AFMC Command News

Gen. Hoffman assumes leadership of AF Materiel Command

  • Published
  • By John Scaggs
  • Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Gen. Don Hoffman assumed the top position for the Air Force major command responsible for the technology, acquisition, test and sustainment of the service's current and future weapon systems during a ceremony here Nov. 21.

General Hoffman took the reins of Air Force Materiel Command from Gen. Bruce Carlson during a change of command held at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. General Carlson, who had served as the commander of AFMC since August 2005, is retiring after 37 years of service.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presided over the change of command and began by highlighting General Carlson's unwavering leadership in establishing a vision known to everyone in AFMC: war-winning capabilities -- on time, on cost.

"Bruce, you can be confident that AFMC successfully delivers war-winning expeditionary capabilities to the warfighter," General Schwartz said. "Your work is going to pay wonderful dividends for years to come.

"You leave a legacy of excellence and you were a friend to all Airmen," General Schwartz continued. "We wish you and Vicki the very best."

General Carlson, who assumed command of AFMC in August 2005, told the crowd that he considered it an honor to serve and learn from such a diverse and talented group of people.

"During my tenure as AFMC commander, it was a privilege to serve alongside people who were unified in purpose and in decision," General said. "It's a remarkable opportunity for a commander when you have a group of people like that around you. The men and women of AFMC understand the mission, comprehend the goals and work hard to ensure they are accomplished. God bless each of you for your service and God bless the U.S. Air Force."

General Schwartz emphasized AFMC's vital role in the Air Force's national security capability and added that he is confident General Hoffman will lead the command to acquisition and sustainment excellence.

"So much of the Air Force's success hinges on leadership," General Schwartz said. "General Hoffman will lead a command whose work will be critically important to our Air Force and this nation in the years ahead."

General Hoffman thanked General Schwartz and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley for their faith in his ability to lead AFMC and then stated he was looking forward to working alongside AFMC's Airmen, civilians and contractors.

"I'm honored to join this team," General Hoffman said. "Together, we will continue to produce a product and provide services for our warfighters that will dissuade and deter those who wish us harm. Your efforts help keep this nation safe."

Prior to the change of command, General Hoffman received his fourth star during a brief promotion ceremony. After serving as the Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at the Pentagon for the past three years, General Hoffman becomes the seventh AFMC commander since AFMC stood up on July 1, 1992. He will now lead a work force currently numbering about 74,000 people and manage an annual budget of about $59 billion.

During an interview preceding the change of command, General Hoffman praised AFMC's work force.

"The job that the people in AFMC are doing day-to-day plays a critical role in keeping our nation safe and secure," General Hoffman said. "While this command is unique in that civilians comprise about 70 percent of the work force, it does not matter if someone is a blue suiter or a blue collar worker ... we're all part of the same Air Force team. I want everyone in AFMC to understand their connection to our mission.

General Hoffman acknowledged that one of his challenges will involve personnel issues.

"We have experience gaps within some career fields," he said. "We need to positively motivate people to continue their service in AFMC. As a commander, I can help by creating a healthy work environment. I want people to wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work because they enjoy being there and because they believe that their work is important and valued.

"We've also got to determine a healthy pyramid that will support growth and development within our work force," General Hoffman continued. "For example, there are four three-star positions in the Air Force that require acquisition credentials. We have to determine a healthy pyramid below those three-star positions - appropriate jobs for colonels, brigadier and major generals - to support that flow into the three-star jobs. Through job diversity and career broadening assignments, I want to ensure that when the Air Force needs another lieutenant general for one of those acquisition positions that we have a viable choice ... if not multiple candidates. The same situation applies to other career areas and to our senior civilian leadership."

Sustainment of the Air Force's aging aircraft is another key issue.

"We can indefinitely maintain the fleet through AFMC's three depots," General Hoffman said. "The real question is at what price do we continue to sustain our aging fleet? Take the KC-135 for example. AFMC is changing major structural elements such as wing and fuselage skins, engines and landing gear on that aircraft. We're approaching the point where replacement parts make up more of the aircraft than original components.

"There is a cost to those replacement parts and to the man-hours involved in completing the work," he continued. "The situation our depots face is similar to a geriatric hospital that cares for older patients. The hospital staff becomes more skilled in 'sustaining' the patients but each time the patients return to the hospital, they are sicker and require more difficult 'sustaining' by the staff.

That analogy supports the ongoing call by Air Force officials to recapitalize the service's fleet and incorporate new technologies.

"Even though we replace parts and keep the current fleet flying, we're still bound by outdated technology," the general said. "We're replacing traditional rivets and dealing with corrosion problems. One reason we buy new weapon systems is because they are built with newer technology, like composites, that requires less man-hours and less money to sustain them than the older weapon systems.

"The Air Force needs a new tanker soon," he continued. "But I would ask, when does the Air Force want to fly its last KC-135? Consider that in 1929 the Question Mark -- a modified C-2A airplane -- set an air refueling record over southern California by receiving gas through hoses and supplies from a bucket. If that aircraft was still flying next year (2009) it would be 80 years old. If you walked out on a flight line and saw the Question Mark sitting next to our current fighters, bombers, and airlifters, you likely would wonder how the best Air Force in the world could still be flying that ancient aircraft."

"If we're able to award a tanker contract and start production in the next few years, initial projections call for purchasing about 15 tankers each year," General Hoffman said. "At that rate, it will take about 35 years to recapitalize the tanker fleet. If that scenario plays out, when the last of our current tankers retires it would be in the same age bracket as if the Question Mark were still flying today."

Another topic of interest for General Hoffman involves AFMC's Nuclear Weapons Center and how it interfaces with the Air Force's recently announced Global Strike Command as well as the newly created Air Staff directorate, which was aligned as A10 on the staff and officially called the Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Office.

"Global Strike Command has the operators ... they will conduct day-to-day nuclear operations on our flight lines and at our ICBM bases" General Hoffman said. "Our Nuclear Weapons Center (at Kirtland AFB, N.M.) provides a single point for sustainment of nuclear weapons - whether through space or through the air. Previously, this was a shared responsibility but today it's clearly defined and falls under the Nuclear Weapons Center. The center also provides stewardship and security of the nuclear stockpile.

"If this nation makes the strategic choice to acquire replacement nuclear weapons or delivery systems for those weapons, the Nuclear Weapons Center will have a key role in the development and acquisition of those weapon systems - whether that is an ICBM, or a new aircraft or cruise missile," he continued. "At this point, we're in the sustainment mode for existing weapons to keep them viable for this nation's most critical mission."