ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. -- The 920th Contingency Contracting Battalion was activated during a ceremony here Sept. 12 with Lt. Col. Ryan Eckmeier becoming the unit's first commander.
The unit's colors were uncased by Master Sgt. Sol Nevarezberrios, the 920th CCBn. senior enlisted contracting advisor, while Command Sgt. Maj. David Puig, command sergeant major, Army Contracting Command, held the guidon. Maj. Gen. Ted Harrison, ACC commanding general, Melanie Johnson, executive director, ACC-Rock Island, and Eckmeier unfurled the colors, symbolizing the unit's activation.
Harrison, who presided over the ceremony, said that he was especially happy to oversee the ceremony, given his history with the RIA.
"As many of you know, I was commissioned as a second lieutenant in this very building about 33 and-a-half years ago by [Maj.] Gen. (William E.) Eicher," said Harrison. "I don't imagine there are too many people in this room -- but there are probably a few -- that have been here that long. Rock Island is a special place for me. It's where I met my wife, where I got married and it is great to be back here."
Harrison also emphasized the importance of Eckmeier receiving the colors and placing them very securely in the hands of Nevarezberrios for safe keeping.
"This act demonstrates a command team which is both ready and eager to accomplish its new mission," said Harrison. "It is a command team that is ready to accept the challenges inherent in supporting a force that is deployed to all corners of the globe."
When a new commander takes possession of the unit's colors, Harrison said he or she typically steps into a unit's history along with an established team, which is not the case with a newly-activated battalion.
"In the case of the 920th, those elements do not exist, and its unit history has not yet been written," said Harrison. "The initial cadre of this 920th will write the first chapters of the unit's history, and that story begins today."
Following Harrison's remarks, Johnson explained the two-fold mission that the 920th will have at ACC-RI.
"First, they will train to be an expeditionary contracting force capable of deploying globally in support of the joint warfighter," said Johnson. "Second, they will provide comprehensive contracting and business advisory support to the Army Contracting Command which will expand their contracting knowledge as they work side-by-side with their civilian counterparts on complex contract actions in support of Army Contracting Command-Rock Island's diverse customer base."
Eckmeier said he is honored and humbled to be the unit's first commander. He also thanked ACC-RI employees for embracing, integrating with, and training ACC-RI's military contracting workforce. He said the on-the job experience the military has, and continues to receive, will prepare them to provide effective, timely and efficient contracting support during deployments.
"The depth and breadth of contracting knowledge within this contracting center is vast," said Eckmeier. "I will strive to ensure our officers and (non-commissioned officers) understand and ultimately leverage the unique opportunity they now have to learn from some of the nation's best contracting personnel."
Eckmeier, an Iowa native, has been in contracting since 2005. Prior to assuming command of the 920th, he served as the director of contracting for the U.S. Army Medical Command, Health Care Acquisition Activity's Northern Regional Contracting Office, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
There, he supported the Northern Regional Medical Command; the Joint Task Force National Capital Region-Medical; and the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Medical Logistics Division. He has also completed two regional contracting center assignments in Iraq.
ACC has activated six other contingency contracting battalions since 2013: the 918th CCBn. at Fort Carson, Colorado; the 919th CCBn. at Fort Bliss, Texas; the 921st CCBn. at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; the 922nd CCBn. at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; the 923rd at Detroit Arsenal, Michigan; and the 925th CCBn. at Fort Drum, New York.
In fiscal year 2013 ACC processed more than 191,000 contracts totaling more than $61.2 billion and so far has executed more than 134,000 contracting actions valued at more than $41.7 billion in fiscal year 2014.
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