ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Illinois - In the four years since he started working at Army Contracting Command-Rock Island, George Shreves has spent less time at his desk than he has at a variety of desks on the other side of the globe. Shreves, a contract specialist who began working at ACC-RI in February 2011, has spent approximately 33 of those 49 months in Southwest Asia, most recently as the Lead Administrative Contracting Officer in Kuwait supporting the Contingency Contracting Administrative Services mission.
On March 5, the 926th Contingency Contracting Battalion held a going away luncheon for Shreves, just prior to his redeployment back to his home station of ACC-RI. On his most recent deployment, which began in August 2014, Shreves said the most challenging part was working through the details involved in taking over the CCAS mission.
"The process of post-award contract administration had to be changed to be more effective, there was a completely different set of people and personalities, and customers needed time to get familiar with the new business processes," said Shreves.
Though there were challenges on this deployment, Shreves said watching officers and non-commissioned officers with little to no experience learn and grow as they worked through new and complex situations has been extremely rewarding.
Shreves worked closely with ACOs on the five teams in Kuwait and Qatar, providing valuable assistance, suggestions, and much needed guidance to a group of majors that have never conducted post-award contract administration as part of their contracting experience.
Shreves and Maj. Sean Kwoun, the 926th Contingency Contracting Battalion's Operations Officer, were the first two personnel to arrive in Kuwait to support the CCAS mission, and Kwoun said he appreciates the help that Shreves provided in setting the foundation for a smooth and successful mission transfer from the Defense Contract Management Agency.
"George possesses a wealth of knowledge, not just in contracting, and I was fortunate that he took the time to mentor me," said Kwoun. "He played a vital role in my professional and personal life during this deployment."
Once back at ACC-RI, Shreves reminiced about an injury that necessitated surgery in Kuwait. One day in February, he was walking with a group of people, and as he was stepping over a chain that linked two Jersey barriers, his trailing foot got caught. George went down hard, fracturing his elbow so badly it necessitated surgery in country to fix it.
In addition to the Kuwait deployment, Shreves served as a Procuring Contracting Officer Forward at Bagram, Afghanistan between February 2012-October 2013, and as a Liaison Officer for the contracting center at Camp Phoenix, Kabul, Afghanistan, from February 2011-February 2012. For his service in Afghanistan, Shreves received the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Global War on Terror and the NATO Medal, both in October 2013. He also received the Civilian Achievement Award in February for his service in Kuwait.
"Working alongside and supporting warfighters in a contingency environment has been the single most rewarding facet in my 30-plus years in contracting," said Shreves.
Shreves also worked in contracting at Rock Island Arsenal between 1983-1995, before leaving government service to serve as the president of TDF Corporation between 1995-2010.
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