JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (July 6, 2018) -- Soldiers and civilians working at the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Yuma Proving Ground contracting office support Army readiness through the use of extensive market research, communication and providing contract administration to its warfighter customers in Arizona.
Readiness requires a total Army force effort, and MICC-Yuma Proving Ground acquisition personnel play their part by working closely with the Army Test and Evaluation Command and other Yuma Proving Ground activities to provide supplies and services to perform their mission of testing and evaluating equipment and systems used by the Army warfighter.
"We build proactive relationships with our customers to ensure that our actions are executed timely to meet their mission requirements," said Tejae Craig, director of the MICC-Yuma Proving Ground contracting office. "We assist requiring activities with the development of their actions through face-to-face meetings."
The Yuma Proving Ground conducts a wide variety of military tests throughout the year, consisting of nearly every commodity in the Army's ground combat arsenal. As part of the ATEC, the primary mission is to conduct tests on medium- and long-range artillery, aircraft armament and fire control systems, cargo and personnel airdrop systems, unmanned aerial systems, armored vehicles and automotive equipment, and technologies for defeating roadside bombs.
On a typical day, the contracting staff procures supplies and services to ensure major test programs such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Test, Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar System Demo-Test, Excalibur, Precision Guidance Kit, Advanced Scout Helicopter, Accelerated Precision Mortar Initiative, Stryker, and Paladin Integrated Management are supported timely.
"There are several different tasks performed to support the mission, which involve extensive market research, acquisition planning and communication," said Maribel Sanchez, a contracting officer with MICC-Yuma Proving Ground. "For example, meetings are set up with accounting, resource management, and sometimes representatives from the manpower office to ensure all work is accounted for as well as to assist each other in processing the requirements. There are also contracting officer's representative meetings, where the commander is briefed on certain contracting actions and any major problems are discussed to create an effective resolution.
Each year, the MICC-YPG staff works diligently to meet end-of-the-fiscal year deadlines by completing 80 percent of ATEC and garrison obligations by the end of the third quarter, and all other obligations that will expire by the end of a typical fiscal year.
"We assist our customers with contract administration, which involves us being business advisors for several different actions, which includes processing new requirements and administering our existing contracts," Sanchez said. "A lot of sole source requirements come through our office since our base's primary focus is on test and evaluation of a variety of military systems in three extreme natural environments, which are the desert, the extreme cold, and the tropic areas."
To ensure critical testing is conducted as planned for major ATEC test programs, the MICC-YPG staff provides contracting solutions and oversight for ATEC and garrison units in support of test and evaluation that results in equipment, vehicles, and weapon systems being deployed to the operating force, which accounts for the majority of the MICC-YPG workload.
"We use face-to-face meetings assist customers with new requirements as well as for contract administration to resolve any issues or concerns," Sanchez said. "A face-to-face meeting allows us to build a relationship with our customer to ensure there is effective communication. The objective is to support the mission by ensuring contracting meets the customer's requirements in the most effective, economical and timely manner, and represents our staffs' determination to provide successful contracting support and the performance of their awarded contract."
During fiscal 2017, the staff awarded 355 actions valued at $130 million in support of garrison and operational requirements for Soldiers, their families and DOD civilians.
About the MICC:
Headquartered at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command consists of about 1,500 military and civilian members who are responsible for contracting goods and services in support of Soldiers as well as readying trained contracting units for the operating force and contingency environment when called upon. The command is made up of two contracting support brigades, two field directorates, 30 contracting offices and nine battalions. MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, providing many daily base operations support services at installations, preparing more than 100,000 conventional force members annually, training more than 500,000 students each year, and maintaining more than 14.4 million acres of land and 170,000 structures.
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