Leadership perspective: State of the Command

By George M. Cabaniss Jr., deputy to the commanding general, Mission and Installation Contracting CommandAugust 13, 2015

Leadership perspective: State of the Command
George M. Cabaniss speaks to members of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command during a town hall Aug. 10 Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. MICC members from Fort Sam Houston and 32 offices across the country heard from MICC leaders ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- (Aug. 13, 2015) As we go into the final quarter of this fiscal year, it's good to look at what we've accomplished and where we are going as a command.

Sometimes it is easy to forget the Mission and Installation Contracting Command is the largest contracting command in the Army. With more than 1,300 civilian and 400 military positions, the MICC has 32 offices spread across our great country. We provide vital contracting support to each of the three Army four star commands as well as three star commands, such as Installation Management Command - our largest customer - and Army Special Operations Command. With such a diverse customer base, we in the MICC must be proficient in highly complex technical contracts as well as simplified acquisitions and government purchase cards. Only in the MICC will you find such a diversity of contracting work.

We are all too aware that the defense budget is directly affecting our operations. To ensure that our customer contracting needs are met, we needed to realign our structure and how we do business. No longer can the Army afford for each MICC office to provide all contracting services for all customers. With their approval to execute our MICC 2025 Plan, senior Army leadership has affirmed that the MICC 2025 Plan is the best MICC structure the Army can afford at this time.

But no matter the alignment of our offices, we as contracting professionals and those who provide us vital support, such as headquarters G1, G3, G4, G6 and G8, must be dedicated to finding the best way to meet the customer's needs. This requires we educate ourselves regarding all the tools within our tool box. Our great progress is shown by the data: third quarter metrics show that eight of our offices are rated green - a new record. Two of our offices, MICC-Fort Drum and MICC-Fort Campbell, had perfect 3.0 scores and were green in each measured category. Wow! Congratulations to our friends and colleagues at MICC-Forts Campbell and Drum.

Through the third quarter, 79 percent of the 21,000 actions executed by the MICC were at or below Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 13 threshold for simplified procedures. Did we always use simplified processes? Do we use simplified processes when we compete task orders using a multiple award indefinite delivery, indefinite-quantity contract or do we use FAR Part 15 processes? Do we clearly state what supplies and services we are buying and what criteria the contracting officer's representative is using to determine the contractor has met the contracts terms and conditions? For example, when a report is priced as "not separately priced," or NSP, are we making sure the report was delivered and met the contract requirements prior to making final payment on the priced contract line items?

Soon MICC Academy will be established as part of the MICC 2025 Plan. The MICC Academy team will work with all MICC contracting professionals to identify best practices and share those practices across all our offices. The MICC Academy will also help our principal assistants responsible for contracting use the tools that will give leaders insight into what is happening in our offices and with our customers. For example, do we have 1-N lists with each of our customers? Are we setting up milestones that will allow those actions on the list to be awarded on time?

Working together there is nothing we at the MICC cannot accomplish. I encourage you to work with your office director and PARC to help the MICC continue to be the best place to work and an organization we take pride in being part of.

I'd like to close by singling out one incredible leader who gave so much to the MICC. Command Sergeant Maj. Stephen Bowens departed our command at the beginning of this month to become the Department of the Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention sergeant major in Army G1. Such a prestigious job for a Soldier who now will impact all Soldiers as he leads the effort to eradicate sexual harassment and assaults across the Army. The command sergeant major did a tremendous job improving the career development of the contracting workforce and providing stellar mentorship for all MICC Soldiers. On behalf of the MICC, I wish him the best in his new position for the Army and our nation.

Related Links:

George M. Cabaniss

Mission and Installation Contracting Command

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