Fort Campbell Directorate of Contracting receives award

By Megan Locke, Fort Campbell, KyJune 4, 2010

The Fort Campbell Directorate of Contracting received the Excellence in Acquisition Leadership (Other Than Major Weapons Systems) Award in the 2010 Army Contracting Awards Program competition.

The award was given "based upon outstanding mission support of customers, contracting innovations and process improvements and effective resource management." The Army Contracting Command, part of the Army Material Command, also recognized Fort Campbell's DOC for its continual support for Soldiers and Families, which was cited as "second to none." DOC Deputy Director Carl Heckmann said competition for the award was strong, and the win recognizes the quality work of Fort Campbell's contracting activity.

"I believe we received the award by demonstrating our level of performance and our accomplishments in each of those areas," Heckmann said. "The underlying key to our ultimate success is our genuine concern, care and commitment to serving the great Soldiers and Families who call Fort Campbell home."

In the nomination packet, DOC officials listed the directorate's outstanding mission accomplishments throughout the year.

"Passion for customer service excellence is Fort Campbell DOC's trademark," the nomination

packet said. "It defines our mission and drives contract types awarded, hours of operation and discretionary organizational structure."

In Fiscal Year 2009, the DOC completed $216 million in awards and purchases, and awarded $9.9 million in stimulus funds. With a 38 percent decrease in personnel since 2002, the DOC increased its output and supported Fort Campbell programs continuously.

Among its responsibilities, the DOC handles Task Order Contracts, Master Agreements, Blanket Purchase Requests, Government Purchase Cards and more. The DOC provides training for Government Purchase Cards and Contingency Contracting Teams, among other services.

This award is not the first instance of recognition for the DOC. It received the FY 2008 Department of the Army Outstanding Installation Contracting award, and the Government Purchase Card Team was cited as the best customer service oriented team in the Army after a recent review.

"We are especially proud of winning this award because it is the first time for the Army Contracting Command's Award Program," Heckmann said. "We were also the first to win the Department of Army's Installation Contracting Excellence Award when it began in 1997, and [we are] blessed to have won five times since then."

The 2010 Army Contracting Awards Program distributed 32 awards to installations and individuals across the country. The DOC faced 40 other contracting offices at the Mission and Installation Contracting Command level before being forwarded up for the final selection by the ACC.

"I am very proud of our DOC for being the recipient of this award," Heckmann said. "I believe the award recognizes we have a keen eye towards excellence in our customer support, and a deep awareness of the importance of the customer we serve."