To help Boeing keep to schedule, the service has brought in a specialist. In July, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall announced the hiring of Shay Assad, who was director of pricing when Kendall served as undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics. Assad was notorious in this role for harsh negotiations to cut companies' profit margins to achieve better terms for the Pentagon. Assad's first task in his new position was to reach a deal with Boeing for the Air Force's E-7A Wedgetail program after the company put forth cost estimates that far exceeded Pentagon expectations. Now he is working with Boeing on the B-52J. "I don't want to speak disparagingly against Boeing ," Quigley said regarding Assad's hiring. "I mean, the government had our own issues, too. It's about efficiencies. A lot of it is in the business end of things, you know. How we do pricing, how we do proposals, how we do contracting when we go to the table to negotiate with any Defense Department industry partner."