WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio -- In September 2011, following an extensive review of the Expeditionary Combat Support System progress and a determination that the program was approximately four to six months behind schedule, Air Force and Department of Defense leaders directed the system's program office to determine the best way ahead for the Air Force to achieve its logistics transformation goals while supporting Defense Department efforts to achieve auditability goals as established by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

An announcement detailing program restructuring is imminent and a refocusing of ECSS capabilities will result.

"Our expectation is that ECSS will proceed as an Enterprise Resource Planning program, albeit in a restructured and refocused manner," Steve Cain, director of the Logistics Transformation Office, said. "This approach provides the necessary balance between delivery scope and incremental benefits; addressing brittle legacy system replacement while leveraging performing legacy systems in the most affordable manner," he said.

One consequence of the anticipated restructuring is the ending of ECSS Pilots A and B. "These pilots were fielded with known deficiencies and workarounds. The plan included workaround resolution in Pilots C and D for a feasible Air Force solution," Lt. Gen. Judith A. Fedder, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, wrote in a message to major command vice commanders. "Per direction, these C and D pilots will no longer be fielded. Consequently, the ECSS Functional Executive Steering Group determined that without the enhanced capabilities of the follow-on pilots, the A- and B-only solution is not suitable for fielding across the Air Force," Fedder said.

"As a result we are ending the fielded ECSS pilots A and B, and pilot users will be rolled back to their legacy systems," Fedder said. "The rollback is already under way and our objective is to complete rollback activities no later than the end of February. ECSS pilot users will no longer transact in ECSS once their legacy systems are again available."

The ECSS program office continues working with Defense Department representatives to help determine how best to restructure the ECSS program.