Air Force SSG reorganizing

Air Force SSG

The Air Force Standard Systems Group is in the midst of an internal makeover designed to take better advantage of its information technology and acquisition skills while reducing overall costs to the customer, according to the group's chief.

To reach its goals, SSG will be streamlining both its organization and how it conducts its business by creating new directorates and merging others, said Frank Weber, SSG executive director.

"These critical changes will optimize how we work with customers and users," Weber said in a release. "We want to ensure that we have the right skills in the right places at the right time to put capability into our customers' hands."

SSG provides and sustains combat support information systems for the Air Force and Defense Department. The group procures IT products that are used by almost every organization on Air Force military bases worldwide, with more than 200,000 users and 3 million transactions daily.

Among the changes in organization:

* The Acquisition Directorate combines the Commercial Information Technology-Product Area Directorate (CIT-PAD) with the contracting office. This new directorate will provide acquisition strategy and contracting support to program managers and the staff, and will also purchase IT hardware, software and services for the Air Force.

* The recently established Engineering and Architecture Directorate serves as SSG's focal point for systems integration and interoperability, and also handles productivity improvements related to the systems engineering process, Weber said. "Their primary mission is to ensure a disciplined engineering approach to systems deployment."

* The new Operations Directorate will merge most of the present defense information infrastructure, network communications and customer support divisions. It will also provide around-the-clock operational support for Air Force customers.

* The Software Technology Services Directorate will serve as the focal point for SSG's Air Force portal. It will focus primarily on lifecycle maintenance and sustaining air combat support systems.

* The Personnel, Manpower and Training Directorate will focus on both military and civilian personnel matters, skills for the IT environment, and consolidating training requirements.

"As we change the way we operate, we'll also rebalance our military, civilian and contractor mix," Weber said. "Our goal is a 25- to 30-percent cost reduction over the next two years without sacrificing mission or quality."

But because true transformation never ends, there will not be a conventional project completion date, he said. "But our transformed SSG team will give our customers confidence that their missions will be supported without interruption."

Weber also announced that Col. Steven Jones, SSG vice director, will relinquish military command of the group on May 30. Jones held four positions within SSG since his arrival and will be moving on to become the Air Force Materiel Command chairman for Air University.

Col. Victor Jevsevar Jr., the director of SSG's Defense Information Infrastructure-Air Force, Maxwell Air Force Base, Gunter Annex, Ala., will be Jones' replacement.