Army contracting officers discuss requirements with Afghan business leaders

By Sgt. 1st Class Larry Buwee, 925th Contracting BattalionApril 25, 2016

Army contracting officers discuss requirements with Afghan business leaders
Maj. Rickey Torres briefs business owners about working with the Army during a forecasting event recently at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Torres is an executive officer with the 925th Contracting Battalion and Regional Contracting Center-C... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

KABUL, Afghanistan -- (April 25, 2016) Army contracting officers from units deployed to the Afghan capital recently met with 90 local business professionals to discuss upcoming acquisition needs for Army units in the country during an industry day at the U.S. Embassy.

The 925th Contracting Battalion and Regional Contracting Center-Capital Contracting Operations contracting officers briefed local executives on topics critical to conducting business with the U.S. government and answered questions in an open forum. Also in attendance were representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Embassy contracting personnel, and U.S. Agency for International Development.

The 925th CBN is a Mission and Installation Contracting Command unit stationed at Fort Drum, New York. Putting into practice the techniques they honed in garrison within the MICC, an open house, and other events like it, is one way contracting professionals inform business leaders about the needs of the Army. Now deployed to Kabul, the 925th CBN has taken responsibility for Expeditionary Contracting Command-Afghanistan's mission in the Afghan capital area with its primary focus on supporting the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, or CSTC-A.

The CSTC-A is a joint service endeavor in partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to provide support to Afghanistan's National Defense Security Forces. The command develops ministerial-level capability and capacity in the areas of budget development and execution, payment of salaries, acquisition planning and procurement.

In the future, the CSTC-A team intends to transition procurement requirements to the Afghani government for cradle-to-grave execution and management. In the interim, RCC-Capital officials are providing contracting solutions for acquisition planning and execution within the ECC-Afghanistan in support of CSTC-A.

The military contracting community is planning to increase its vendor base by reaching out to identify vendors for required supplies, services and construction. Secondly, the open house is used to bring vendors together for an overview of contracting procedures and orientation to acquisition web listings, explaining details and encouraging business leaders to pursue future opportunities. The 925th CBN and RCC-Capital contracting officers also wanted to reinforce fair and open practices of conducting business with the U.S. government operating in Afghanistan. Finally, they wanted to bring the contracting professionals together to facilitate future collaboration and maximize collective efforts.

"RCC-Capital's support of CSTC-A is the right solution for the requirement's owner as it provides a local resource for cradle-to-grave acquisition in Afghanistan," said Lt. Col. Wyatt Anderson, the 925th CBN commander. "RCC-Capital stands ready to execute contracts through award to U.S.-based and local vendors for services, commodities and construction projects."

The 925th CBN leads the MICC-Fort Drum contracting office and is a part of the 419th Contracting Support Brigade that along with two other brigades and a field directorate office form the MICC. In fiscal 2015, the MICC, headquartered on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, executed more than 36,000 contract actions valued at $5.2 billion in support of Soldiers and their families with approximately $2.25 billion of that amount awarded to American small business in one of five socioeconomic categories. Fiscal 2015 marked the first time the command exceeded its small business socioeconomic goals.

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