by Hal C.
In 1995, the Air Force’s San Antonio Air
Logistics Center (SA-ALC) depot at Kelly Air Force Base was ordered to close.
SA-ALC was responsible for C-5 depot maintenance and was the government’s
largest engine overhaul provider. The government’s plan was to put both
workloads up for a public-private competition. Other government depots and
industry could bid on performing these workloads at any location. In 1997, the
C-5 was awarded to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia. The
unsuccessful bidders were Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
In 1997, after 28 years, I left Pratt
& Whitney and was hired by Lockheed Martin to capture SA-ALC’s engine
overhaul workload worth $10 billion over 15 years. SA-ALC’s engine types
powered the F-16, F-15, C-5, C-130 and P-3. The competition included an engine
OEM team and the USAF’s Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC). At first,
our corporation was reluctant to bid, especially with the engine OEM team
bidding against us. After getting the “green light”, we organized an expert Lockheed
Martin proposal team, including key subcontractors. We also teamed with the
USAF’s OC-ALC. If we won, we’d ship half of SA-ALC’s workload to Oklahoma and
the other half would stay in San Antonio with Lockheed Martin. In February
1999, the OC-ALC/Lockheed Martin team won the largest competitive maintenance
contract ever awarded by the United States Air Force. “Kelly Aviation Center”
(KAC) has since been a very successful Lockheed Martin company performing both
military and commercial engine overhaul.
KAC is the legacy of my 42-year aerospace
career (click here to watch the video).
