Air Force looking to reorganize directorate for special programs to better enable joint fight

By Shelley K. Mesch / November 15, 2022 at 2:07 PM

The Air Force wants to reorganize its Special Access Programs to ensure better joint operations after the National Defense Strategy said departments are not organized in a way that supports rapid development and integration of new technologies.

The Directorate for Special Programs doesn’t have a “clearly articulated unifying strategy that drives daily work and defines how [it] should organize to support its customers and partners,” according to an online posting for information. To address the problem, the service is seeking information on reorganization consulting services.

The Air Force is seeking a design of mission, a digital transformation of the enterprise, sustainable leadership and staffing for the organization's needs, a review of contracts and contractors and a realignment of skillsets for mission execution, according to the posting.

The services’ current models don’t incentivize open systems designs “that can rapidly incorporate cutting-edge technologies, creating longer-term challenges with obsolescence, interoperability and cost effectiveness,” according to the NDS, which was released last month.

The Air Force wants to use “best-in-class commercial organizational transformation expertise” to reorganize the directorate.

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