…