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Installation Acquisition Transformation

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jocelyn A. Ford
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Col. Harold Cunningham, Air Force Space Command, Chief of Contracting Division is coming to Fairchild and Spokane to brief the communities on Installation Acquisition Transformation. John Caporal, Deputy Director for Small Business, is accompanying Colonel Cunningham for the briefings.

The decision was made in August 2007 to change how the Air Force buys goods, services and construction in the future. Instead of buying the Air Force needs separately at each installation, contracting support will be provided out of five regional centers. Fairchild's regional center will be located in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The transformation will affect approximately $15 billion per year in contracts, only applying to base-level contracting within the continental United States. It does not apply to major weapon systems, logistics support to weapon systems, laboratory support and research, development, test and evaluation.

Contracting experts and small business experts are going to be retained on each installation. This means that local businesses will not be left behind in the transition. The experts will be there to understand the local business capabilities and advise them of opportunities; then, turn around and communicate those capabilities to contracting officers at Regional Center.

The ground work for this major transformation has been laid. The entire change is estimated to take three to five years. This is just one more of the many efforts the Air Force has implemented in the urge to "do more with less."