The Air Force is conducting an internal review of its acquisition processes and has brought on the Center for Naval Analysis to examine them with a fresh set of outside eyes to help support a smooth transition to President-elect Barack Obama’s Administration, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Nov. 12. Speaking to an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., Donley said the Air Force does have “some challenges” on the acquisition front. “Is there room for improvement? Yes,” he acknowledged. “Are we working on it? Yes,” he said. The two reviews are meant to provide “actionable recommendations” by the end of the calendar year “on how we can improve the situation,” Donley said. The goal, he added, is “to set the table” for the new Administration, providing it with “a menu of options with pros and cons understood” on how to move forward with issues such as KC-X tanker recapitalization. As we know, getting a new tanker on the ramp has been no easy task (see below).
The Air Force has more to do to lead by example, and to create a culture where people feel comfortable discussing sexual assault and other forms of violence with their superiors, service leadership said. The death of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old Soldier who disappeared from Fort Hood, Texas,…