Air Force logistics hub reorganizes to improve support to combat units.

A sweeping reorganization of the Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center is expected to improve maintenance and logistics support to combat units, officials said.

The ASC, based at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is an $18 billion a-year operation that employs 11,800 people. It manages, develops and maintains a variety of aircraft and related equipment.

The restructuring essentially allows ASC to match the Air Force's war-fighting units, which are organized in wings, groups and squadrons.

Previously, ASC consisted of at least 40 separate acquisitions offices. The center now is made up of seven "wings" for fighter attack, long-range strike, reconnaissance, mobility, agile combat support, special operations and training aircraft.

Nine months after the official implementation of a wing, group, and squadron structure at ASC, officials report substantial progress, although some areas still require fine-tuning.

The biggest benefit is that combat units can better understand what ASC does, says Robert J. May, deputy for support at ASC.

"Everybody in the Air Force knows what a wing is; they may not understand what a systems acquisition wing is, as opposed to an wing," May tells National Defense.

Before the restructuring, Lt. Gen. Bill Looney, former ASC commander, had more than 60 units directly reporting to him. "I'm good, but I'm not that good" he says. The reorganization Cut that number to fewer than 20.

"ASC is a much more manageable organization," adds May, In the past, a program acquisition officer would work with procurement officials "Now, he can go to the fighter attack wing commander, who owns a portfolio of programs, and can hold him accountable for integrating cross platform capabilities," explains May. A case in point is the Sniper targeting pod which was delivered and installed on F-15 fighter jets deploying to Iraq in less than 90 days.

May described the reshuffling as the "most sweeping organizational and cultural change that has been implemented in ASC in 30 or 40 years."

Civilian employees, who make up 70 percent of the ASC workforce, naturally were concerned about their jobs. They feared that the new wing, group, and squadron structure would mandate only military leadership.

Gen. Gregory "Speedy" Martin, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, was "very sensitive to these concerns," May says. He asked the Air Force senior management to allow civilians to lead wings. "Two of our five wings have civilian leaders," says May. "We have a lot of civilian leadership positions and are creating more."

The change in the power structure was another issue that ASC had to resolve. As authority shifted to wing commanders, much time and energy went into developing a new concept of operations. "That has probably been the toughest thing for folks to swallow because for years and years it was one way and now we've changed it quite dramatically," says May.

He noted that the changes have not yet "captured the hearts and minds of all the work force ... Our wing commanders and our functional leadership are committed to making it work."

The workload at ASC, meanwhile, is expected to grow, May says. The center, for example, will be taking on broader responsibilities for supporting unmanned aircraft.