Wright-Patt affected by reorg

  • Published
  • By Daryl Mayer
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Lt. Gen. Tom Owen, Aeronautical Systems Center commander, held a Commander's Call early Thursday morning to address sweeping changes that will impact organizations across Wright-Patt.

Military and civilians packed into Kenney Hall at the Air Force Institute of Technology and in conference rooms across the base to watch the call over internet streaming. The topic at hand was how Air Force efforts to build a force for the 21st Century will affect the center.

Speaking to the rising national debt and growing fiscal constraint faced by the nation, General Owen echoed a recent comment by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that defense spending "must and will be part of the solution."

The Air Force released details on a variety of measures in a Nov. 2 news release (Air Force announces civilian workforce restructuring) to stop civilian growth at fiscal year 2010 levels while still bolstering positions against the service's top priorities. A major component of this effort is the plan to reorganize Air Force Materiel Command from 12 centers to five, streamline the command structure and reduce overhead costs (AFMC restructures to cut overhead, make command more efficient).

General Owen briefed that in line with Air Force direction, AFMC took a strategic approach to the reorganization focused on preserving our core capabilities of Science and Technology, acquisition, test, and sustainment, while reducing overhead.

"We could have taken a peanut butter approach with across the board cuts," General Owen said. "But that didn't seem the right way to do it. We had no choice but look for smarter, more efficient ways to do business."

The reorganization to a 5-center construct is a dramatic change in the way AFMC functions and is the first structural change to the command since the merger of Air Force Systems Command and Air Force Logistics Command back in 1991.

The changes, though dramatic, focus primarily at management and overhead support. General Owen reassured workers at the program office level that most of these changes will be transparent to them. He also said he aims to hold an additional call as more details emerge.

The center realignment changes are slated to reach initial operating capability on Oct. 1, 2012.