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A collection of
news and information specifically for the C4ISR community |
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Back from the war: AFMC commander
refines support priorities Special interview with Gen. Donald Hoffman, Air Force Materiel Command commander
AFMC Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- When asked if he returned home with a to-do list after visiting select Pacific Air Forces bases and Afghanistan, Gen. Donald Hoffman thumbed through a quarter-inch stack of papers before citing several examples during a March 25, 2011, interview. "The purpose of this trip was not to solve tactical-level issues, but to see how we can make improvements at a strategic level," the commander of Air Force Materiel Command said. From his office within the AFMC headquarters building, General Hoffman recounted the warfighter insights and lessons learned that he and a team of AFMC senior leaders noted during a 13-day trip in early March that took them to four countries and eight locations. It included stops in Alaska, Korea, Japan, Guam and Afghanistan. (More) |
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Air Force officials outline
efficiencies processes
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- In compliance with Department of
Defense efficiency guidance, Air Force officials confirmed plans
here March 29 to implement fiscal 2012 budget proposals that
shift dollars and people from overhead and support functions to
modernization and warfighting areas. |
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Project Crossbow enhances capabilities WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- A collaborative U.S. Air Force and United Kingdom Royal Air Force program is making it easier for the two services to share information collected via intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems. The program, dubbed Project Crossbow and modeled on the U.S. Air Force's Distributed Common Ground System, was recently fielded in the UK for direct support of coalition warfighters in Afghanistan. The DCGS, a system of globally-networked ISR capabilities, produces intelligence information collected by platforms like the U-2, RQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1 Predator. Project Crossbow's concept of operations calls for true interoperability between both the U.S Air Force and the RAF for distributed use of information from ISR collection assets. "This capability is the result of a longstanding, mutual trust and relationship between the United States and our British allies," said Maj. Gen. James Poss, the Air Force's assistant deputy chief of staff for ISR. "Crossbow will enhance the future potential for leveraging synergies in distributed ISR operations, translating into additional capability to better support our joint forces commanders and warfighters engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan." (More) |
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Carter: Acquisitions improvements need
permanence
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON – With spring coming in Afghanistan, the Defense Department is set to perform the same “remarkable” work it conducted in last year’s troop surge to get warfighters everything they need while working to institutionalize those procedures, the department’s undersecretary for acquisitions, technology and logistics told a congressionally established commission March 28.
The Pentagon’s logistics community “performed a miracle” in getting warfighters in Afghanistan everything they needed between President Barack Obama’s troop surge directive in December 2009 and the arrival of the last of the surge troops in August, Ashton B. Carter told the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bipartisan panel created as part of the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.
Defense Department officials have worked closely with the commission in implementing Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ initiatives to improve the acquisitions process while safeguarding taxpayer dollars, Carter said.
“We are working off the same list of challenges: to combat waste, fraud and abuse in contingency contracting; root out corruption; get control of the particular risks of private security contractors; and, above all, to balance the effective response to warfighter needs and taxpayer dollars,” he said. (More) |
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VoIP expanding at
Hanscom; key phone numbers change
66th Air Base Group Communication and Information Division
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is expanding once again at Hanscom and the next step begins April 4. The Brown Building, Building 1305, is the next to receive new telephones and a new telephone system, as building occupants will transfer from the General Services Administration (GSA) phone system and move to the VoIP telephone system.
Communication and Information Division (SC) officials say the conversion will save the taxpayer thousands of dollars over the course of a year.
Implementation will be conducted April 4 through 8. The third floor will implemented on April 4, the second floor will convert on April 5 and the first floor will change over on April 6. Thursday and Friday will be used to make any last minute changes or additions.
The Global Access List (GAL) for these users will be updated and all affected telephones will be updated the night of April 6. Users must go into AtHoc and update their alert notification information with their new information. (More) |
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ESC honors ACSC
seminar graduates
ESC Engineering Directorate
Eleven Electronic Systems Center civilians recently graduated from Air Force Air Command and Staff College through seminar, taking another step down their career paths together.
Professional Military Education is an important stepping stone in military and civilian career progression. The value of PME for both military and civilians has been strongly endorsed by ESC senior leadership. As a former ACSC department chair, ESC Executive Director Rich Lombardi has a personal commitment for the Air Force’s PME curriculum.
“PME is very much an integral part of military and civilian career development. As a specific benefit for our civilian population, PME offers students the chance to see the big picture of our Air Force’s past and present,” he said. “It’s imperative that our center workforce has an understanding of the Air Force mission as a whole and our role in the joint fight. By virtue of PME, they can relate these notions to the invaluable work we do for the Warfighter.” (More) |
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Golf tournament
set for May 18
The Paul Revere Chapter of the Air Force Association will hold its annual Spring Golf Tournament May 18 at the International Country Club in Bolton, Mass.
Golfer’s registration will begin at 6:45 a.m. Coffee and doughnuts will be available. The tournament begins with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. A luncheon will be held inside the Country Club following the tournament.
Format for the tournament will be a four-person scramble, according to Joe Magnone, AFA chapter president.
“The International course is one of the finest in New England, with scenic views and pristine playing conditions,” said Mr. Magnone. “If you are a serious golfer, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to play at this premiere private golf club.” (More) |
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the news ... The following items have recently run in commercial news media outlets. They have not been produced by the U.S. Air Force, nor does their use reflect official endorsement. Reproduction for private use or gain is subject to original copyright restrictions. NDIA Logistics: Senior Air Force Leadership Acknowledges ECSS Challenges -- Shephard News In his keynote address before this week’s 27th NDIA Logistics Conference & Exhibition, Gen Norton Schwartz, United States Air Force Chief of Staff, highlighted a range of recent logistics accomplishments by the air force and their partners around the world. House Defense Authorizers Beat Earmark Ban -- Aviation Week New guidelines from the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) provide a step-by-step guide to ensure that members continue to play a role in saying how taxpayer dollars are spent on military gear despite bans on earmarks. Lean budgets compel contracting changes -- Federal Computer Week Tough budgets force agencies to reconsider all their options, including rarely-used types of contracts. Defense employees bear heavy burden in efficiency plan -- Government Executive The Defense Department will save $25 billion by freezing personnel levels and salaries of military civilians, but only $6 billion by reducing its reliance on service support contractors, a top Pentagon official testified on Tuesday. DoD ready to Go Mobile on iPhone, Android -- Federal News Radio The Defense Department wants soldiers, sailors and Marines to use the smartphone device in their pocket today to access the military's networks. Cost Overruns Plague One-Third Of Pentagon's Biggest Programs -- Bloomberg Government About one in three major U.S. Defense Department weapons programs since 1997 have had cost overruns of as much as 50 percent over their original projections, according to congressional auditors. Pentagon seeks $3.2 billion for revised cyber budget -- NextGov Protecting military networks in fiscal 2012 would cost nearly $1 billion more than the Pentagon publicly reported last month, an increase that reflects the growing number of programs being re-categorized as cybersecurity-related, agency officials said. |
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The Integrator
is a
weekly product of the 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Office
designed to give ESC decision makers a snapshot of news affecting
the C4ISR community. This e-publication is approved by Kevin
Gilmartin, Chief of Public Affairs, (DSN) 478-4110 or commercial
(781) 377-4110.
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