The Air Force is just putting its $100 billion tanker contract up for bid. It's basically admitting that it doesn't really have the chops to oversee big, complicated equipment buys any more. That's the surprising word from the incoming Air Force Secretary, Michael Donley, during today's press conference at the Pentagon. "Our contracting personnel, our warfighters and our engineers [are] not always adequately prepared to withstand the detailed audits and the legal challenges that we can now expect" during these big contracts," he says. The newest phase of the so-called "KC-X" tanker competition is going to be overseen by Defense Undersecretary John Young, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer -- and not the Air Force, which would be the normal thing to do. Donley says that's "an appropriate and necessary step to ensure congressional and public confidence that DOD can and will successfully manage to completion a large, complex procurement such as
KC-X." The he goes on to tell the gathered reporters:
"This is no small matter, and it's not just an Air Force issue. In an environment of fewer contractors and fewer but larger contracts, we can expect protests like these. It is essential for the department, working with Congress, to maintain both internal and public confidence in our acquisition process. Air Force and DOD officials are ready to brief appropriate congressional committees on additional details of the KC-X
competition, which still includes protected source selection-sensitive information, and we will protect the integrity of this process going forward...
The Air Force needs to rapidly apply the lessons learned from this experience and move forward. Other Air Force acquisition decisions are on the horizon. __GAO's [Government Accountability Office] conclusions show that even in a large, complex procurement with considerable staff resources and oversight, work accomplished by our contracting personnel, our warfighters and our engineers is not always adequately prepared to withstand the detailed audits and the legal challenges that we can now expect. I've asked Sue Payton, the Air Force's assistant secretary for
Acquisition, and her team to ensure that GAO's findings are fully understood and accounted for in preparation for other pending program decisions. __
In sum, restoring confidence in our acquisition process, addressing the
GAO's concerns in the source selection directly to get the best value for the warfighter and the taxpayer and rebuilding the Air Force's internal capabilities and credibility going forward look like the right priorities to me. (emphasis mine)
The next, rather logical question: If the goal is "restoring confidence in the Air Force acquisitions, why is Sue Payton staying on with her job?" Gates took the mic, and tap-danced around a answer.
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