WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFLCMC) – When Big. Gen. Erik N. Quigley assumed command of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Bombers Directorate in April 2024, he took responsibility for the sustainment and modernization of the current bombers portfolio. The Directorate also manages the organize, train and equip function of the Center’s B-21 System Program Office.

The Air Force’s current fleet of bombers, the B-1, B-2, and B-52, are utilized for tactical strikes, strategic operations and are a bulwark against other threats, often showcased in deterrence actions.

“[O]ur adversaries are watching and when they see our bombers flying, it sends a message that we’re there, we’re ready,” Brig. Gen. Quigley said in a new “Leadership Log” episode. “That’s really unique with our fleet and we should be proud of that.”

In the podcast discussion, Quigley also discusses how the current bomber fleet is being maintained and upgraded at the same time, what priorities he sees for the Directorate, and offers guiding principles for civilian and military Airmen under his command.

Fleet Upgrades and Enhancements

The Air Force’s oldest bomber, the B-52 Stratofortress, began operational service in the 1950s. The B-1B Lancer began operations in the 1980s, and the B-2 Spirit a few years later. The phrase “legacy fleet” sometimes comes up when these aircraft are discussed. General Quigley would like to change that, noting “they’re actually our operational fleet today.”

“So, we like to remind people that they’re not necessarily our legacy bomber fleet, they are what we have until we go down to a two-bomber fleet” built around a modernized B-52 and the upcoming B-21 Raider, which will replace the B-2’s stealth mission.

Quigley is clear-eyed about the challenges managing the life cycles of the three airframes but believes the complex task of maintaining and enhancing them will be achieved.

Speaking about the B-52, he notes that engine upgrades, radar modernization, communication upgrades and other improvements will happen during depot maintenance periods for the planes. He describes the process as “modification concurrency.”

Along with the upgrade and depot work, Quigley believes it is vital to communicate to senior leaders that the valuable work is being balanced with mission priorities, and that “we keep them available to the warfighter.”

General Quigley discussed the Directorates priorities in the podcast, highlighting four areas:

1) Support execution divisions in their aircraft availability goals

2) Improve program execution awareness

3) Simplify bomber focus areas

4) Executing a deliberated Digital Materiel Management (DMM) strategy across the Directorate

Quigley added additional details about the priorities are forthcoming, but that ways to measure changes will be a key component of the actions. Additionally, the Directorate’s priorities will focus on ways to improve operational availability for the bomber fleet and meeting the needs of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC).

Referencing comments from a previous all-call event with team members, Quigley reiterated a set of guiding principles he wants Airmen in the office – both military and civilian – to follow in their daily work.

Professional and Personal Guiding Principles:

1) Integrity

2) Continue to take initiative

3) Add value

4) Demonstrate 100% effort, not necessarily 100% perfection

5) Overcommunicate

6) Mutual respect

Providing examples, Quigley noted that acquisition professionals are expected to “not just to follow a checklist, but to be critical thinkers,” and that means not waiting for “somebody to tell you to go do something to improve” a problem, or finding ways to enhance the product or tasks you are working through (principles one and two, respectively). “[A]sk yourself every day, ‘have I added value to the mission and contributed?’’

From a larger mission vantagepoint, General Quigley gave four guidelines he wants team members to follow:

1) Contain costs and schedule growth; keep our industry partners honest; do some radical teaming with them to keep them on track

2) Understand our customer (Global Strike Command)

3) Following what we should do, not what we could do

4) Keep and deliver on our commitments

Noting that industry plays a key role in helping maintain the bomber fleet, Quigley said, “We’re going to sink or swim with our industry partners,” and therefore it is vital to maintain open lines of communication with them.

Thinking of Global Strike Command as the Directorate’s “customer” helps match their priorities and also inform them of requirements that are technically feasible.

For the third guideline, Quigley wants Airmen to think about their work and ask “’am I doing what we should do to achieve the mission? Not just things we could do to get the mission done?’”