Lessons Learned from the Logistics Support for Commercial Off the Shelf U.S. AirForce Equipment

摘要

Little documentation exists on the role of supporting commercial off the shelf (COTS) systems bought by the Air Force. Current USAF policy does not address the dynamic nature of buying and supporting COTS systems. The logistics support challenges associated with COTS equipment were explored through telephone interviews with USAF managers. The focus of this study is on the lessons learned by planning logistics support for COTS before, during, and after the enactment of the Defense Acquisition Improvement Act of 1986. Recommendations were made to (1) not fully provision COTS programs, (2) not convert commercial manuals to T.O.s, (3) streamline the acquisition process for COTS systems, (4) buy COTS systems in larger quantities to enjoy the savings from larger economies of scale, and (5) buy all engineering (type III) drawings when the COTS system is integrated with GFE (such as COMSEC equipment). Keywords: Logistics support, Interviewing, management. (emk)