Colonel highlights quick reaction process during HRA meeting

  • Published
  • By Patty Welsh
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Discussion of the quick reaction capability process was a key part of the presentation by Col. Anthony Genatempo, Airborne Network Division senior materiel leader, to the Hanscom Representatives Association at Hanscom's Minuteman Commons April 5.

"I think this is one of the coolest things since sliced bread to hit the acquisition community - the quick reaction process," he said. "What it does is empower people like me to cut through the bureaucracy."

Explaining the process by highlighting parts of an unusually thin Air Force governing instruction, Genatempo said that acquirers must make a materiel development decision within 30 days of requirements being validated. From there, they have less than six months to field the capability - including testing - and then six months to analyze how well it does in the field.

At the end of the year-long process, there are three options that can happen based on the user's needs. First is that the item is no longer needed or didn't work as intended and it will be disposed. A second option is that the item works well for its specified purpose, and it will be sustained in the field for that particular job until it is no longer needed. Lastly, if it is something the user thinks is "really cool," that could be used elsewhere, then it needs to transition to an enduring program of record.

Genatempo said the process is 100 percent schedule driven, which prevents requirements creep.

"This allows me to just say no," he said. "We decide on that day what the exact capability is that will be fielded. It doesn't matter what 'gee whiz' improvements may come along or be offered right after that, the answer from my team and I is 'no.'"

Any added requirement or capabilities will be held until the final decision is made at the end of the QRC cycle.

Saying that the process is very different from the way Air Force acquisition is normally done, Genatempo emphasized that it's a "cultural change."

He mentioned a number of programs in his division that are designated QRCs or urgent operational needs, including the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, the Mobility Air Force Dynamic Retasking Capability and the Beyond Line of Sight Command and Control.

"We've been seeing great success with QRC for large scale efforts," he said.

Genatempo also said there are pitfalls to using the process, such as how to transition to a program of record.

"What we're fielding today may not look like what it is going to be in the long run," he explained. "We need to think about the capability that is required, not how it's packaged in today's form."

In addition to the QRC information, Genatempo provided an update on business opportunities, future needs and what he sees the division looking like in the future under the new Air Force Life Cycle Management Center structure.