MICC members receive ACC awards for contract administration work

By Ryan Mattox, Mission and Installation Contracting Command Public Affairs OfficeFebruary 14, 2020

MICC members receive ACC awards for contract administration work
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Left to Right: Richard Switzer, Sarah Zhang, Adaline Fuata and Richard Babb were recognized Feb. 11 for their efforts in contract administration with the Army Contracting Command Commanding General's Contract Closeout/Unliquidated obligation Team Awa... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
MICC members receive ACC awards for contract administration work
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Liliana Padro was recognized Feb. 11 by Maj. Gen. Paul Pardew for her work with the 418th Contracting Support Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas, from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. She was awarded the Army Contracting
Command contract administration... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (Feb. 14, 2020) -- The Army Contracting Command commanding general recognized a Mission and Installation Contracting Command civilian and a team for their efforts in the field of contract administration.

Maj. Gen. Paul Pardew announced Feb. 11 the contract administration award winners. Pardew recognized Liliana Padro, an industrial property management specialist and property administrator with MICC, for her work with the 418th Contracting Support Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas, from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019, for the contract administration award in the individual category.

In the closeout unliquidated obligation team category, closeout team at MICC-Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, captured the recognition. The team's members are contract specialists Eric Chaney, Adeline Fuata, Rushell Quinn, and Colleen Rye, along with quality assurance specialist Richard Switzer and purchasing agent Richard Babb.

In an email to the acquisition community, Pardew said these awards were established after last year's contract administration summit in order to incentivize contract administration and help change culture.

"I am proud of the whole command's performance under the 'Pivot to Contract Administration' established Oct. 1, 2018," Pardew said. "All will have another chance at earning recognition of your outstanding pivot achievements for this fiscal year."

Pardew said contract administration remains a critical part of support to our current and future operations. It is how we ensure contract support is delivered and meets operational needs.

"Padro is at the forefront in leading the charge to improve accountability, administration, and oversight of contracts with government furnished property," said James Clift, Padro's supervisor at Fort Hood. "Realizing the fundamental cultural shift needed to affect positive change within a resistant workforce, she focused on training acquisition teams as the foundational first step to long term successful outcomes in. Padro's commitment to contract administration exemplifies her professionalism. Her total dedication to duty, mission accomplishment, and ACC's organizational goals makes her a valuable asset to the Army."

Padro ensured accurate and complete government furnished property listings; established fiduciary accounts in the Accountable Property System of Record; and conducted Property Management System Analysis.

Padro gathered resources and training products from several echelons of command to create a front-line-here's-what-you-have-to know training package. In FY19, she and her military industrial property management specialist traveled to five installations to conduct in depth training and PMSA in-briefs, while offering dozens of more sessions virtually.

"Through deliberate, tenacious outreach, Padro overcame stiff resistance and eventually persuaded three requiring activity property book officers to establish fiduciary accounts in Global Command and Control System-Army," Clift said. "Establishing such accounts on three high risk contracts is no small feat and an extreme rarity in continental United States-wide installation service contracts. However, she intuitively understood that tethering GFP to the requiring activities APSR was the only surefire way to account for equipment, its unit acquisition cost, and meet Army-wide Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness goals."

"To be recognized means that my passion and enthusiasm for what I do is making a difference. It means a lot, not only personally but professionally," Padro said. "I always say that as long as I am able to add an ounce of GFP information in someone's mind I have accomplished something. Winning this award also shows the 1103 community that we are an important part of the acquisition team and we need to continue to show our worth."

The closeout team at MICC-Fort Leonard Wood proved to be a change agent in the administration of contracts for Fort Leonard Wood since its inception at the end of fiscal 2018 and into fiscal 2019.

"The team maximized the value of every dollar, operated transparently, and wisely used the resources entrusted to them," said James Tucker, the MICC-Fort Leonard Wood contracting office director. "They have greatly distinguished themselves has change agents in contract administration."

During fiscal 2019, the team completed 3,077 closeout and de-obligated actions in the amount of $5 million. The team recognized the need to set strategic priorities on current year funds versus expiring funds to support customers working under constrained budgetary guidance. As a result, the team de-obligated $3.5 million of fiscal 2019 funding. This funding went to several projects improving Fort Leonard Wood's overall training and readiness.

The team also sought out process improvements for closing out contracts. The nature of Fort Leonard Wood's training mission translates into a high volume of contracts awarded annually. All assigned members continued to support the organization's day-to-day mission. The initial plan was a weekly shut down day dedicated to closeouts; however, the team observed mission requirements would often take priority. Therefore, a new process was developed that allowed each team member to assign a specific task to a specific day. Team members executed their tasks in an assembly line function which increased the speed and quality of the closeout. The immediate mission was completed to support FY19, while targeting FY15 and FY16 canceling years to set up the organization for success in the FY20.

The team reduced fiscal 2015 ULOs, by 70% and fiscal 2016 ULOs by 50%. The team also developed hands-on training to provide refresher updates to the entire staff and dedicated one-on-one training with new employees upon arrival. This training is the major contributor to the organization's overall improvement in closeout completion. The MICC-Fort Leonard Wood has experienced an overall increase of approximately 40% in contract closeouts while still in underage status due to the increased awareness and understanding of the critical nature to perform quality contract management.

The team's mission focus has also resulted in providing broader organizational support within the MICC. For example, MICC-Fort Leonard Wood recently completed 100 closeouts for MICC-Presidio of Monterey, California. MICC-Fort Leonard Wood has also initiated a partnership with MICC-West Point, New York, and has a target of 400 closeouts by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2020.

"The team's members are highly acclaimed for their professionalism and technical contracting skills," Tucker said. "They have made personal and professional sacrifices to ensure mission success of our supported organizations, and each member truly exemplifies the team concept."

About the MICC:

Headquartered at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command consists of about 1,500 military and civilian members who are responsible for contracting goods and services in support of Soldiers as well as readying trained contracting units for the operating force and contingency environment when called upon. MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, providing many daily base operations support services at installations, facilitate training in the preparation of more than 100,000 conventional force members annually, training more than 500,000 students each year, and maintaining more than 14.4 million acres of land and 170,000 structures.

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