Army contracting supports Operation United Assistance in Africa

By Rachel Clark, 409th Contracting Support BrigadeApril 14, 2015

Contracting in West Africa
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Ken Bulthuis, LOGCAP administrative contracting officer, (far right) meets with Lt. Col. Lee Hicks Joint Forces Command-Engineer and 1st Lt. Nathan Zimmerly, 62nd Engineer Battalion, contracting officer representative, in support of Operation Un... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Ebola Treatment Unit
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

BARCLAYVILLE, Liberia -- In West Africa, Soldiers from the 928th Contingency Contracting Battalion meet with local contractors, procure items and ensure construction is on track for Operation United Assistance and the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program.

The 928th CCBn's 643rd Contingency Contracting Team, based out of Grafenwoehr, Germany, is augmenting the 414th Contracting Support Brigade, who has contracting oversight of Operation United Assistance.

"The team is filling two unique roles in Liberia. One is to provide to provide mission critical contracting support to the Joint Forces Command, and the other is to provide contingency contracting administration support for LOGCAP contracts in the joint operational area," said Lt. Col. Robert Murray, 928th CCBn commander.

The team contracted for critical supplies, services and construction for the Joint Forces Command which will be working in remote villages and areas throughout Liberia, according to Maj. Shaun Lucas, 643rd CCT team leader and RCO Liberia chief of contracting.

"It is in the remote areas that the Ebola virus disease started and it is there we can defeat it," said Lucas. "OUA mobile training teams moved into these areas to conduct multiple classes to develop and train the best weapon we have against another outbreak - the local Liberian medical personnel.

"Regional Contracting Office Liberia, where the 643rd CCT is currently assigned, has played a role in building capability by contracting for food service for the students, built Ebola testing labs, and procured the training and reference material that would teach the skills needed to recognize, isolate and treat victims of this deadly disease," said Lucas.

He said digging wells has been the focus of the majority of the team's construction efforts and one of its greatest challenges.

"Each Ebola Treatment Unit site required a well that could supply a reliable, constant source of water, not only for the treatment of patients but also for the requirements of cooking, cleaning and washing," he explained. "There was no shortage of people and vendors who were willing to dig wells; the challenge was finding some who could build them fast enough to keep pace with our efforts to combat Ebola.

"Everyone here, including myself, has learned something new about contracting in a contingency environment," Lucas said.

The other mission of the 643rd CCT is the administrative oversight of the LOGCAP contract for the JTF. The LOGCAP contract is worth more than $70 million and has the team working in Monrovia, Liberia, and the greater Liberia area, said Maj. Kenneth Bulthuis, administrative contracting officer, 643rd CCT.

"The LOGCAP contract has been leveraged to construct base camps and provide base life support at six locations, support the Monrovia Medical Unit and construct six Ebola Treatment Units," Bulthuis said. "The contract and the team supporting it are key elements driving the success of Operation United Assistance."

Soldiers building the Ebola Treatment Units agree.

"LOGCAP is huge contract; it impacts the collective ability of the JFC to conduct Ebola Virus Disease response operations, specifically the main line of effort by constructing six Ebola Treatment Units," said 1st Lt. Nathan Zimmerly, 36th Engineer Brigade, out of Fort Hood, Texas.

The contracting team expects to be in Liberia until April.

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