Mary E. Chenoweth

Quality-of-life goods and services for soldiers operating from contingency bases are key for morale and physical and emotional well-being but also a substantial logistics burden, especially in austere theaters, such as Afghanistan, where roads are few and the terrain is difficult. This report evaluates factors that contribute to and detract from soldier quality of life and recommends improvements in the face of a range of constraints.

Acquisition data and information are the foundation for decisionmaking, management, and oversight of weapon-system acquisition programs. The authors review 21 key acquisition data information systems, their origins and uses, and how acquisition data might be improved. They also summarize background on acquisition data; review commercial practices in data management; and offer findings and recommendations to improve quality, access, and use.

This report assesses the feasibility and extent to which the Department of Defense might decrease the operating and support costs of its military commercial-derivative engines without a loss of safety or reliability through greater use of Federal Aviation Administration-approved parts and repairs provided by companies other than the original equipment manufacturer.

The authors review Air Force purchases of 3low-demand2 parts, analyzing how much the Air Force spends on such parts and the types of parts that have a low demand. They then identify and synthesize best commercial purchasing and supply chain management practices used for developing supply strategies for such items, concluding with recommendations for the Air Force to improve its supply strategies for such items.

One tool the Air Force is using to improve its logistical support to the warfighter is purchasing and supply-chain management (PSCM). Is PSCM doing what it was intended to do? If so, how well? Are other factors influencing its intended outcomes? The authors have developed an econometric model that helps examine all these things. While data availability and quality can be a challenge, the model may also be useful in other contexts.

The authors describe spend analyses they conducted in 2002 for the first phase of a purchasing and supply management demonstration at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center for of F100 jet engine spares and repair services and jet engine bearings. The authors detail required data and processes for a spend analysis and discuss the implications of their findings for F100 purchasing and supply-chain management for future spend analyses.

A study of the implementation of innovative practices in Air Force depot maintenance contracts, this book looks at the relationship between organizational levers (means leadership can use to influence personnel to implement reform) and contract innovation.