ACC Soldiers, team selected as 2013 Army Acquisition Award winners

By ACC public affairsNovember 21, 2013

ACC Soldiers, team selected as 2013 Army Acquisition Award winners
Lt. Col. Maria Schneider, Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Belvoir, Va., receives her Acquisition Director of the Year at the Lieutenant Colonel Level award from Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- Two Army Contracting Command Soldiers and one contracting team selected as recipients of the 2013 Army Acquisition Awards were honored by the Army's top acquisition officials.

During a Nov. 13 ceremony at the Pentagon, Heidi Shyu, assistant secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology) and the Army acquisition executive, recognized Master Sgt. Andrea Dailey, Lt. Col. Maria Schneider and U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone's CH-47 Chinook Multiyear II Evaluation Team.

"These awards recognize our very best and acknowledge our superior, dynamic and dedicated professionals. Our central mission is to equip Soldiers so they can execute their mission quickly and successfully and return home safe. That's our priority," said Shyu of the acquisition awards.

"It is a privilege to witness the outstanding work of our acquisition and contracting professionals and the work they do to support our war fighters. Today, we celebrate the achievements of our most outstanding employees and recognize them for their hard work," she added.

Dailey, with the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Hood, Texas, tied for first place in the Noncommissioned Officer Award for Contracting Excellence. Her actions led directly to the success of the Joint Contracting Readiness Exercise -- 13 by establishing a contracting ready team to support Army North and single-handedly prepared more than 90 contracting packets for the exercise.

Schneider, Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Belvoir, Va., was selected as the Acquisition Director of the Year at the Lieutenant Colonel Level. She leads the MICC-Fort Belvoir contracting office and served as the overall acquisition integration officer for the Arlington National Cemetery, where she identified and negotiated savings of more than $16.5 million. Additionally, she was recognized for her leadership and team-building in a large and geographically dispersed workforce including Fort Belvoir, Fort A.P. Hill, Va., and Joint Base Myer Henderson Hall, Va., where the contracting missions are both high visibility and of the highest priority.

The CH-47 Chinook Multiyear II Evaluation Team, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., was honored with the Transforming the Way We Do Business Award. Consisting of Lt. Col. Jeffery Caldwell, Robin Hadlock, Michael Allison, Georgia Walker and Jonathan Hitt, the team was recognized for its significant contributions that led to the successful negotiation of the multiyear two program requirements for up to 215 CH-47F cargo helicopters, including advance procurement of required long-lead items, implementation of engineering change proposals, and recapitalization of CH-47D aircraft components, all resulting in $810 million of cost savings.