Bases lose some control over purchases

[unhappycamper]

Bases lose some control over purchases
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jan 12, 2008 8:22:53 EST

The Air Force is launching a plan to transform the way bases buy goods and services, forcing them to go to one of five regional centers instead of letting contracts themselves.

Air Force Materiel Command will oversee the five centers, which will be in San Antonio; Hampton Roads, Va.; Warner-Robins, Ga.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and St. Louis.

The plan, the basics of which Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne approved in August, is supposed to save the Air Force $1 billion per year on everything from office supplies to landscaping. Base-level contracting squadrons and similar organizations will be scaled back and replaced by new installation acquisition squadrons. The change will involve some shift in personnel from bases to the regional centers, according to an e-mail from Patrick L. Rhode, chief of the Air Force’s procurement transformation division. But those details have not been worked out. He said there will be a net reduction of about 200 positions related to installation acquisition by 2012, when implementation of the plan will be completed.

Under the new system, installation acquisition squadrons will submit base purchasing requirements to the regional centers. The centers will review and validate the requirements, investigate the most efficient ways to fill them — often bundling the requirements of several bases into larger orders — and then select vendors to receive contracts.

The installation acquisition squadrons will still handle some base-specific contracts, develop requirements for goods and services, advise organizations on base about purchasing and conduct quality assurance, according to a Dec. 21 briefing by Charlie Williams, deputy assistant secretary for contracting and assistant secretary for acquisition.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/01/airforce_procurement_080112w/



uhc comment: This is part of the corporatization of the Air Force. Been there, done that.