Making Every Dollar Count

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Steve Stanley
  • Headquarters Air Combat Command Public Affairs
Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. --  (Editor's note: This is the first in a series highlighting the efforts of Airmen across Air Combat Command whose innovations are cutting down costs and increasing proficiencies in their respective career fields.)

On December 12, 2014, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Larry Spencer, asked for an update to the Make Every Dollar Count Campaign from each major command. The update includes two initiatives that resulted in significant savings in dollars, manpower billets and personnel hours.

Out of the two initiatives set forth from Air Combat Command, the first to be showcased to Gen. Spencer was from the ACC Surgeon General's office.Creid Johnson, A9L Concepts, Doctrine and Lessons Learned division chief, works with the Air Force Doctrine Center and coordinates with subject matter experts throughout Air Combat Command on current problem resolution and conclusion review. Recently, he coordinated initiatives to the Air Force Council from the ACC Surgeon General's Office. (U.S. Air Force photo by/Staff Sgt. Steve Stanley)

The initiatives were coordinated by Mr. Creid Johnson, A9L Concepts, Doctrine and Lessons Learned division chief, whose primary function is working with the Air Force Doctrine Center and coordinating with subject matter experts throughout the command on current problem resolution and conclusion review.

"One of the ideas that recently came into being is the elimination of the Toxic Vapor Analyzer, which was recently mentioned at the Air Force Council," said Johnson. "Our SG community looked at their requirement as part of a deployment package and even for homeland defense on analyzing toxic vapors."

The Medical Readiness Division and Home Station Medical Response Branch, with assistance from the ACC Flight Medicine Division, Bioenvironmental Engineering Branch, collected data and conducted analysis in 2014.

Their findings show other available methodologies and modern technologies currently on the response packages could adequately satisfy the analysis requirement provided by the TVA-1000B.

"One of the systems the TVA was at the end of its useful life cycle so they needed to buy new equipment," Johnson said. "What was found is certain updates already made to current equipment called the Multi-Rae met the proper requirements."

The TVA-1000B Toxic Vapor Analyzer, used by the Bioenvironmental Engineering response teams for both homeland defense response and deployed environments, reached the end of its life cycle. It was due to be replaced Air Force-wide at 72 installations and on 36 deployment packages.

"We manage all of the home station medical response capabilities for the Air Force that includes bio-detections, medical counter capability, wartime capability and also the home station medical response branch that manages those packages that we respond with," said Col. Chris Dun, Air Combat Command chief of expeditionary medical operations.

In the process of managing that capability Freddy Suedbeck, Program Manager for the Home Station Medical Response Branch, saw an opportunity.
(Left to Right) Maj. Perry Johns Home Station Medical Response chief, Col. Chris Dun, Air Combat Command chief of expeditionary medical operations, and Freddy Suedbeck, Program Manager for the Home Station Medical Response Branch, collected data and conducted analysis in 2014. The team found available modern technologies currently on response packages that adequately satisfy the analysis requirement provided by the TVA-1000B. The immediate cost savings of the initiative to the Air Force is more than $2m. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Steve Stanley)
"He said, 'hey we can either replace this, or wait a minute; we've got other equipment in the inventory that does the same thing,'" according to Dun. "He took that, researched it, and went forward with the coordination."

New Toxic Vapor Analyzers cost $17K each, and the required hydrogen gas and calibration kit cost an additional $1,626 each for a total replacement cost of $2,011,608.

"The technology has grown so much in recent years that other detection equipment, such as the Multi-Rae, offered almost the same capability as the TVA-1000B offered," said Mr. Suedbeck. "It set off this thinking that if this one will do the same as the other, then why not look further and see if it will cover all of our gaps and give us that same capability."

Suedbeck then began conducting research, focusing on the chemicals that could be detected with the Multi-Rae, comparing it to the capabilities of the TVA-1000B. He also considered the chemical vulnerabilities that each base could come in contact with, putting together the pros and cons, and conducting the analysis.

"All together it took approximately 14 months starting first by reviewing the allowance standard packets and then doing the research, followed by doing some data calls out to the bases to determine what their vulnerabilities were as far as chemicals go and how they felt about using one piece over the other," Suedbeck said. "It's been very satisfying knowing that we were able to do this and get to the point where we are now, very satisfying."

The ideas submitted have been found under the Airman Powered by Innovation accessible on the Air Force Portal.

"We live in an age of technological advancements so the life cycle of products moves at such a rapid pace that there are always opportunities for technology to shrink, cost to go down and for capabilities to increase and for you to take advantage of those advancements," said Maj. Perry Johns Home Station Medical Response chief. "With leadership backing, I would say anybody can take those advancements on and push them up to the Air Force for improvement."

"This has been very enlightening for us," Dun said. "It has been a win-win on multiple levels on both the home station medical response side and war reserve materiel expeditionary side."