Sustainment efforts hitting their stride

  • Published
  • By Michael P. Kleiman
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Kirtland Air Force Base --  Established in March 2006 at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center started with eight personnel, but since then, the organization has grown to 200-plus members, achieving full operational capability on January 20, 2011.

Various challenges during the 2007-2008 time period resulted in the Air Force's refocus on the nuclear inventory, which, in turn, contributed to the Center's rapid expansion.

"Since its inception five years ago, the AFNWC has focused its energies on reinvigorating and now continuing to strengthen the Air Force nuclear enterprise, and in that process, our organization has turned many small victories into big successes, and I look for that momentum to continue," said Brig. Gen. Garrett Harencak , AFNWC commander. "The men and women of the AFNWC display determination, dedication and diligence 24/7 as caretakers of the nation's nuclear inventory."

Comprised of the 377th Air Base Wing and the 498th Nuclear Systems Wing at Kirtland AFB, and the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Systems Division at Hill AFB, Utah, the AFNWC also leads a nuclear systems division at Kirtland AFB, a missile sustainment division at Tinker AFB, Okla., two munitions maintenance groups at Whiteman AFB, Mo., and Minot AFB, N.D., respectively, as well as squadron/detachment level units at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., Malmstrom AFB, Mont., Lackland AFB, Texas, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., and Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

"The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center has become a centralized acquisition and sustainment organization with visibility across all aspects of the nuclear enterprise. We also have strong interaction with Air Force Global Strike Command," said Mr. John Faulkner, vice director, 498 NSW. "Since April 2008, when Brig Gen. Everett Thomas assumed command of the Center and during his almost three-year tenure, the organization's turnaround has been extraordinary."

Maintaining and sustaining a nuclear arsenal more than 50 years old has its challenges, but the AFNWC has approached it from an opportunistic perspective. For example, the weapon maintenance truck employed in Europe had deteriorated over time and suffered from poor operational availability, but the Center established engineering and maintenance expertise that enabled the system to achieve a 90-plus percent mission-capable rate. The AFNWC has also developed an acquisition program to replace the vehicle. In addition, the air-launched cruise missile has experienced new life as Center staff members work to reinvigorate its reliability to function until 2030.

Likewise, AFNWC staff partnering with the Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, accomplished a refurbishment of the Mk 12A fuze for the Minuteman III missile.

After analyzing the problems and making significant strides, the Center plans to successfully renovate the 25- to 30-year old Mk 21 fuze for the same missile in the next few months.

"We've come a long way in building the AFNWC team and we're working to restore the culture of high scrutiny," said Scott Deakin, nuclear weapons integration technical advisor, AFNWC. "We welcome the scrutiny. It keeps us giving our best for the warfighter."

With AFNWC oversight, the Air Force's nuclear enterprise has experienced, and will continue to experience, stages of life extensions and modifications to counter the effects of aging and maintain and sustain the capability.

"I see the level of performance in the AFNWC's acquisition and sustainment increasing rapidly and steadily. We now have the skilled personnel and the leadership structure to support," said Faulkner. "We have programs and program managers with ever-increasing knowledge and experience that are able to anticipate problems. We're doing it as fast as we can, but we're going at the speed of nuclear surety."