"Acquisition Category (ACAT)" means the category of a Defense acquisition program. See DoDI 5000.85, Appendix 3A .

“Air Force Contracting Central (AFCC)” means the SAF/AQC SharePoint site collection at https://usaf.dps.mil/sites/AFCC/SitePages/Home.aspx that serves as the one-stop shop resource for the DAF contracting community. (Please note: this link requires CAC and is not available to all users.)

“AFICC” means the Air Force Installation Contracting Center which is a Primary Subordinate Unit aligned to the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC).

“AFPEO/CM – Services” means service acquisitions under the executive management and oversight of Air Force Program Executive Officer for Combat and Mission Support (AFPEO/CM) (see DAFI 63-138, Acquisition of Services).

“Agency Head” (see “Head of the Agency”)

“ASAF(A)” means the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition (SAF/AQ).

“ASAF(SA&I)” means Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration (SAF/SQ).

“Bridge Action” means a non-competitive action requiring a justification to include, but not limited to, a formal justification and approval ( FAR 6.3 or 13.5), limited sources justification ( FAR 8.4), and exception to fair opportunity ( FAR 16.5), to retain the current or similar product or services as a result of delay in the negotiation and award of a follow-on contract. Extension of services executed in accordance with FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, is not considered a bridge action, regardless of whether or not it was negotiated and included in the original contract, unless or until the total six (6) month extension allowed is exceeded.

“Center” means subordinate organizations to AFMC responsible for the “cradle-to-grave” oversight for aircraft, electronic systems, missiles and munitions, and discovery, development, and integration of warfighting technologies in air, space and cyber for the U.S. Air and Space Forces.

"Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO)" means the contracting official one level below the SCO or their deputies, unless specifically prohibited, or as designated by, the SCO.

“Cognizant HCA Workflow” means—

SAF.AQ.SAF-AQC.Workflow@us.af.mil for DAS(C) or ADAS(C);

smc.pkc.workflow@us.af.mil for Director of Contracting, Space Systems Command (SSC);

osd.pentagon.ousd-r-e.mbx.sda@mail.mil for Director, Space Development Agency (SDA); and

SpRCO.DAF.Org@us.af.mil for Director of Contracting, Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SpRCO).

“DAS(C)” means the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Contracting) (SAF/AQC). The authority granted to DAS(C) may also be exercised by the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (Contracting) (ADAS(C).

“Direct Reporting Unit (DRU)” means a subdivision of the Air Force, directly subordinate to the Chief of Staff, US Air Force or a subdivision of the Space Force directly subordinate to the Chief of Space Operations. A DRU performs a mission that does not fit into any of the MAJCOMs or FLDCOMs (see AFI 38-101 , Manpower and Organization).

“Department of the Air Force (DAF),” as used in DAFFARS, means the military department within which the United States Air Force (USAF) and the United States Space Force (USSF) are organized.

“Enterprise” means an acquisition solution that supports multiple organizations and for which a structured process of analyzing spending, agency needs and market dynamics is followed in order to define government requirements and acquisition options, and to find ways to improve category performance by reducing or redirecting demand, improving supplier performance, developing new partners/suppliers, and optimizing purchasing channels. Enterprise acquisitions may employ existing multi-agency or Government-wide solutions, or new solutions executed by a DAF contracting unit that are aligned with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Category Management Leadership Council (CMLC) Spend Under Management (SUM) Tier 1 criteria (see OMB M-19-13).

“Field Command (FLDCOM)” means a subdivision of the Space Force that is assigned a specific mission focus of the Space Force. FLDCOMs are directly subordinate to the Chief of Space Operations.

“Field Operating Agency (FOA)” means a subdivision of the Air Force, directly subordinate to a HQ USAF functional manager. A FOA performs field activities beyond the scope of any of the major commands (see AFI 38-101).

"Head of the Agency" means, unless the terms of a statute or delegation indicate that an action must be done by the Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF) or the Under Secretary of the Air Force (USecAF),—

ASAF(A) for non-space systems and programs, including product support, for the Department of the Air Force, pursuant to HAF MD 1-10 ; and

ASAF(SA&I) for space systems and programs for the Department of the Air Force, pursuant to HAF MD 1-17.

“Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA)” means—

DAS(C) and ADAS(C) for the Department of the Air Force (except SSC, SDA and SpRCO), pursuant to HAF MD-10 ;

Director of Contracting, SSC for SSC, pursuant to SAF/SQ Designation;

Director, SDA for SDA, pursuant to SAF/SQ Designation; and

Director of Contracting, SpRCO for SpRCO, pursuant to SAF/SQ Designation.

"Installation Commander" means an individual who functions in a command position and is responsible for a base or other Department of the Air Force installation having a base contracting office.

“Major Command (MAJCOM)” means a major subdivision of the Air Force that is assigned a major part of the Air Force mission. A MAJCOM is directly subordinate to Headquarters US Air Force (see AFI 38-10 1, Manpower and Organization).

“Mandatory Procedures (MP)” means a companion resource to the DAFFARS that—

(1) Contains mandatory internal AF procedures. The DAFFARS will direct compliance with mandatory procedures using imperative language such as “Follow the procedures at...” or similar directive language;

(2) Contains non-mandatory internal AF procedures and guidance and supplemental information to be used at the discretion of the contracting officer. The DAFFARS will point to non-mandatory procedures, guidance, and information using permissive language such as “The contracting officer may use...” or “Additional information is available at...” or other similar language;

(3) Is numbered similarly to the DAFFARS, except that each MP numerical designation is preceded by the letters “MP”; and

(4) Is available electronically as part of the DAFFARS document set on Acquisition.gov.

“Operating Location (OL)” means a part of a unit that is separated geographically from its parent unit. OL personnel remain assigned to, and under the command of, the parent unit. (see AFI 38-10 1, Manpower and Organization).

“Operational” means those contracting actions taken to meet the needs of installation commanders, DRUs, deployed commanders, and resident, tenant, and supported units. Operational contracting may be accomplished by contracting squadrons, operational contracting offices, contracting divisions, or another organization entity designed to meet local needs.

"Program Executive Officer (PEO)” (see "PEO (Systems)" and “AFPEO/CM – Services”)

"PEO (Systems)" means acquisitions within a Systems PEO’s portfolio (see DAFI 63-101/20-101, Integrated Life Cycle Management, and DoDI 5000.02, Operation Of The Adaptive Acquisition Framework).

“Quality Assurance Program Coordinator (QAPC)” means the individual selected in accordance with local procedures to coordinate and manage the Quality Assurance Program.

“Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)” means the document government personnel use to assess contractor performance (see FAR 46.401, DFARS 246.401, and DFARS 237.172).

“Senior Contracting Official (SCO)” means the contracting official with overall responsibility for executing its delegated procurement authority for their designated cognizant areas of responsibility as denoted in the list below, subject to any HCA established limitations. The deputy or technical director to a SCO may exercise any SCO authority unless restricted in the FAR, as supplemented (e.g., individual authorized to execute a specific authority must be of a certain minimum grade/rank), or as specifically limited by the SCO. See AFI 64-105 Contingency Contracting Support, to identify SCOs for contingency operations.

An expanded list of SCOs including names, contact information, and locations can be found on Air Force Contracting Central. (Please note: this link requires CAC and is not available to all users.)

NOTES:

¹AFMC/PKacts as SCO for any AFMC procuring organization without a SCO designated on the above table and acts in the absence of an AFMC Center SCO or designee.

²AFLCMC/PK acts as SCO for any AFLCMC procuring organization without a SCO designated on the above table and acts in the absence of a AFLCMC Operating Location SCO or designee.

³AFICC/CC acts as SCO for any AFICC procuring organization without a SCO designated on the above table and acts in the absence of a AFICC Operating Location SCO or designee.

⁴AFSC/PK acts as SCO for any AFSC procuring organization without a SCO designated on the above table and acts in the absence of a AFSC Operating Location SCO or designee.

⁵AFICC/KQ is designated SCO for procuring organizations and contracting officers temporarily under the tactical control of Air Forces Northern within the U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility.

“Senior Procurement Executive (SPE)” means ASAF(A), pursuant to HAF MD 1-10. ASAF(SA&I) discharges assigned duties and authorities of the SPE for DAF space systems and programs, pursuant to HAF MD 1-17.

“Service Acquisition Executive (SAE)” means—

ASAF(A) for non-space systems and programs, including product support, for the Department of the Air Force, pursuant to HAF MD 1-10; and

ASAF(SA&I) for space systems and programs for the Department of the Air Force, pursuant to HAF MD 1-17.

“Services Acquisition Decision Authority (SADA)” means the individual designated to exercise responsibility for the management and oversight of the acquisition of contract services (see DAFI 63-138, Acquisition of Services).

“Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP)” means a companion resource to the DAFFARS that —

(1) Provides fundamental contracting principles and other helpful tools in an informative, innovative, intuitive, user-friendly manner;

(2) Contains non-mandatory internal procedures and guidance, and supplemental information to be used at the discretion of the contracting officer;

(3) Is not regulated by policy; rather is a living document shaped by acquisition community input; and

(4) Is available electronically within the DAF Contracting TTP Team SharePoint site. (Please note: this link requires CAC and is not available to all users.)