The Air Force has fielded a pilot version of the expeditionary combat support system, the new supply chain management tool that is expected to transform Air Force logistics. “Pilot A” went live about two weeks ago at Hanscom AFB, Mass., the pilot base for ECSS implementation. More robust increments will be introduced over time. Brig. Gen. Kenneth Moran, director and program executive officer of enterprise logistics systems, said fielding Pilot A “is a big day for ECSS, but it marks just another step in a long journey to delivering the full promise.” ECCS is scheduled to be fully operational around 2013, replacing hundreds of stove-piped, non-standardized logistics functions with a single, integrated system that unites the entire supply chain. Next year, ECCS will enter initial operational test and evaluation at MacDill AFB, Fla., and Ellsworth AFB, S.D. (Wright-Patterson report)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.