SIGNALScape

 
BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services Inc., Rockville, Md., is being awarded a $37,760,767 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to exercise an option for engineering and technical services and supplies for the design, development, integration, test and evaluation, maintenance and logistics support of communication-electronic platform, equipment, systems and subsystems in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Special Communications Requirements Division. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, St. Inigoes, Md., is the contracting activity. 

 
Jacobs Technology Inc., Lincoln, Mass., was recently awarded two cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-reimbursable contract for interim support of services to provide engineering and technology acquisition support services. One contract is valued at  $8,527,294, the other at $14,448,258. The types of services include but are not limited to: engineering services, engineering support, technical support, provisioning and logistics, modeling and simulation, configuration and data management, architectural support, test and evaluation, security engineering and certification, capability based planning, commercial-off-the-shelf integration, integrated master plans and scheduling and technical reviews. Work will be performed at Hanscom Air Force Base (AFB), Mass., with primary geographically separated units at Peterson AFB, Colo.; Langley AFB, Va.; Eglin AFB, Fla.; Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.; and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, with an expected completion date of Nov 15, 2013. Contract has a foreign military sales component as the contract requires company to travel overseas for host nation support. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the contracting authority.

Acquisition reform has never been a hotter topic than it is now in light of recent budget cuts. A panel led by Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sorenson, USA (Ret.), former U.S. Army chief information officer (G-6), and partner, A.T. Kearney Public Sector and Defense Services LLC, tackled this topic, offering ideas about how to get solutions to operators faster even in this resource constrained environment.

Gen. Sorenson started the conversation by pointing to a past acquisition program—the Joint Tactical Radio System—that does not meet the needs of today. The program took too long and cost too much, he said. To avoid these types of failures in the future, the general suggested that the military learn some lessons from how industry conducts procurement. Rather than frequently changing its requirements when it is in search of a solution, industry identifies core requirements and then sticks with them through the development process. In addition, the commercial sector does not set up numerous regulations that must be followed, which only extends procurement times. Finally, compared to the military’s 228 steps from the concept to the end state of a product, the commercial sector’s acquisition steps are in the range of 50. This abbreviated process speeds up the ability to deliver “good enough” solutions before they become obsolete, Gen. Sorenson said.

Rear Adm. Terry B. Kraft, USN, commander, Naval Warfare Development Command (NWDC), related that his organization hits some of these goals by beginning the procurement process with well thought-out concepts. These concepts must fit well with the overall strategy, he added. In addition, the NWDC asks for input from the operators upfront to ensure solutions that are being considered will meet their needs when they are introduced into the field. Despite this solid approach, the admiral admitted that it is not an easy job. “Can you innovate within a bureaucracy? That’s a hard thing to do,” Adm. Kraft stated.

Discussing the topic of incremental change versus radical change, the Wednesday panel at East: Joint Warfighting spoke about the need for flexibility and agility. While making radical changes in operational strategies or tactics could be somewhat beneficial, it is more important to change at a reasonable pace but be ready and able to adjust quickly to deal with unexpected challenges, panelists said.

Panelist Lt. Gen. Christopher Miller, USAF (Ret.), former deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs, U.S. Air Force, pointed out that it was relatively easy to describe threats in the past, but today the threat spectrum is all over the place. Relative success, particularly in the air, has increased public and political expectations. However, because this level of success may not persist in the future, change is necessary but difficult. “Nothing makes it easier not to change than success,” he stated.

Vice Adm. Kurt W. Tidd, USN, director for operations (J-3), Joint Staff, offered a different point of view. While many speak of the future in terms of doom and gloom, he believes that austerity is a relative term when it comes to resources. No matter the budget, allies will continue to rely on U.S. forces. And while change is necessary, established doctrine limits how fast the military can make changes, the admiral said.

That said, the admiral pointed out that one shift that will occur is the relationship between the U.S. government and the military. In the past, political leaders gave the military a mission and the resources to accomplish that mission. Now, the military will explain to political leaders what it can accomplish with the resources it has been given, he stated.