Product Support and Human Capital: Essential Ingredients for Optimizing System Readiness, Availability, and Life Cycle Costs.

摘要

Traditionally, development and procurement have accounted for about 28 percent of a weapon's total ownership cost, while costs to operate, maintain, and dispose of the weapon system account for about 72 percent of the total. For a number of years, the department's goal has been to spend less on supporting systems and to devote more funds to development and procurement in order to modernize weapon systems. But, in fact, growth in operating and support costs has limited the department's buying power.' The affordability and efficiency initiatives undertaken by the Department of Defense in 2010 are prudent and necessary steps to proactively address current fiscal realities faced by the federal government during a period of increased financial uncertainty. We must 'do more, without more,' as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Dr. Ashton B. Carter has said. Given the portion of weapon system life cycle costs allocated to supporting and sustaining those systems, it is reasonable that the department would focus its efforts not only on reducing the portion of life cycle costs devoted to product support, but also on implementing initiatives to aggressively shrink the size of the pie itself, while simultaneously working to ensure that warfighter system availability and readiness requirements are met. Effective and efficient product support planning and implementation is foundational to optimizing weapon system life cycle cost and performance outcomes. So too, is the need for a DoD and industry acquisition and logistics workforce that not only possesses, but is able to leverage the requisite product support competencies, tools, training, guidebooks, references, processes, and expertise to successfully achieve these two vitally important outcomes. Human capital is a fundamental and essential ingredient to delivering efficient and effective product support in support of our nation's defense.