USAF ILA Handbook - ACC Practice Center - Defense Acquisition ...

and implementation before each acquisition milestone and major decision are encouraged in a
number of DoD and Air Force guiding documents.
2.2. In Designing and Assessing Supportability in DoD Weapon Systems: A Guide to Increased
Reliability and Reduced Logistics Footprint, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology and Logistics (USDAT&L)) emphasizes that acquisition PMs and their teams need
to design and then assess the effectiveness of their TLCSM responsibilities. It suggests that
system operational effectiveness is maximized through a disciplined program of supportability
assessments aligned with traditional major milestones. Accordingly, this guidance calls for the
Services to establish an ILA process.
2.2.1. The DoD Template for Application of TLCSM and PBL in the Weapon System Life-
Cycle supports the PM’s efforts to ensure effective sustainment is addressed. TLCSM
requires a life-cycle focus for the implementation, management, and oversight of all
activities associated with the acquisition, development, production, fielding, sustainment,
and disposal of a DoD weapon or materiel system. The PM is designated as the Total
Life-Cycle System Manager and is responsible for effective and timely product support to
ensure performance, availability, and supportability of a system throughout its life cycle.
2.2.2. PMs are charged with implementing life-cycle logistics in systems engineering to
increase reliability and reduce the logistics footprint in the early stages of the acquisition
process and subsequently providing effective life-cycle product support using PBL
strategies. Figure 2-1, Life-Cycle Logistics in TLCSM, articulates this concept.
2.2.3. In PBL: A Program Manager’s Product Support Guide, the emphasis is on
designing for increased reliability and reduced logistics footprint and providing effective,
affordable product support through PBL strategies. The Program Manager’s Guide to
Buying Performance, the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics Plans
and Programs) states that PBL will apply to “new programs or major modifications, or as
they reengineer product support strategies for legacy weapon systems.” PMs must apply
PBL as the DoD-preferred product support strategy to improve weapon system readiness
by procuring performance that leverages integrated logistic chains and public private
partnerships. These guides call on PMs to apply life-cycle systems engineering processes
to identify and continuously assess supportability requirements for the system.
2.3. DODD 5000.1 directs PMs to focus on logistics considerations early in the design process to
ensure that reliable, cost-effective, and supportable systems are fielded to achieve peacetime and
wartime readiness requirements. Assessments are conducted to assist PMs in accomplishing
these objectives and should encompass all programmatic aspects that address or affect
supportability and readiness. The ILA process provides the PEO and the MDA independent and
objective evaluations of a program’s logistics health at each acquisition milestone.
Version 1: January 2006 2
Air Force Independent Logistics Assessment Handbook