The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Okla., has established an around-the-clock, one-stop service center to help get replacement parts to customers in the field. A visit of Lt. Gen. Terry Gabreski, Air Force Materiel Command vice commander, to see operations in Southwest Asia last fall prompted establishment of the new service center. She heard from deployed personnel that the difference in time zones meant that calls to the center for help often were being re-routed numerous times before being resolved. Officials say that since March, the center has seen a 70 percent decrease in unconfirmed shipments.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.