The Defense Department named Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Bickel for the best in DOD for financial management initiative as an individual contributor. Bickel is the deputy director for USAF’s new Financial Management Center of Expertise at Buckley AFB, Colo. He is credited with most of the leadership effort to take the new center from conception to initial operational capability.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.