NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md.– NAVAIR Commander Vice Adm. Carl Chebi recognized the SYSCOM Security Cooperation Office (SSCO) with the annual Commander’s Award for small business advocacy April 20 at a ceremony held in Patuxent River.
Chebi honored the team for embracing small businesses as a key to their ability to provide international partners with the improved speed of product delivery, and the sustainment flexibility that has been mandated by executive leadership and by the ever changing operational environment.
“Small businesses have been integral to the SSCO’s overall ability to ensure product support and sustainment services to its customer base, reduce the turnaround time for repairs on many of our international platforms and subsequently reduce the overall burden on the fleet readiness centers,” said SSCO Director Ron Weinberger.
The SSCO recently awarded a contract to a small business industry partner, an Alaskan Native corporation, for aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) as well as training in support of the unique requirements of our international partners. They selected this small business for its ability to pull in other industry to support critical work on legacy aircraft programs that are no longer supported by the original equipment manufacturers.
Partnering with a small, agile business allows the SSCO to perform not only MRO, but also logistics and training functions at multiple sites across the globe in support of NAVAIR program offices and our domestic and international military establishments, said Weinberger.
For example, the SCCO’s partnership with small business, and the U.S. Army’s Multi-National Aviation Special Project Office (MASPO), enabled the refurbishment of several Mi-17 helicopters which will be included in a security assistance package for one of our international partners.
“This is a great example of how our use of small businesses helps contribute to build trust and strengthen strategic partnerships,” said Scott Weiner, SSCO deputy director.
The SSCO also used a small business to extract 10 decommissioned airframes from the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group to perform a maintenance regeneration effort on all 10 aircraft for eventual operational use by an international partner. To date, this contract is on schedule and at budget for completion, while keeping material repairs minimal.
The organization regularly works with small business to operate in a team approach to break down barriers inherent in international acquisition and sustainment to facilitate a fast, flexible, dedicated and coordinated network.
“The networks that the SSCO and small businesses build yield tangible results toward achieving a more cooperative and streamlined logistics and sustainment approach for the U.S. Department of Defense, the defense industrial base, and a large network of international partners,” said Jeff Heron, NAVAIR international MRO director.
About SSCO
The SYSCOM Security Cooperation Office’s mission is to advance U.S. strategic objectives by supporting key allied and international partners with the acquisition, training and sustainment of U.S. defense systems on behalf of the Naval Aviation Enterprise. The SSCO provides acquisition and lifecycle sustainment and management integration across all integrated product support elements for foreign military sales programs.