KABUL, Afghanistan -- (May 17, 2016) The 925th Contracting Battalion continues to provide contracting support to U.S. Forces Afghanistan, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan and other requiring activities in the Kabul area.
Deploying from Fort Drum, New York, in October 2015, the 925th CBN assumed command of Regional Contracting Center-Capital, a subordinate office to Expeditionary Contracting Command-Afghanistan.
The battalion and RCC-Capital are made up of Soldiers from the 611th Contracting Team from Fort Stewart, Georgia, 1956th CT from the Texas National Guard, and the Army Reserve's 664th CT. Additionally, the team is comprised of civilian contracting professionals of the ACC deployable cadre program from Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Rock Island, Illinois, and Orlando, Florida. The office also has contract specialists from the Defense Contract Management Agency who deployed from Texas, Missouri and Michigan.
The 925th CBN's primary customer is CSTC-A, which generates requirements that provide support and capabilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense and Ministry of the Interior.
"We also have a mission to provide contingency contracting administrative services for the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program in the capital area as well as other complex contracts awarded by Army Contracting Command centers that provide support to the Afghan government," said Maj. Rickey Torres, the executive officer for the 925th CBN and RCC-Capital.
He said business processes entail maintaining a customer focus while teaming with and educating customers. Members of the 925th CBN and RCC-Capital focus on planning future acquisitions with customers as far in advance as possible. They execute vendor outreach through industry days with the Afghanistan Builders Association, conduct contract closeouts, and ensure vendors get paid immediately after delivery or successful completion of the period of performance.
Contracting operations by the battalion-led RCC have been the primary mechanism to coordinate and de-conflict contracting actions in the operational area. Techniques and procedures honed in daily operations at the MICC-Fort Drum contracting office prior to deployment have been applied in Afghanistan to improve contract management, operational effectiveness and speed. Torres explained that they share information, coordinate acquisition strategies to minimize chances of competition and redundancies between individual contracts or task orders, and look for opportunities to optimize the filling of like requirements through common contracts. It is in this process that they develop a contracting common operational picture.
The unit is established at the New Kabul Compound near the U.S. Embassy in the heart of Kabul, and accomplishes travel by air.
"Kabul at night is one of the best views," Torres said. "It goes on for miles in each direction and from above looks like a normal and vibrant city. For millions of Afghans, it is normal. As neat as it looks at night, there are risks involved with being in Afghanistan, and those risks are taken very seriously. Force protection is a constant effort."
Torres said a week in the life of the 925th CBN and RCC-Capital consists of customer outreach and coordination meetings, internal meetings and maintaining basic Soldier skills training. When not performing these critical functions, the team spends time eating at the dining facility, exercising at the gym, morale, welfare and recreation activities, shopping at the bazaar, and watching movies.
"Members of the 925th CBN work hard, understand the importance of our mission, and possess a high morale," Torres said. "This is a testament to the professionalism, resiliency and warrior ethos of our Soldiers, civilians and contractors who make up this great unit."
The 925th CBN leads the MICC-Fort Drum contracting office and is a part of the 419th Contracting Support Brigade that along with two other brigades and a field directorate office form the MICC. In fiscal 2015, the MICC, headquartered on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, executed more than 36,000 contract actions valued at $5.2 billion in support of Soldiers and their families with approximately $2.25 billion of that amount awarded to American small business in one of five socioeconomic categories.
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