REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- The 412th Contracting Support Brigade is now attached to the Mission and Installation Contracting Command, a move that happened five months ahead of schedule, according to Army Contracting Command officials here.
It is the last major milestone in the ACC Integration that attaches stateside Expeditionary Contracting Command units to the MICC and ACC's major contracting centers.
The integration streamlines command and control of ACC's military contracting Soldiers, explained Col. Kevin Nash, deputy director, ACC Operations Group.
It also gives the MICC and ACC contracting centers direct supervision of Soldiers supporting stateside operations, he said.
ACC began attaching stateside contracting support units to the MICC and contracting centers in December as part of a four-phase plan. The last phase was scheduled to begin Oct. 1 by attaching the 412th CSB to the MICC. ACC attached the 412th to the MICC on June 1.
The 412th CSB's attachment was accelerated "to facilitate the MICC's mission command of the other attached military forces that attached under ACC Operation Order 13-09," Nash said. "Expeditionary Contracting Command's willingness and flexibility to transition the 412th CSB early is a tribute to their support of the ACC military integration effort and their dedication to overall mission accomplishment."
Col. Tim Strange, 412th CSB commander, said the ACC, MICC and ECC leadership realized the military integration process was ahead of schedule and there was no need to delay the brigade's attachment.
"The 412th integration provided an opportunity for the MICC to re-assess its structure," he said. "Bringing on the 412th, its alignment to the (U.S. Army North/5th Army), the Defense Support to Civil Authorities and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear response missions fits the MICC execution of the office that supports the CONUS-based Army Reserves."
He said the support to civil authorities and the CBRN missions relies heavily on Reserve forces, making the arrangement a "logical mission marriage."
"The sense of urgency for getting it right before the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 shifted the effort into overdrive," Strange added.
He said the brigade will also see some mission changes, including contract execution and administration.
"The brigade mission support to ARNORTH is ideal," he explained. "By inheriting the (MICC-Fort Sam Houston, Texas) mission contracting for the ARNORTH headquarters, it provides a synergy to the contingency support mission. Now, the 412th CSB commander is truly the single contracting expert and enabler to the ARNORTH commander."
ARNORTH conducts homeland defense and civil support operations, and theater security cooperation activities as the U.S. Northern Command joint force land component command and the Army service component command.
According to Strange, the 412th previously did not have a day-to-day contracting mission.
As ACC's military footprint grew the past several years, the 412th provided the command and control and a contracting mission was put on hold, he said. Activation of the 418th CSB, Fort Hood, Texas, and the 419th CSB, Fort Bragg, N.C., divides command and control across the two additional brigades and frees up the 412th for contract execution and administration.
His brigade will continue to be the command's lead for the annual operational contract support joint exercise, currently scheduled for January, Strange said. This year's scenario will be a DSCA response in support of the U.S. Northern Command and "adds a new wrinkle to what has been heretofore strictly a contracting exercise."
Prior to ACC Integration, the 412th was home to more than 300 Soldiers and civilians. Strange said the integration process will result in force structure of around 150.
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