Contracting battalion conducts mission readiness exercise

By Capt. Christopher Mitchum, 922nd Contracting BattalionFebruary 12, 2016

Contracting battalion conducts mission readiness exercise
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from the 621st Contracting Team discuss exercise objectives with their observer controllers, Maj. Charmaine Doucette and Sgt. Maj. Andrea Dailey. Doucette is the 922nd Contracting Battalion executive officer. Dailey is the 922nd CBN battalio... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Contracting battalion conducts mission readiness exercise
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky -- (Feb. 1, 2016) Soldiers from the 922nd Contracting Battalion conducted the mission readiness exercise Operation Cobra Strike here in December to prepare contracting teams for an upcoming deployment.

The 922nd CBN headquarters will deploy with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Headquarters in support of Operation Inherent Resolve soon. The exercise focused on using the 408th Contracting Support Brigade's acquisition instruction, standard operating procedures and products to best prepare the battalion for its upcoming mission.

Leading into the exercise, the battalion conducted two days of classroom training to prepare its members for the exercise. The training covered several contracting topics including the establishment of regional contracting office in different operational environments, 408th CSB acquisition instructions, and requirements packet review. The exercise also covered a Procurement Desktop Defense course on the system's use in conducting contracting actions across all phases of the acquisition lifecycle from solicitation to contract closeout; the award of manual contracts, managing a log, and contract closeout.

"The exercise provided realistic training on how to review contracting requirement packets and provide customer service in order to award contracts and successfully fulfill our overarching mission objectives," Eric Boston, a MICC-Fort Campbell construction contracting officer, said.

During the exercise, observer controllers from the battalion headquarters evaluated the 621st and 708th Contracting Teams and assessed each of their respective mission essential task list capabilities to gauge their proficiency as the teams managed their contracting workload and reacted to a host of tasks introduced through a master scenario event list.

"The exercise offered insight to different scenarios our team will likely face, while providing in-theater contracting support," Capt. Barry McCurdy, a 621st CT contract management officer, said. "Working through these situations as a team helped identify the strengths and weaknesses of our members while also improving the team's confidence in its abilities to support the warfighter with real-world acquisition requirements."

The 922nd CBN Soldiers used "command post exercise-in-a-box" as a digital training platform for the training. This allowed exercise participates from the 101st AD's financial management team to generate 26 purchase requests in the General Fund Enterprise Business System and route them to an exercise database within PD2. The contracting teams used the purchase requests to provide notional funding for the exercise's contracting requirements.

"Overall, Operation Cobra Strike was a successful mission-ready exercise that enabled the 922nd CBN to conduct training with the 101st AD's financial management team in preparation for the upcoming OIR deployment," said Lt. Col. Robert McDonald Jr., the 922nd CBN commander. "Further, the 621st and 708th CTs successfully demonstrated their abilities to fulfill their team's mission essential tasks. The 922nd CBN looks forward to future exercises to improve its capabilities and enrich its working relationship with the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division."

Related Links:

Mission and Installation Contracting Command

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