Senior leaders focus on smooth transition

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  On March 11, ESC Senior Leaders held the second of three daylong off-sites specifically geared to laying out plans on how best to transition smoothly to the new Program Executive Officer structure planned to take effect on July 1.

As presented at the "State of ESC" luncheon, ESC will transform from the current structure of one PEO to an organization comprised of six PEOs: Command and Control and Combat Support (C2&CS), Command, Control Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C2ISR), Battle Management, Cyber/Net-centric, Enterprise Logistics and Enterprise Information Systems.

"This new structure is intended to help achieve the goals set forth in the Air Force's Acquisition Improvement Plan," said Col. George Barber, director of Plans and Programs. "A main focus of the reorganization is to establish clear lines of authority and accountability within acquisition organizations. Senior acquisition managers would have those clear lines, because the six PEOs would manage a smaller portfolio of programs and they would report directly to SAF/AQ (the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition)."

Along with the additional PEOs, the roles of Center Senior Functionals, or CSFs, such as Engineering, Contracting, Comptroller, Personnel, Program Management and Life Cycle Logistics, are expanding. Under the new construct, the CSFs will be responsible for the direct supervision and training of employees in their respective career fields.

The center stood up multiple Transition Working Groups, referred to as TWGs, in January to address the many changes that must be captured and dealt with to ensure a smooth hand-off. The TWGs are focusing on specific areas, including: PEO operations, CSF common operations, Unit Support, Center operations, Foreign Military Sales operations, Enterprise Integration and Developmental Planning.

The TWGs have been actively clarifying the roles and responsibilities to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Three TWGs - PEO, CSF and Unit Support - presented their results at the March off-site, emphasizing work that would be transferring among these areas and resources required to support the transfers.

Senior leaders from ESC's geographically separated units also attended the March 11 off-site to ensure their unique challenges were identified and addressed. Additionally, participants discussed key programs such as Wellness and Wingman to make sure the PEO reorganization does not inadvertently weaken existing support systems, which ESC leaders characterize as strong now.

Each of the groups is working on major organizational challenges, said Col. Charles Thompson, 66th Air Base Wing vice commander.

"From there, we'll drill down to a long list of activities, to be as thorough as possible up front, and to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible when we flip the switch," he said.

The next senior leader off-site is scheduled for the May timeframe. At that time, participants will run mock scenarios to dry-run many of the processes that have changed hands. The goal, again, is to pave the smoothest path possible as the center transitions to the new structure.

"We're taking the time now to make sure we get this right, because it's extremely important that we do," said ESC Commander Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds. "The offsite allowed us to really home in on these issues and start making some critical decisions. Now, as we move forward, we'll work hard to get the word out to all members of our center team."