Boeing hired the depot as a subcontractor to perform inspections on Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft the contractor is overhauling. Subcontracting will not be the norm at the depots. We are not here to compete for subcontracting work, Falldine says. The Air Force s core-plus strategy is drawing mixed reviews. Jacques Gansler, undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics in the Clinton administration, says that increasing core work at depots will not make them more efficient or effective.
Monopolies are never efficient.
What needs to be done for depots to operate efficiently is to hold competitions, says Gansler, who now heads the Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise at the University of Maryland. Studies show that regardless of whether a contractor or the government wins a competition, just going through the process leads to improved performance and an average savings of about 30 percent, he says. Gansler calls the 50-50 rule arbitrary and said the services should hold competitions between depots and contractors for all work done at depots. Jim Davis, secretary and treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents thousands of workers at Air Force depots, is wary of any proposal that gives contractors a greater role, saying the Air Force is overly reliant on contractors and cannot prove they are cheaper than using federal employees. They have downsized too far, too fast and now they are in a position where they cannot keep the contractors honest, Davis says.