IAT Road Show Explains Contracting Realignment

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rodney D. Ivey
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The Installation Acquisition Transformation initiative, a comprehensive restructuring of continental U.S. installation acquisition practices, is scheduled to conclude the Road Show, which began in February visiting bases in the Southwest, Midwest and Southeast, at McConnell AFB, Sept. 11.

"Transforming the way we provide installation contracting support is not an option, but a real necessity given the fiscal constraints, mission growth and increased operational tempo," said Maj. James Davis, 22nd Mission Support Group deputy commander.

Under the transformation, McConnell will only have a small contracting presence while the Air Force Material Command will head the acquisition groups. McConnell AFB will be included in the 788th Installation Acquisition Group in the Midwest region, with headquarters located near St Louis, Mo.

Under the transformation, Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, will head five geographically-based installation acquisition groups, leaving only a small contracting presence at each installation. McConnell AFB will be included in the 788th Installation Acquisition Group in the Midwest region, with headquarters located near St Louis, Mo.

Col. Steve Elliott, provisional director of the 788th IAG and Ms. Teresa Rendon, an Air Force small business representative, will present briefings to 22nd Air Refueling Wing senior leadership and 22nd Contracting Squadron personnel.

Additionally, a "town hall" presentation, for area businesses and those interested in learning about changes the transformation will bring to installation-level procurement, will be at the Robert J. Dole Community Center from 1 to 2 p.m.

"While our contracting personnel understand the need for IAT, they have many questions on how the implementation will affect them personally and professionally," said Col. Mark Hobson, provisional director for the newly formed Installation Acquisition Center at Wright-Patterson. "The local small business community also has concerns about how they will be able to continue competing for government contracts."

"I think our biggest challenge with IAT is to achieve the economies of scale through consolidation and regional purchasing power, while at the same time keeping our customer focus at base level, along with providing opportunities for America's principal source of new jobs, the small business," said Major Davis.

"We've been able to provide answers to a lot of questions from the field, and we've also gotten some great ideas on how to make this transition easier," the Colonel Elliot said. "I'm really fired up at the level of involvement our folks in the field are showing. They know this is a big deal for our career field."

Currently, each installation buys goods and services they need to operate at the tactical level. IAT will allow the Air Force to take advantage of strategic sourcing and leverage $15 billion in buying power consistent with the tenets of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century.

"I am convinced though, that if anyone can deliver on the promise, it's the outstanding professionals in the contracting workforce," said Major Davis.

Strategic sourcing is a business practice for procurement in which organizations critically analyze their spending and make strategic business decisions on how best to procure products and services at the best value.

The complete transformation, a project nearly two years in the making by procurement professionals, is anticipated to take three-to-five years, with the first positions migrating to the installation acquisition groups between fiscal 2010 and 2012.

For more information about IAT, call the base contracting office at 759-3275 or visit the IAT Web site at http://ww3.safaq.hq.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=11457.

(The 22nd ARW Public Affairs staff contributed to part of this article.)