The Air Force has adopted a centralized approach toward managing its computer network operations, making the switch to a single commander on July 5. An Air Combat Command statement says that Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, new 8th Air Force commander, also holds the title Air Force Network Operations commander. Lt. Gen. Michael Peterson, the Air Force’s Chief Information Officer, previewed the service’s plan during a May speech, in which he told a Capitol Hill audience that the Air Force was taking an incremental approach toward streamlining its network operations apparatus.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
