Air Force Space Command is seeing the benefits of applying the principals of the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century initiative to execute its missions more effectively and efficiently without sacrificing quality. For example, the 460th Space Wing’s space-based infrared satellite network support work centers have adjusted manning from 24/7 operations to more efficient nine-hour work days (with 15-hour stand-by times) by cross-training crews and, in the process, have eliminated the need for seven billets. Another example is the new process instituted by the 21st Space Wing to evaluate contracts. With it, wing officials were able to award the contract for the perimeter acquisition radar attack characterization system at $8.7 million under the original government estimate. Once standardized, this process has the potential “to save tens of millions of dollars in contract costs,” said 21st Space Wing AFSO 21 chief Rick Hughes. (Peterson report by SSgt. Daylena Gonzalez) (For more, read Air Force Magazine’s AFSO21 Progress Report)
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.