Outsourcing the Helicopter Combat Support Mission Aboard Military Sealift Command Ships: A Cost Comparison Study

Abstract

Recently the Department of Defense and the Navy have sought new avenues for achieving the national security of the United States within the scope of available resources. In an attempt to meet savings objectives, the Navy has looked toward outsourcing the Helicopter Combat Support (HC) mission aboard Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships. After several evaluations with civilian helicopter companies, the Navy awarded Geo-Seis Helicopters, Inc. a three-year contract for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore logistics services. This thesis evaluates the current outsource contract and compares costs of the contract to those of the HC community. The purpose was to determine the level of savings and the differences in services provided. Within the course of this study, the total in-house cost was established for the HC squadrons flying the H-46 aircraft. This cost was then fractured down to equal the services provided by the contractor to determine the Most Efficient Organization. This thesis determined that the current outsource contract does provide a small savings but at the costs of increased risk in not meeting surge requirements for unplanned contingencies. Furthermore, inherent risks are associated with the inability to not fill personnel billets within other areas of the Navy through reduced manning levels due to outsourcing.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA380830

Entities

People

  • Daniel J. Kneisler

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Business Administration
  • Combat Support
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Flight Training
  • Helicopters
  • Logistics
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Underwater Vehicles
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.