Photo By Master Sgt. Siuta Ika | Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan, the program executive officer for the F-35 Lightning...... read more read more
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NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. – The American Flag hangs from the draps over two F-35 Lightning II’s as florescent light fills the hangar. Two grandstands sit coinciding to each other full of eager Airmen and civilian contractors as they wait for Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan as he will update them on the future of the program.
As Bogdan enters the room, the first thing he lets Airmen know that he is proud of them for everything they have done and all the accomplishments that have been made at Nellis.
“I want to say thank you and congratulations to the whole team here,” Bogdan said. “The fact that the U.S. Marine Corps, on July 31 they went IOC, which was a right step in this program and it takes an entire team to get this done. To be able to come from where we were four and five years ago, to now have one of the services able to take the airplane in to combat is a pretty darn good achievement. It was done mainly with you folks.”
Bogdan, who was referring to Operational Testing that is conducted at Nellis, sees the program increasingly picking up steam as it heads for Air Force IOC on Aug. 1, 2016.
“From 2011, when we rebased the program to now, we are making some pretty slow but some good progress,” Bogdan said. “We are at a point now in the program where because of that progress, we are no longer slow and steady. We are past the slow and steady progress; we are now growing and accelerating rapidly on this program.”
“We will do everything we can to give the Air Force everything they need,” Bogdan said. “If we fall through, the responsibility falls on me. But I need you to also do your part as well. This program runs on two things; money and trust. If people can’t trust what JPO or myself are doing, the program will crumble. So the key is integrity.
“When I come to work every day I work for two groups of people, I work for the warfighters and I work for the taxpayers,” Bogdan said. “My concern every day when I come to work is spending every dollar the taxpayer gives me as wisely as I can and making the right decisions for the warfighter, short and long term.”
“Lt. Gen. Bogdan is here for communication,” Rose said. “As the leader of the Joint Program Office, he’s in charge of development and fielding the entire F-35 program. It speaks volumes when the leader of that organization comes to the base and talks to the airmen about the program and how it affects them. His speech was promising. It’s obvious that the program is shifting from a developmental focus to a warfighting fielded operational airplane. It’s obvious they’ve got the right sight picture and they’re heading in the right direction and it’s a challenging task.
“People love to criticize the F-35,” Rose said. “The reality is usually far different, as someone who has been involved in the F-35 program since 2009, the airplane is actually quite impressive, the capability that it brings is awe inspiring, we need to be patient, we need to work hard and we need to work hard to make it into the airplane we need it to be.”
| Date Taken: | 09.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.03.2015 17:57 |
| Story ID: | 175228 |
| Location: | NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 812 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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