Wing director departing Hanscom ... again

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • 66 ABW Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  When jetliners struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Bruce Hevey, retired from Air Force active duty for little more than a year, felt his first pang of regret about being separated from the military.

"Here there was this huge national crisis, and I was kind of sitting on the sidelines," he said. "I found myself missing the opportunity to be part of our nation's military response."

The retired colonel was by then a civil servant, working for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"NASA provided me with a great opportunity, and I really enjoyed my time there, but when the opportunity to get back involved with the Air Force, and to come back to Hanscom, came about, I was very interested," he said.

The Senior Executive Service member, who is wrapping up his 37 years of federal service (counting his Academy time) at the beginning of September, arrived at the Electronic Systems Center for what would be his third tour in April 2006, taking the reins of what would become the 653rd Electronic Systems Wing.

He had previously served in the AWACS program office and in the Hanscom Air Base Group (subsequently the Air Base Wing) as a captain from 1982 to 1985. He returned to Hanscom a decade later and spent the last five years of his military career running various programs, including the large 'basket' system program office known as the Combat Air Forces Command and Control SPO.

Mr. Hevey said that, during his Air Force career, he never imagined an acquisition officer, which he'd become, having the chance to command a wing. He sees the new wing-group-squadron structure as a real plus for military acquisition officers who are now getting those opportunities.

"My focus, since I've been here, has been on acquisition excellence, the workforce, the workplace and the workload," he said. "While my organize, train and equip responsibilities are clearly defined, there are lots of opportunities to mentor program managers and to provide advice and guidance as they develop acquisition strategies and execute their programs."

He's also kept a constant eye on programmatic developments and on the big picture task of evolving Air Force information capabilities into a network-centric environment.

When he served at ESC as a colonel, "there were about 28 major SPOs, and each was an entity unto itself," he said. "The only time we got together was during staff meetings, but there wasn't any real degree of collaboration."

There were some forays toward integration, including Hevey's Hangar, an interactive demonstration that sought to show the relationship of various systems managed within the CAF/C2 System Program Office. Later the center even expanded on this concept and worked to show off the interdependencies of ESC systems from various program offices. That was followed by creation of a single program office dedicated to integration, which became known by the two-letter symbol CX.

"These were all good steps," Mr. Hevey said. "But now, when I came back this time, we've got wings, and we've got multiple groups within the wings, and we've got within the groups multiple squadrons and programs; and the way it was all put together, there are tremendous opportunities for collaboration and integration."

As for how much collaboration occurs between wings, that sometimes tends to be "personality dependent," Mr. Hevey said.

He recalled living for three months across the hall from former 350 ELSW Commander Brig. Gen. Pete Hoene in Hanscom's temporary lodging facility. The two got to know each other over that time, and used their time in the TLF as a spring board that launched a close working relationship between the 350th and the 653rd.

"I believe we set the standard for cross-wing collaboration, and spirited cross-wing rivalry," he said.

He was able to also develop great partnerships with the 551 ELSW, combining his wing's airborne networking efforts with the 551st's platform work in communications and airborne networking. The same was true with the 554 ELSW, where they have collaborated on the Initial Infrastructure Build, prototyped and tested by the 554th, and the follow-on effort known as the Singularly Managed Infrastructure - Enterprise Level Security (SMI-ELS) being led by the 753 ELSG within Mr. Hevey's wing.

"Everyone is busy, and it's difficult to find the time to build relationships, but it's definitely worth it," Mr. Hevey said, holding to the philosophy he came back to Hanscom espousing.

"I hate to say that I don't want this to be the best wing at ESC, but frankly, I'm not nearly as interested in being the best wing as I am in being the best wingman or the best teammate," Mr Hevey said when he assumed his directorship more than two years ago. "We need to work together to become an integrated, truly network-centric war fighting environment to effectively accomplish our mission."

Mr. Hevey also emphasized now that it's important to continue working closely with the various professional and civic organizations that support ESC and Hanscom.

"They do so much, in terms of supporting the warfighters, our deployed troops, providing scholarships and helping us get word out to our industry partners, and in terms of supporting the base," he said. "But they can't do any of that if we don't work with them and participate in their events. Often it's hard to find the time, but again, it's worth the investment."

He said that the support Hanscom and its Airmen receive from these organizations and the local communities is stronger than at any place else he's ever been, either with the Air Force or NASA.

As for his next step, Mr. Hevey says now that he's been "re-blued,'" he doesn't intend to leave the military community again; that is, he intends to continue working with and on behalf of military causes.

"I just missed the people and the mission too much," he said of his nearly six years away from the Air Force.

"So I'm going to keep doing this stuff, supporting the warfighter and the mission, just in a different capacity. I'm not going back home to Maine to start a blueberry farm or work a 'lobstah' boat."

The 653rd ELSW will hold an open house farewell celebration for Mr. Hevey in the wing front office on the second floor of Building 1624 August 28 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and they welcome all to come by.