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报告摘要

Summary of "Consolidating Air Force Maintenance Occupational Specialties"

Core Content

This report, conducted by the RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), evaluates the potential impacts of consolidating aircraft maintenance occupational specialties (AFSs) on the U.S. Air Force's Mobility Air Forces (MAF) operations, specifically focusing on the KC-135 fleet. The study aims to help Air Mobility Command (AMC) reduce operating and support (O&S) costs while maintaining readiness. It explores the trade-offs between increased training requirements and improved maintainability and effectiveness.

Main Questions Addressed

What are the current maintainer training requirements, and how might they increase under AFS consolidation?
How will an increase in training requirements affect the availability of maintainers to perform maintenance?
How much more effective will maintainers be once trained on a broader range of tasks?
What is the cost of additional required training?
What is the overall effect of AFS consolidation on cost and readiness?

Key Findings

Consolidating maintenance AFSs will require maintainers to spend more time in training, which reduces their availability for maintenance tasks.
The average reduction in availability ranges from 7 to 14 percent, depending on the scenario.
The potential benefits of AFS consolidation include increased utilization and effectiveness of maintainers, which could offset the reduced availability.
Using the Logistics Composite Model (LCOM), the analysis shows that AFS consolidation could increase KC-135 sortie generation capability by 12 to 14 percent if manpower authorization levels are maintained.
Alternatively, AMC could reduce maintenance manpower by 17 to 23 percent without losing sortie generation capability.
A third option involves reducing manpower by less than 17 percent, which could result in some cost savings and improved sortie generation capability.

Analytical Approach

The study considers the impact of AFS consolidation on both active-duty maintainers and their training.
Two scenarios are developed to model the training burden:
- Scenario A: A conservative estimate that assumes no elimination of training duplication.
- Scenario B: A more realistic estimate based on subject-matter expert input, which assumes reduced training time and elimination of unnecessary duplication.
The LCOM model is used to assess the implications of AFS consolidation on manpower requirements, readiness, and cost.
The study also integrates attrition data to understand the long-term effects of consolidation on maintainers' availability.

Consolidation Construct

A single consolidation construct is analyzed, reducing the number of KC-135 maintenance AFSs from ten to four.
The construct combines six primary flight-line specialties into an avionics and mechanics track, and four backshop specialties into a structures and fuel track.
This structure is similar to that used by commercial airlines and aligns with the F-35's current AFS organization.
The consolidation is based on the similarity of tasks and training requirements, and it is vetted with subject-matter experts from AMC and AETC.

Implications and Recommendations

The study highlights the importance of implementation details in the success of AFS consolidation.
It recommends further analysis in the following areas:
- Impact on Guard and Reserve maintainers.
- Implementation challenges and strategies to reduce them.
- Effects on other fleets.
- Refining estimates of training requirements.
- Evaluating impacts on accession and promotion.
- Assessing effects on deployed footprint and combat resiliency.

Conclusion

The report concludes that AFS consolidation for the KC-135 fleet could lead to long-term benefits for AMC, including improved readiness, reduced manpower requirements, or both.
However, the analysis emphasizes the need for careful planning and further study to ensure that the consolidation is implemented effectively and that all potential impacts are considered.

Key Information

Document Title: Consolidating Air Force Maintenance Occupational Specialties
Authors: Thomas Light, Daniel M. Romano, Michael Kennedy, Caolionn O'Connell, Sean Bednarz
Published by: RAND Corporation
Funding: Contract FA7014-06-C-0001
Focus: KC-135 maintenance operations
Scope: Limited to the KC-135 fleet and does not include other mobility fleets or Guard/Reserve personnel
Methodology: Uses the Logistics Composite Model (LCOM) and data from subject-matter experts
Training Time: Current and consolidated AFS structures were compared in terms of training time and costs
Cost Savings: Potential annual savings of approximately $20 million per year if AFS consolidation is pursued
Readiness Impact: Potential increase in sortie generation capability by 7 to 10 percent with a 10 percent reduction in manpower

Figures and Tables

Figure S.1: Impact of AFS consolidation
Figure S.2: Consolidation construct considered
Figure S.3: Impact of consolidation on sortie generation capability and manpower requirements
Figure 1.1: AFS consolidation construct
Figure 1.2: Impact of AFS consolidation
Table 2.1: Technical school pipeline months before and after AFS consolidation
Table 2.2: Assumptions about time at skill level and training
Table 2.3: Maintainer availability under current and consolidated constructs over a 16-year career
Table 2.4: Maintainer availability after accounting for retention
Table 4.1: Cost impacts of AFS consolidation and varying manpower levels
Table A.1: Summary of differences between MAF and United Airlines maintenance structures

Abbreviations

AFS: Air Force specialty
AFSC: Air Force specialty code
AMC: Air Mobility Command
AETC: Air Education and Training Command
LCOM: Logistics Composite Model
MAF: Mobility Air Force
O&S: Operating and support
PAF: Project AIR FORCE
SMART: Simulated Maintenance and Requirements Tool
YOS: Year of service

Structure of the Report

Chapter 1: Introduction and overview of the study
Chapter 2: Impact of AFS consolidation on maintainer availability
Chapter 3: Modeling the impact on maintenance manpower effectiveness
Chapter 4: Long-run cost and readiness implications of AFS consolidation

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential benefits and challenges of consolidating maintenance occupational specialties within the U.S. Air Force, with a focus on the KC-135 fleet. It serves as a valuable resource for AMC and other Air Force entities seeking to optimize maintenance operations and reduce costs.

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