Staff Sgt. Diana McInnis is a contracting noncommissioned officer with the 409th Contracting Support Brigade's 622nd Contingency Contracting Team assigned to the Grafenwoehr Regional Contracting Office. There, she buys commodities and services to support the units within and around Grafenwoehr, Germany.
What do you enjoy most about being in the military?
I enjoy being able to wear the American flag on my shoulder. I'm able to serve my country proudly and also give my boys a snapshot of what "right looks like." Of course, with serving I'm able to travel to neat, somewhat different and sometimes beautiful places around the world.
What are some of the challenges you have faced in the military?
The fact that we face different challenges day in and day out, serving in the military is a life only few members of society are willing to endure. Of course, we are taught to stay motivated, be resilient and to continue to "drive on;" however, there are some challenges that are not as easy to overcome. Personally speaking, the biggest challenges I've faced have been family separations due to deployments, back-to-back unaccompanied permanent change of station moves and countless temporary duty.
Has anything or anyone made and impact on you?
The 409th CSB's NCO of the Year competitions have taught me a lot about myself. I'm as good as I allow myself to be. Being the only female to compete in consecutive competitions allowed me to be a leader among leaders. I say this because before, during and even after each competition, I've pushed myself physically and mentally to be the best.
What are some of your future goals?
Wow. I have a lot of goals that I want to accomplish. If I was to name a few of them, it would be to earn a master's degree in business administration. Professionally, I'm in pursuit of my Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level III certification. However, my most important goal is that I want to continue to support and watch my family grow!
What inspired you to pursue a career as a contingency contracting NCO?
Honestly, contracting just seemed like the next logical step for my career. Prior to reclassifying to the 51C military occupational specialty, I was a logistician as a unit supply NCO, 92A. Some of my daily duties involved making purchases with a government purchase card. I knew then that there was more out there besides GPC acquisitions and I found it in the contracting career field.
What do you like best about contracting?
I like assisting our government in helping to save the taxpayers' money. Moreover, I'm not only a responsible steward of government funds, but also of the commodities or services that will directly impact war fighters and their families.
What would you like others to know about you?
I'm in the process of clearing the installation so I can PCS back stateside. Despite my untiring efforts of clearing, I'm still training for the U. S. Army Europe's 10-miler race at the end of the month. I hope to again run in the race this year. With that being said, I'm a fitness junkie!
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