Current Press Releases

These are our current Press Releases.  To your left, we have also provided links to Press Releases from a few years past.

27 January 2010 – Alpha-Omega Change Engineering Publishes Its Security Awareness Training Course
Government contractors live in an environment where the potential exists for them to work with, or be exposed to, sensitive or classified information.  For some, access and use of this type of data is a daily occurrence.  For others, access or exposure to sensitive or classified materials is an event which occurs rarely, if ever.  But, for all of us, it is essential we understand this environment, our responsibilities to protect sensitive and classified materials, and the threats we may become exposed to by organizations and people that want access to information. Even if you work at a government site and have already received your annual training, please take a moment to review our course.  None of us can ever be reminded enough about security issues.

Like many of our other employee training topics, we have chosen to post this training overview on our public web site.  We hope our employees and visitors find the training useful and informative.

AOCE Security Awareness

13 January 2010 – AOCE's Ethics Training Course
Ethics is a subject often mentioned in business and government contract environments.  Like Safety and Security, it is a subject that can never receive too much attention.  The link below will take you to a brief Ethics presentation that will provide you with an overview of how Ethics apply to our business environment.  (This is a fairly large presentation, so you may find it faster to download the file to your computer, rather than run the course across the Internet.)  Although this presentation is designed to keep our employees informed on the topic of Ethics, we believe it can also be very useful to other organizations.  So, we have chosen to post this training overview on our public web site.  We hope the people that view this training, our employees and visitors alike, find the short session both informative and enjoyable.

AOCE Ethics Presentation

3 January 2010 – Alpha-Omega Awarded CAAS III Task Order 074 to provide MC-12 Liberty Aircrew Mission Qualification Training (MQT)
AOCE has been awarded a CAAS III contract task order to provide HQ ACC/A8Q with MC-12 aircraft MQT support.  This contract award initiates the transition of academic training for the MC-12 aircraft from military to contractor-provided academic instruction.  Air National Guard members of the 186^th ARW will continue to provide in-flight instruction.  Training topics include: radio operation and communications security, flight planning and flight planning software, will include general aircraft orientation, aircraft equipment and systems, local flying area restrictions and in-theater operations, sensor employment, air tasking order coverage, threat and defensive systems, and pre/postflight briefings and debriefings.   This contract begins on 11 January 2010 and supports the Secretary of Defense mandated MC-12 Liberty aircraft fielding for employment in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom operational sorties.

23 November 2009 – Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season
Thanksgiving Day is only hours away and with it comes the the beginning of the 2009 Winter Holiday season.  Like last year, we are happy to provide our Christmas Safety briefing for our employees and other organizations to view.  We have dusted off last year's presentation and made a few changes we hope will make it even more enjoyable for you to view.  We have included some background music, but have not added in voice-over narration.  We are sharing this briefing with the public to help all organizations keep their people safe during this special time of the year.  Please feel free to copy, share and display this short non-narrated briefing with everyone you know.  We hope everyone has a safe holiday season, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

2009 Christmas Safety

24 Sep 2009 – AOCE Becomes a “Google Enterprise Partner”
Alpha-Omega Change Engineering, Inc. and Google Corporation have entered into a Google Enterprise Partner Agreement whereby Google has designated AOCE as an authorized provider of Google Enterprise products and technical services.  This agreement expands AOCE’s capabilities dramatically through the integration of the Google Products and Technical Services support staff with our organic capabilities.  Our new relationship with Google will enable us to expand our Tailorable Common Operating Picture (T-COP) environment’s capabilities, further establishing our T-COP system as the best multi-agency, geospatially-integrated data management and display system in the world.  Concurrently, we will incorporate enhancements into our other on-going efforts related to geospatial data integration and synergistic display in a dynamic real-world environment.

17 Sep 2009 – AOCE Awarded Task Order for the National Security Personnel System
Alpha-Omega has been selected to provide CAAS III Task Order 072 support to HQ ACC/A1 for the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).  This task order will support two main tasks:  (1) NSPS and Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) Human Resource Management, and (2) NSPS and DCIPS Pay Pool Support.  Within these areas we will Ensure updates reflect proper organizational structure of NSPS and DCIPS units and assist/guide HQ ACC and wing managers in understanding and knowledge of performance for management system, performance-based pay, and pay pool processes.  We will also analyze and oversee processes, conduct panels and meetings, track actions, and perform lessons learned functions for a broad spectrum of key NSPS activities.

1 Sep 2009 – Team AOCE Awarded B-1 Weapon System Team Support Contract
Team AOCE has been awarded a contract supporting the B-1 aircraft Weapon System Team in managing computer hardware and software applications for the B-1 Technical Support Center.  Tasks associated with this effort include performing basic customer problem resolution for on site and remote desktop configurations, as well as managing PC lifecycle replacement, remote access configurations, and desktop installation schedules and milestones.  Additional duties include supporting the inventory change notification process, providing configuration and operation management support for mainframe, mini, or client/server based systems monitoring network performance and network security.

17 Aug 2009 – AOCE’s T-COP Concept is Demonstrated
In July, the South Carolina Operating Picture Environment (SCOPE), a direct adaptation of AOCE’s tailored common operating picture (T-COP) package was operationally demonstrated during the Vibrant Response 2009 exercise.  This exercise, involving National Guard personnel from around the country, was focused primarily on responding to a simulated Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or High-Yield Explosive (CBRNE) event.  As we all know, the possibility of future CBRNE incidents (man or nature caused) pose a risk of the American people.  US Northern Command Public Affairs office emphasizes this fact, “A terrorist attack on U.S. soil or an accidental or intentional CBRNE incident can create catastrophic results which could exceed the response capabilities of civil authorities.” 

As stated by General Renuart, Commander of US Northern Command before the House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities, on 28 July 2009, “A variety of specialized military forces and capabilities are available to support the designated primary Federal agency in all phases of incident assessment, operations coordination, logistics, health services support, hazardous material containment and decontamination, and safety and risk assessment. These forces provide the requisite flexibility to appropriately respond to each disaster, emergency, incident, or event, and have a wide variety of potential response actions based on the incident severity, duration, location and the capabilities or needs of local, State, tribal, or Federal authorities.” Within the Department of Defense, one of the specialized forces and capabilities the government has established are the CBRNE Consequence Management Response Forces (CCMRF), trained and ready to respond to natural or man-caused emergency events support requests from civil authorities.

During the Vibrant Response exercise, the SCOPE system clearly demonstrated our T-COP concept as a proven inter-agency tool, providing a synergistic geospatial data management environment which can be used by military and civil agency leaders at all levels from the President, to the FEMA (usually the designated primary Federal agency) Chief, to other participating federal or state-level agency chiefs, to the Emergency Management Divisions and offices, and on to the on-scene fire chief.

19 Jun 2009 – AOCE and the University of Tennessee Agree to Work Together to Support Customer Needs
Alpha-Omega Change Engineering (AOCE) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, (UT) have entered into an agreement to support each other in areas of process improvement and other workforce and executive level training, and analyses efforts.  AOCE and UT share the same goals of helping people develop and improve organizations and the processes they use in their daily activities.  The staff at both our organizations believes knowledge is most useful when it can be applied to real situations in the real world.  We believe in the same high standards of integrity, service, responsiveness, and innovation.  And, we believe we can only be effective if we understand our customers and adapt our support to meet their specific needs. 

AOCE was formed in 1997 with the vision of being the top commercial organization providing government and commercial customers with specialized support across the full spectrum of organizational production, services, information, management, and leadership enterprise activities.  For more than a decade, we have supported a wide range of customer needs – spanning the beginning-to-end nature of engineering change that our name describes.  Support to our customers is focused on three key areas: organizational structure, systems, and processes design and improvement; specialized staff management and technical support; and traditional instructor-led and electronic distributive training services.  In keeping with our vision, we are constantly seeking out the best concepts, methods, and organizations to help us support our customers.

During any examination of top-level educational institutions focused upon system, process, and leadership improvement, the preeminence of the University of Tennessee and its Center for Executive Excellence is without question.  UT’s College of Business Administration was founded in 1913.  Its internationally recognized faculty offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate, and executive education programs, some of which are available in a distributive environment; many typically are not offered in business schools.  The university’s Center for Executive Education was opened in 1974 and has become world-renowned for its programs in quality improvement, lean manufacturing, supply chain management and leadership development.

UT's Center for Executive Excellence also offers innovative, High-Compression Learning ℠ Executive MBA programs. There are four one-year specialized programs — Aerospace and Defense MBA, Physician Executive MBA, Executive MBA, and Global Supply Chain Executive MBA (offered 2011) - and a weekend-based, 16-month Professional MBA.

The College of Business Administration's program in supply chain management and logistics is ranked seventh in the nation (fifth among public universities) by US News & World Report and #2 in North American by Supply Chain Management Review.  UT has provided extensive training for commercial and government customers, including the US Air Force’s AFSO 21 program.

So, if your organization is looking for a highly skilled staff to provide training, assessments, analyses, or improvement activities support, our combined staffs are here to serve you with focused, effective, support tailored specific to support your needs.

8 Jun 2009 – Team AOCE Awarded $8M Contract for Air Combat Command/A7 Base-Level Contracting Office Support
Alpha-Omega’s CAAS III Team has been awarded a large-scale contract to provide base-level contracting support located at thirteen (13) bases across the country.  Air Combat Command (ACC) Contracting Squadrons (CONS) are responsible for reviewing all base-level requests that may result in contract actions.  Combined, ACC CONS process $2.9B in base-level contracts annually. Review of proposed contracts entails ensuring all applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation, Department of Defense (DoD) and Air Force policies are appropriately adhered to, including but not limited to, ensuring Economy Act guidance is followed, certification of Performance Work Statements (PWS) for contracts, analysis of Non-DoD contract vehicles, analysis of fees charged and other appropriate reviews. The experts from the AOCE CAAS III Team will provide thirty-eight (38) Category I, II, and III contracting support personnel to base-level ACC Contracting Squadrons at ACC operational wings.  These experts will conduct market research, prepare awards for execution by the contracting officer, administer contracts, provide assistance to the contracting officer and perform contract close-outs.  Other optional duties may include assisting in planning procurement actions and preparing pre-award documents.

22 May 2009 – 101 Critical Critical Days of Summer Safety Briefing

Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of the 101 Critical Days of Summer, a period when Americans leave their living rooms and couches to enjoy vacations, sports, and family outings.  Unfortunately, during these 101 days, a dramatic increase in injuries and deaths also occurs.  Here at AOCE, we know that many of these injuries and deaths could be prevented if people were just reminded about some typical safety facts.  Below is a link that will take you to our 101 Critical Days of Summer safety brief.  Please take a moment to look through our short presentation.  Download it and send it to your friends if you would like.

The file is a 7MB file.  so, please give it a few moments to download and run.

101 Critical Critical Days of Summer

1 May 2009 – AOCE is Awarded a South Carolina Common Operating Picture (COP) Contract
The purpose of this effort is to establish a Common Operation Picture (COP) to support the South Carolina National Guard, Civil Support Team (CST) and Joint Operations Center (JOC).  These activities are the responsible agencies for providing military support for diasaster and major event support within the state of South Carolina.  The effort will establish a baseline initial operating capability to support real-world emergencies and exercises.  Support associated with this award will provide CST and JOC Systems integration through workstation clusters to create, manage, and use operational data layers of the COP.

6 April 2009 – AOCE Welcomes Its New Chief Executive Officer

The AOCE Board of Directors welcomes Mr. James E. 'Hondo' Hartney to the Alpha-Omega Team.  His selection for our top executive position is part of our vision of expanding AOCE's  support for a broader range of military, government, and civilian customers.  His knowledge of national and joint military service integration provides him with unique insights into joint military and homeland security operations.

Mr. Hartney joins us from the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service where he served as the National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) Senior Representative to U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM).  In this role, he was responsible for managing the NSA/CSS support of USJFCOM’s transformation activities in the areas of Joint Force Deployment, Joint Warfighter Readiness, Joint Requirements and Integration, and Joint Innovation and Experimentation.  Mr. Hartney has held numerous other positions within the NSA and the U.S. Air Force.  He has served as the Associate Director for Cryptologic Center Integration, as the Senior Operations Officer, Team 5, National Security Operations Center, and as the Chief of the Office of Programs and Budget.  Mr. Hartney retired from the Air Force in 2001.  He last served as Chief, Program Integration Division for Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, as Director of Operations and Plans, USCENTCOM Air Forces (CENTAF) and Ninth Air Force, and as a fighter squadron and air operations group commander. During his flying career, he accumulated over 5000 hours and 180 combat hours as an instructor pilot, flight examiner, and mission commander in various jet aircraft such as the F-15C, F-106, T-33 and Lear 60.  Mr. Hartney will offically assume CEO duties on 15 June 2009.

27 March 2009 – AOCE is Awarded the CAAS III Task Order for Consolidated Support for ACC/CV-N (Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC))
Alpha-Omega Change Engineering, Inc. is pleased to announce that our CAAS III Team has been awarded another Task Order.  This effort provides expertise to conduct the development and documentation for basing plans to include conducting and preparing reports on Site Surveys, and Site Activation Task Force (SATAF), finalized Programming Plan (PPlan) documentation, reports for Program Management System (PMS), conducting and preparing minutes for conferences, and assisting ACC/CV-N (AFGSC Detachment 1) Director in implementing the fielding of the Global Strike Command (GSC) and related basing efforts. This work includes SATCOM communications management and Local Area Network (LAN), Automated Data Processing Equipment (ADPE) and Information Management (IM) support for the stand-up and initial operational capability of Global Strike Command.

16 March 2009 – Executive Development Certificate Focused on Lean Activities Awarded to AOCE Manager
Alpha-Omega’s Mr. Steve Ormsby is the recipient of the first-awarded Executive Development Certificate from the University of Tennessee.  In addition to courses in leadership, finance, and the supply chain, specific lean courses included:

·     Lean Enterprise System Design Institute (LESDI) - applications-oriented course covering lean management principles from supplier through factory floor to distributor

·     Lean Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) – course focuses on applied integration of lean tools with the Theory of Constraints within a repair and overhaul facility such as a military depot organization

·     Lean Applied to Business Processes (LABP) – a course of instruction centered upon applying lean production efforts to non-factory floor environments in administrative, service and transactional areas

·     Lean Enterprise and the Supply Chain – studies on the integration of procurement, production planning, manufacturing, and distribution as essential elements to successful supply chain management

Mr. Ormsby is AOCE’s lead manager in Organizational Design and Development and is a veteran of many efforts over the past twenty years to include: Lead manager for analysis and restructuring of the US Air Force’s Field Training Detachments providing on-site aircraft maintenance training around the world; reengineering of the 5000-member Air Combat Command Headquarters; workload analysis of Air Force Reserve Command Headquarters and Northern Command’s Joint Task Force – Civil Support; and team leader of over 30 Action Workout, Rapid Reengineering, and Kaizen Events for the Air  Force, Coast Guard, and civilian organizations.  These events spanned across a wide range of areas to include human resources, logistics, combat operations, maintenance and overhaul, medical, civil engineering, and more. 

10 March 2009 – Team AOCE Selected for Task Order Supporting Air Combat Command Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT)
Team AOCE has been awarded a CAAS III task order to support the ACC/SG Command Surgeon Office.  Personnel in this contract will serve as the command Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) Functional Assistant, the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) Assistant, and the Special Needs Coordinator (SNIAC).  In addition, this effort will provide support and consultation services to the command Suicide Prevention Program (SPP).  Support wil lalso include consultation, direction, and training to the Medical Treatment Facility's (MTF) executive management, mental health flight commanders, and element leaders in ADAPT, FAP, SNIAC, and SPP policies as directed by the Air Force and Department of Defense.  We will assist ensuring the effective utilization of the budget process associated with these programs, and serve as the functional expert in all of areas of ADAPT, FAP, SNIAC, and SPP.  Support will also include consulting with ACC bases on strategies, programs, and techniques to reduce incidence of family violence.

25 February 2009 – AOCE Awarded Task Order for National Guard Program Management and Integrated Logistics Support Program
AOCE has been awarded a task order to improve supportability of Air National Guard (ANG) legacy weapon systems by proactively resolving support equipment (SE) and prime mission equipment (PME) issues.  Support will identify new SE required, oversee modifications of existing SE and PME, and identify the most cost effective and programmatically sound alternatives for maintaining or increasing weapon system supportability.  SE consists of special tools, maintenance items, and test equipment used in direct or indirect support of weapon systems or end items.  PME consists of all on-aircraft components and assemblies.  The scope of the effort will cover two main areas of supportability:  (1) Integrated logistics support includes, but is not limited to, performance of feasibility analyses, logistics planning, requirements determination, policy and procedures development, long-term maintainability and reliability alternative determination, and training, and (2)  Acquisition and life-cycle management includes, but is not limited to, performance of budgetary, contract, and program management execution functions to provide life-cycle support to ANG weapon systems through effective program management.

21 January 2009 - AOCE Team Demonstrates Commercial Common Operating Picture (COP) Capability during the 2009 Presidential Inauguration
Alpha-Omega Change Engineering, teamed with Core Technologies Inc., demonstrated its Commercial COP capability to support government command and control activities during the Presidential Inauguration week.  Our Team demonstrated how public, commercial, and government-provided data elements could be seemlessly integrated and presented in viable format to provide decision-makers at all levels of government with real-time, easy-to-use, situation-based data for decision-making and event management.  Our unique COP approach also clearly demonstrated the speed in which data elments could be identified, ingested, integrated, and displayed.  This demonstration, during one of the most complex national activities in recent years, illustrates that our Commercial COP is fully capable of supporting all types, sizes, and complexities of domestic events.