ERBIL, Iraq -- U.S. Secretary of Defense, Ashton B. Carter, and Stephanie Carter, his wife, stopped at the Erbil International airport to meet with Kurdish and U.S. commanders, on Dec. 17.
The Regional Contracting Office-Erbil team actively supported the visit which included a female Service member lunch and "Day in the Life of a Soldier" tour of the life support area. RCO Chief, Maj. Nikea Brame, was the host for Mrs. Carter who was accompanied by the 2015 Military Spouse of the Year, Mrs. Corie Weathers. Mrs. Carter's focus for the visit was on service members and their families. She charged Brame to introduce the secretary's "Lean In Circle" as a professional outlet to give military women an opportunity to learn and grow from each other through mentorship and peer to peer support.
Sgt. 1st Class Kevin McClatchey and Staff Sgt. Jennings Herbst participated in a meet-and-greet session with the secretary to hear him discuss his priorities and to thank the servicemen for their contributions to the mission. The team discussed Better Buying Power initiatives with the secretary, who is the former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. All RCO team members were presented with secretary of defense coins for their contributions to the visit. The RCO is primarily staffed with Soldiers from the 864th Contracting Team which is stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
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