The Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Office (PMA-290) P-8A Poseidon supply team received the 2022 Department of the Navy Acquisition Excellence Award for Supply Chain Acquisition Team of the Year during a ceremony at the Pentagon, Nov. 3.

The annual event recognizes outstanding individuals and teams who have made exceptional contributions to promote competition and innovation throughout the acquisition lifecycle, ultimately delivering rapid, affordable, high performing capabilities to naval warfighters around the globe.

“The P-8A supply team provides the acquisition and sustainment supply services to allow the fleet to continuously exceed mission capable goals,” said Capt. Eric Gardner, PMA-290 program manager. “Their relentless collaboration, effort to maintain targets, and agility to address challenges enabled the greatest readiness rates in program history.”  

Through planning, as well as expedited requests, the supply team was able to implement an acquisition process to deliver capability quickly.

From acquiring maintenance plans and provisioning data, to managing financial improvement and audit readiness compliant warehouses, the team worked to ensure mission capable aircraft goals were maintained and full mission capable rates continued to improve.

The P-8A supply chain managers ensured maintenance and support plans were established, reviewed, and adjusted throughout the life of the program.

“This flexible approach set a foundation to build the robust and more cost effective supply support system from establishing parts with an accurate demand, to purchasing adequate spare components,” said Dustin Wimpee, PMA-290 supply chain manager. “This coupled with the flexibility to adjust demand, contracts, and ultimately, supply turn-around-times has been critical in maintaining over 100 P-8A aircraft available for the fleet.”

By providing critical depot spares and projecting component requirements, the team created efficiencies that allow necessary maintenance to occur without extended wait times for parts, keeping aircraft that would have otherwise been unavailable ready for tasking.

With the improvements, the P-8A fleet has been at or above its goal of 77 mission capable aircraft for over a year.

PMA-290 manages the acquisition, development, support, and delivery of the Navy's maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.