FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- The unit colors for the 925th Contingency Contacting Battalion were uncased for the first time during an activation ceremony held Aug. 6 on Fort Drum.
One of six contingency contracting battalions belonging to the 419th Contracting Support Brigade, based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., the mission of the 925th CCB is to enhance installation and operational contracting support to Army commands, both stateside and while deployed.
Lt. Col. Wyeth Anderson received the colors from Col. Carol Tschida, 419th Contracting Support Brigade commander.
Anderson assumed command of the 925th CCB and of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command - Fort Drum in July. He previously served as the first director of Regional Contracting Office - Africa, where he and his team provided expeditionary contracting support to U.S. Army Africa and Special Operations Africa Command.
The mission of 925th CCB and MICC-Fort Drum is "to provide garrison and expeditionary contracting support to the 10th Mountain Division (LI) and Fort Drum tenants on an ongoing basis in order to ensure forces have the required supplies and services they need," said Anthony Sligar, deputy to the commander of the 925th CCB and MICC-Fort Drum.
Last year, Sligar received the Fiscal Year 2013 Army Part-Time Small Business Specialist Award for his efforts to support small businesses, particularly veteran-owned and women-owned endeavors.
Sligar and the contracting professionals of the MICC-Fort Drum team secured more than $63 million in annual obligations, $44 million of these to small businesses.
Tschida spoke of the important role that contracting support personnel play in ensuring the provision of materials needed to com- plete the Army's mission.
"Our contracting professionals are charged with the important task of procuring warfighter requirements, often on short timelines -- not always well defined -- and while being good stewards of our taxpayer dollars."
Tschida added that the battalion will be an asset to Fort Drum's MICC, while providing essential support in combat theater, in support of humanitarian efforts and in the event of a natural disaster.
"These battalions are enablers that are intended to mitigate the risks associated with smaller military deployments by providing warfighters with critical and timely resources when and where they are needed, both at home station and also in theater," she said.
In closing, Tschida said that she knew Anderson to be a commander who would take the mission to heart, while providing excellent leadership and taking care of his Soldiers.
"Anderson understands that we are still a nation at war," she said. "He understands that to provide the best support possible to our warfighters -- at home and deployed -- we have to train like we fight."
Anderson said that he was proud to be able to support the 10th Mountain Division (LI). He recalled reading a newspaper article about the division in the late 1980s, which inspired him to join the Army. He spoke highly of the Fort Drum MICC command staff, and he said that theirs would be a hard act to follow.
"This command leads the MICC in customer outreach, in support to small businesses, in use of emerging business applications, in acquisition planning and in training of our military acquisition force," he said.
The new battalion will be a force multiplier, Anderson said, continuing to provide for garrison contracting needs at Fort Drum, while also providing small teams to accompany the 10th Mountain Division everywhere they go.
He said that with these teams of just a few highly trained contracting professionals, the military is able accomplish the work of previous logistics units. He also pointed out that the importance of helping to build and support local businesses everywhere that the Army goes.
"In my opinion, contracting is the most powerful nonkinetic weapon system in the military," he said. "With contracting, we help small businesses become large and successful ones. When we are deployed, we can be a part of helping to give people a future, particularly locals. When you have the buy-in of (local residents), wherever that may be, your mission will always be more successful."
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