CUSHIONING THE FALL


grew for all three services, PM CCS, along with the Navy and Air Force, worked with the supplier to increase capacity to meet DOD needs. Te sup- plier grew from one facility to three to support the requirements


for aircraft


pyrophoric material countermeasures. As budgets have shrunk over the past several years, the contractor has right- sized itself to adapt to the lower demand. (See Figure 1 on Page 118.)


POWERFUL CAPABILITIES U.S. Army PFC Isaiah Montalvo, left, receives instruction on how to properly prepare a C4 explo- sive from SGT Andrew Evatt at the Yakima Training Center, WA, April 10, 2013. Both Soldiers are assigned to the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade. Production of munitions such as this grew during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and is now set to contract. (U.S. Army photo by SSG Antwaun Parrish, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)


Team CCS, along with other material developers in PEO Ammo, is conscious of the multitude of potential impacts on the NTIB. In response, it is assessing and executing procurement strategies to manage this contraction responsibly, to meet the needs of a budget-constrained force and keep the base warm.


Across the portfolio, Team CCS has been employing Better Buying Power (BBP) 2.0 management tools and competitive contracting strategies to address the needs of the Army while balancing and supporting critical


IB


sustainment. Tese efforts include pro- moting competition, more effective use of market surveys and awarding shorter-term contracts to create oppor- tunities for companies to expand their


116 Army AL&T Magazine January–March 2014


current portfolios and keep production lines going.


FACILITY FLUCTUATIONS After hostilities began in Afghanistan and Iraq, facilities and production lines were added to meet increased demand and to react rapidly to unanticipated con- ventional and hybrid threats. Te NTIB expanded accordingly. Now, with the Iraq war over, operations in Afghanistan ramping down and the Budget Con- trol Act resulting in decreased funding primarily through sequestration, many companies in the IB are contracting.


For example, at the start of 2003, there was only one facility supporting DOD in the production of aircraft pyrophoric countermeasure flares. As requirements


While many companies within the IB are right-sizing their workforces and pro- duction lines to meet the lower demand, Team CCS continues to assess risks, bal- ance resources and make decisions to sustain production for critical strategic capabilities. In spite of these efforts, the reality is that, as the force becomes leaner, the team’s equitable decisions to keep the base warm with fewer resources may not be enough to sustain all of them.


GROUPING FOR MAXIMUM BENEFIT Part of Team CCS’s


core


acquisition


strategies that help shape the IB is to combine family-of-capability purchases, or “family buys,” grouping multiple items together to help maintain mini- mum sustainment rates for many of the items. Team CCS has employed this strategy successfully with the continu- ing acquisition of handheld signal flares. Tis family-buy approach allows the manufacturer to keep leaner staffs and production lines going at a steady rate without interruptions.


For example, a family buy pooled six handheld signals (M125A1, M126A1, M127A1, M158, M159 and M195) on one contract, allowing Team CCS to have sufficient quantities on contract to meet the manufacturer’s minimum sus- tainment rates, rather than having them produced all at once. Tis vehicle also


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