Revamped Air Force Materiel Command goes for agility
Amid a changing threat landscape, AFMC has revised its vision and mission statements to better reflect goals.
Following a reorganization spurred by budget cuts, the Air Force Materiel Command has adopted a new mission and vision statement aimed at making the command “more agile as it delivers war-winning support to the warfighter,” according to an Air Force announcement.
Described as “succinct but declarative,” AFMC’s new mission statement is to be the Air Force’s “most trusted and agile provider of innovative and cost-effective war-winning capabilities.”
“The mission statement encompasses the entire spectrum of AFMC's role as a provider of agile combat support. Agility is reinforced by a new vision statement designed to push the command to optimum performance,” the Air Force said.
AFMC, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, has six divisions that develop, test and deliver technologies and weapons systems to the Air Force. And given the ready availability of technology to adversaries and a growing list of asymmetric threats, its focus is on working more quickly.
“In the current world environment, the Air Force and the other services are being forced to react more quickly and put greater emphasis on agility,” said Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, AFMC commander. “The Air Force's ability to be agile comes from AFMC.”
Due to budget cuts as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, also known as sequestration, the force was directed to reorganize assets. A detailed study performed by RAND Corp. in 2012 – at the request of the secretary of the Air and mandated by Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012 – suggested a number of process improvements that could make product development and support, system design and operations support more efficient. The study also recommended organizational changes.
Under the new monikers, AFMC’s six centers will continue to deliver agility via a revised list of core mission areas:
- The Air Force Research Laboratory to discover and develop new capabilities.
- The Air Force Test Center to ensure the reliability of weapon systems.
- The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to field and support weapon systems from cradle to grave.
- The Air Force Sustainment Center to sustain and supply capabilities.
- The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center to provide worldwide mission support.
- The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center to deliver and support nuclear deterrence capabilities.
A new strategic plan will be published in January 2016 and include revised objectives and measurement linked to the new vision and mission statement, the release stated.