FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- Contracting officers, specialists and procurement analysts throughout the Mission and Installation Contracting Command have a new resource at their disposal when making decisions during the contracting process.
After months of collaboration and preparation between the command's strategic operations and contracting operations directorates, the MICC Desk Book is now available on the command's secure SharePoint site for personnel to use.
The desk book has been available since Aug. 27; however, on Oct. 1, all procurement actions both pending and initiated after that date are subject to the policies and procedures outlined in the desk book.
The desk book is designed to be a single document that provides a roadmap for reviewing and approving contracting documents to assist with the acquisition process. This one-stop shop for the acquisition process consolidates guidance previously issued by acquisition instructions.
"My intent is for MICC contracting personnel to use this desk book in conjunction with prevailing regulation and sound business judgment to ensure a consistent, efficient and effective contracting process," said George Cabaniss, the deputy to the commanding general for the MICC. "Adherence will promote reduction of extended lead times, reduce successful challenges to procurements, and promote quality awards and effective contract administration in support of our customers."
The desk book also provides an avenue for command leadership to establish acquisition and contracting procedures for the MICC. It provides procedures that implement federal, Department of Defense, and Department of the Army acquisition regulations as well as Army Contracting Command policies necessary to ensure certain practices are consistent throughout MICC. It clarifies internal and workflow procedures while augmenting associated regulations and references for contracting personnel.
The new document is not only a reference tool for contracting professionals, but also provides a new approach that fully incorporates MICC field directors into the acquisition cycle management process. Beginning Oct. 1, the new approach brings a change in procurement action authority for field directors. They will have their decision authority shift from $250 million to $50 million. The principal assistant responsible for contracting will generally be the decision authority for amounts greater than $50 million but less than $250 million. The shift in decision authority is a result of a change in Army policy to eventually move to a consolidated single head of contracting activity.
The desk book rescinds and replaces MICC acquisition instructions, contracting information letters, and regional information memorandums. The desk book implements the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, and the Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to establish uniform policies and procedures for all MICC contracting offices.
A MICC policy team will maintain the desk book to keep it current by providing quarterly updates.
The MICC is responsible for providing contracting support for the warfighter across Army commands, installations and activities located throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico. In fiscal 2011, the command executed more than 63,000 contract actions worth almost $7 billion.
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