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Say Hello to My FIST
Say Hello to My FIST: As the Air Force grapples with its long-assailed requirements and acquisition process, the service should consider returning to a more streamlined approach that would better insulate programs from cost overruns and long development cycles, two Air Force acquisition officers told a Defense Acquisition University seminar Wednesday at Ft. Belvoir, Va. They dubbed this approach “FIST,” which stands for fast, inexpensive, simple, and tiny. FIST has a precedent in some of the service’s most iconic programs such as the P-51 Mustang of World War II fame as well as the C-130 transport, F-16 fighter, and MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, said Maj. Dan Ward, chief of process improvement and reengineering in USAF’s acquisition office. Constraining the scope, cost, and duration of a weapon system’s developmental phase is the most important factor in establishing a durable acquisition program, said Ward. For example, only five years after the C-130 requirement was issued, the airlifter was in service, Ward noted. In 2006, the C-130 became only the fourth aircraft in history to achieve 50 years of continuous use by its original customer, he noted. The Predator’s transformation from a reconnaissance drone into an attack aircraft was completed in less than three months with a budget of less than $3 million, Ward said. Maj. Gabe Mounce, Ward’s co-briefer and an Air Force Materiel Command chief engineer, said the FIST process relies on small groups, relying on teamwork instead of paperwork to quickly deliver innovations to the fight. (For more on this topic, read The FIST Handbook.) (For the history of Predator weaponization, read How the Predator Grew Teeth in the July issue of Air Force Magazine.)
—Marc V. Schanz
7/31/2009
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On the Record
Mission One
"The health and safety of our pilots—all of our pilots—is our utmost priority. Our operational flight surgeons and our medical staff interact with our pilots on a daily basis."
—Brig. Gen. Daniel Wyman, Air Combat Command command surgeon, speaking to reporters during a teleconference, May 9, 2012. He was emphasizing that the Air Force is doing all it can to ensure the safety of F-22 pilots as service officials continue to home in on the cause of why some Raptor pilots have experienced hypoxia-like symptoms in the cockpit like difficulty concentrating, fatigue, headaches, and nausea. |
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On the Record
Message to Congress
"If you give us force structure back, give us the money, too. Because the quickest way I know to a hollow force is to give us structure without money. Simple as that. . . . 'Make it work' is not a satisfactory solution."
—Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz articulating his message to lawmakers on the Air Force's Fiscal 2013 budget proposal during a speech at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C., May 1, 2012. The Air Force leadership has proposed reducing force structure and personnel next fiscal year in order to maintain a ready and capable force as the service absorbs significant spending cuts. |
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