Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
10/10/2014
Air Force Global Strike Command earlier this month started the ICBM Parts Centralized Funding Program, shifting responsibility for missile support system purchases away from the 20th Air Force and aligning it with the overarching command, according to an Oct. 3 release. Previously, heads of the 20th Air Force’s 90th, 341st and 91st missile wings at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and Minot AFB, N.D., respectively, managed nuclear missile part procurements. “The ICBM Parts Centralized Funding Program is a sweeping change and one step in changing the way we sustain and maintain ICBMs, and any follow-on system, for the long term,” wrote Dan Koveleskie, deputy chief of the command’s Missile Maintenance Division, in an Oct. 9 email to NS&D Monitor.
The program covers all parts and equipment in launch facilities and launch control centers, as well as support parts for ICBM handling and test equipment such as the Transporter Erector and Payload Transporters that move and install missiles, Koveleskie said. “Essentially, all parts and equipment needed to repair, service and overhaul fielded systems will be supported by the dedicated ICBM parts funding line,” Koveleskie said. “It is a new process that improves the AF’s ability to put the part in the hands of the maintainers when they need it on a day-to-day basis.”
Procurements Expected to be Streamlined
The program does not cover weapon procurements—only ICBM support part and test system acquisitions—and defense acquisition programs will continue to organize major purchases for new weapon systems and ICBM flight hardware, Koveleskie said, adding that he expects the new acquisition architecture to streamline procurements of support components while improving the interface between ICBMs and the Air Force corporate structure. “The analysis aspect of the centralized parts program is giving us more accurate ICBM spares requirements forecasts so we can be proactive and make sure parts are on hand when the technician reaches for it,” Koveleskie said. “ICBMs will get the visibility, attention and Air Force prioritization that goes along with it.”
Along with granting the command the ability to better forecast needed parts and spares, the program enables the command to analyze financials, and better forecast needed parts and spare parts, allowing the Air Force to do predictive maintenance planning and cost-benefit analysis. “If we have a high usage part, we can determine if it’s time to replace or overhaul the part, or perhaps we find it’s more effective to modernize and upgrade that system,” Koveleskie said. “The information we gather now will be very useful for the future.”
Responsibilities Could Move Further Up the Ladder
According to the release, Daryle Fry, Global Strike Command’s ICBM program analyst, expects the command to oversee the ICBM program for about a year, after which the financial authority will ascend to Headquarters Air Force and ICBMs will be funded similarly to the service’s other weapon systems. “The ICBM Parts Centralized Funding Program is the leading edge of the larger strategy to transition ICBM sustainment and maintenance to an Air Force-level solution, which is still being reviewed within the service,” Koveleskie said. “This is a stepping stone that will provide a good hand-off because the command can determine the weapon system’s true requirements.” Koveleskie noted that the command started working on the parts funding program in February 2013, though the desire for a dedicated parts funding program manifested alongside the command’s creation in 2009.
Impacts on Wing Operations
In the past, wing leaders commonly faced choices between buying a missile part or something for personnel, the release said. “That is a choice a wing commander shouldn’t have to make,” Fry said. “As of Oct. 1, a technician can go into supply and ask to order a part without being concerned about funding. The wing orders the parts they need, and the bill gets sent to [the command]. Wing commanders can focus more on their people and support structure and 20th Air Force won’t have to worry about advocating to command to find funding for parts.”
Before Oct. 1, ICBM support part procurements were based on funding availability, not true weapon requirements, the release stated. “Before I couldn’t tell you what the true requirement was, because in the old days the requirements were based off of funding availability and parts orders were deferred sometimes to pay for other priorities,” Fry said. “Now unit funding availability is not really a factor anymore; requirements will be driven by a true weapon system need.”
Change Loosely Affiliated With Force Improvement Program
The release stated that Fry expects the funding program to provide “forward-thinking plans and better life-cycle management,” while preventing last-minute supply issues at the wings. The command anticipates the program to reverse the effects of failing equipment, while trimming man hours, boosting reliability of the weapon system and the overall performance of the weapon.
Although the ICBM Parts Centralized Funding Program is not officially associated with the Air Force’s Force Improvement Program (FIP) aimed at improving morale in the service’s nuclear arm, Koveleskie said the fund has a loose affiliation to the improvement program. “The Parts Centralized Funding Program has an FIP-like spirit in the sense that it benefits airmen in the field and will make their lives easier.”
