Former executive director highlights Hanscom work as he prepares for new assignment

  • Published
  • By Patty Welsh
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  A period of transitions, challenges and opportunities was how Rich Lombardi, whose most recent position was program executive officer for C3I and Networks, described his last four years here.

"We have experienced a lot of changes over the past four years, but with change brings opportunities," he said.

Before taking on the PEO role, Lombardi served as Electronic Systems Center executive director. He will be departing Hanscom Aug. 24 to become the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition integration at the Pentagon.

"With the significant amount of change we have seen, I'm extremely proud of our folks for not losing focus of what is important - their jobs providing critical capability out to the warfighter," Lombardi said. "There are a number of examples where capabilities went directly into the AOR increasing the effectiveness of U.S. and coalition forces and helping save lives. We should all be proud of our accomplishments."

Some of the changes he mentioned were going from a wing and group structure under a single PEO to a directorate structure with multiple PEOs, and more recently, as ESC transitioned to become part of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

"However, with these changes we have seen opportunities," Lombardi said. "For example, having multiple PEOs has allowed for more active PEO involvement on individual programs than under a single PEO due to span of control issues."

He added, "Now, under AFLCMC , we have the opportunity to develop standardized processes across the acquisition enterprise."

In his positions, Lombardi tried to provide a strategic look at the organization to see how best the mission could get accomplished during his tenure.

An area of emphasis was rebalancing the workforce across the organization.

"We realized that our workforce may not be properly aligned to execute the mission. Therefore, we chartered a team of senior personnel from all organizations to develop templates to assist in determining the proper size of a program office," Lombardi said. "Thanks to the great work of Colonel Mark Spillman and his team we now have a methodology to determine program workforce needs and a process to help reallocate the resources to ensure they are in the right places. Our people are our most valuable resource and we need to make sure we are utilizing them properly to accomplish our mission."

Hiring and on-boarding processes were other areas that he helped to improve. New employees now are given both general and functional area orientation when they arrive on base. Therefore, they have a better understanding of what will be expected of them and are better prepared to make an immediate contribution to the mission.

A specific focus of Lombardi's has been to help with the development of the younger workforce, through participation with organizations such as the Junior Force Council.

"I really enjoy spending time with our junior force and at every opportunity I emphasized the importance of professional development - taking acquisition courses and focusing on advanced degrees and professional military education," he said. "I want them to be prepared. In the not too distant future, they'll be providing the guidance for the organization. They're the next generation of leaders at Hanscom Air Force Base. At the Pentagon the workforce tends to be a bit more senior, so I will really miss the daily interaction I have with our extremely talented junior force."

He emphasized that challenging times will continue, especially as the Air Force and Department of Defense deal with budget issues. However, he recommends people continue to focus on their individual jobs.

"The only thing you can control is how you do your job - become good at it, become the expert in your particular area," he said. "And if everyone else does their job, things tend to work out. Don't get caught up in the distractions or let them become an excuse."

Some other accomplishments he feels personnel should be pleased with include being recognized in the Boston Globe newspaper's Top 100 Places to Work for three years in a row and becoming one of the first Air Force bases to implement the Voluntary Protection Program at the installation level.

"Being in the Top 100 Places to Work showed the people here enjoyed the challenges of their job, the camaraderie of the organization and the atmosphere the base provided," he said. "VPP shows that everyone is interested in having a safe, productive work environment."

Lombardi added, "I was very lucky to have worked for General Bowlds and General Davis who put a special emphasis on improving the work environment for our folks. I know as we transition from ESC to AFLCMC that General Moore shares that same focus."

As Lombardi prepares to move into his new role, he realizes there will be significant challenges in that position as well.

"I'll be looking at how we can best resource programs in order to get the mission accomplished," he said. "We may have to make some hard choices as to whether to keep or divest programs as the budget gets more and more challenging."

However, he emphasized that he'd be looking to see how best he and the SAF/AQX staff can help PEOs and program managers be successful, whether through financial means or streamlining acquisition policies.

Lombardi, who grew up as a military dependent, thinks of Bedford, Mass., and Hanscom AFB in particular, as the closest thing he has to a hometown. He also previously served at Hanscom as a captain in the 1980s.

He said he was glad to have the opportunity to return and it brought him "joy" to be back here at Hanscom, which was his father's last duty station.

"I have a long history with Hanscom," he said. "It holds a special place in my heart and I'm proud to have had the opportunity to serve here twice in my career. However, more importantly I'm proud to have had the opportunity to serve alongside the finest group of professionals that I have ever encountered. The team that was the former ESC and now AFLCMC has always risen to meet every challenge and I'm confident that they will continue to provide essential capability to our warfighters for a long time to come. I want to thank you all for allowing me to be a part of the team for the past four years."