Air Force Under Secretary Matt Donovan, shown here during a Feb. 14, 2019, visit to Sheppard AFB, Texas, said the Air Force's new business operations plan is part of a larger effort to sharpen the service’s "competitive edge." Air Force photo by A1C Pedro Tenorio.
The Air Force this week announced a new business operations plan, outlining specific goals to push for over the next two years as it works to rebuild readiness, strengthen alliances, and reform business practices.
“Sharpening the Air Force’s competitive edge means building a more lethal, ready force for the high-end fight,” Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Donovan said in a release. “It means reforming everything from organizational structures to outdated policies so our warfighters can increase their effectiveness … while remaining good stewards of the taxpayer dollar.”
The plan specifically calls for:
- Increasing pilot retention through pay, bonuses, and giving them regular input on assignments.
- Creating a realistic integrated training environment aimed at letting forces train in operationally relevant ways.
- Implementing innovative sustainment measures, such as conditions-based maintenance.
- Maturing the Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability—the future force design team developing the Air Force We Need study.
- Improving foreign military sales by reducing the time between a letter of request, letter of offer, and acceptance.
- Reducing redundancy and duplication in information technology by refining governance structures and optimizing architecture.
Laying out the goals and reforms will help ensure the service is prioritizing resources and “providing American taxpayers the best defense value for their hard-earned money,” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said in a preface to the plan.
Leaders who are responsible for USAF business operations will report progress on a quarterly basis, and Donovan wrote he will update progress on a semi-annual basis “to address emerging environmental and strategic factors.”