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Tanker contract redux

After botching the KC-X tanker competition and suffering the humiliation of being stripped of management of the program, the Air Force is getting another shot.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Sept. 16 that management of the competition was being restored to the Air Force. But, he cautioned service leaders, “I don’t need to belabor the importance of getting this done soon and done right.”

That message was not lost on the Air Force’s top two leaders, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Secretary Michael Donley. They had lobbied the Pentagon for months to get back the tanker program. Gates took it away last year after the contract was canceled when Boeing’s protest of unfair competition was upheld following a Government Accountability Office report blasting the Air Force handling of the matter.

Schwartz and Donley deserve credit for working to regain confidence in the Air Force’s ability to handle the vital tanker contract. Now it is more critical than ever that a competition is held and contract awarded rapidly and without a misstep.

Schwartz acknowledged that the day before Gates’ announcement when he told airmen that the Air Force must conduct its acquisition programs with complete transparency, following the letter of the law and without favoring any bidder.

The Air Force needs a replacement for the aging KC-135 tanker and lost valuable time because of last year’s scandal. The Air Force simply can’t afford — either in terms of operational needs or trust in the institution — to blow this one.