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

2000Master's ThesisPDFThesisHelicoptersCombat vehiclesContractsBenefit cost analysisNational defenseLogisticsDeploymentWater transportationMilitary transportationMilitary vesselsContracting outCombat supportComparisonContractsCost analysisCostsDepartment of defenseEfficiencyFlightHelicoptersLogisticsManpowerMarine transportationMilitary requirementsNational securityNavyOutsourcingShip to shoreShipsThesesUnited StatesCaliforniaNaval Postgraduate School (U.S.)Kneisler, Daniel J.Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)Calhoun. Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)University of MississippiUnited States. Dept. of DefenseUS Transportation CollectionRecently 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.81