Fort Bragg contracting unit supports critical year-end needs

By Capt. Paul Kilgore, 900th Contracting Battalion contract specialistNovember 5, 2018

Fort Bragg contracting unit supports critical year end-needs
Strong winds were able to rip this anchor from a roof at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which were damaged when Hurricane Florence made landfall on the east coast of the United States in September 2018. More than 200 roofs on Bragg and Pope Army Airfiel... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (Nov. 5, 2018) -- Within 60 hours of notification, the Mission Installation Contracting Command-Fort Bragg contracting support team in North Carolina was able to provide support to the directorate of public works to award contracts for 13 roofing projects at Fort Bragg and obligate the final dollars for fiscal 2018.

On Sept. 28, DPW was notified it had more than $6 million available for year-end spending and that the money would go back into the general fund if it was not obligated before the end of the fiscal year.

Planning started immediately between DPW and MICC-Fort Bragg. DPW officials identified several roof projects to include barracks, unit offices and motor pool spaces that were in urgent need of replacement due to damage from Hurricane Florence.

A working group collectively prioritized efforts based off the devastation caused by the hurricane. The group consisted of DPW, contracting, garrison and other stakeholders working together to determine the priority of effort toward recovery operations after Hurricane Florence. DPW leaders sent teams out to conduct damage assessments, and units had submitted their own damage assessments to DPW. The group identified buildings requiring the most critical needs and determined which 13 projects could be funded with end-of-year funds.

"Being assigned 13 roofing projects on Sept. 28 was no time to panic. The team never uttered the words 'no' or 'no-way,' instead they asked how we can help. Team synergy was key to the success," said Vicki Gatling, chief of the engineering division for DPW.

Once the contracting projects were determined, the team then spent time organizing and grouping similar projects and preparing contract award documents that consisted of writing a request for task order proposal for multiple award task order contract holders and soliciting small businesses for bids. The Small Business Administration and legal team at MICC-Fort Bragg advised the DPW contracting cell.

The team spent Sept. 29 conducting site visits with contractors to view all of the roofs on which they were make proposals. Once the site visits were complete, the work had only just begun for both DPW and contracting. To beat the deadline, both groups still had questions and documents to review and prepare to award before the end of the fiscal year.

On the final day of the fiscal year, the contractors submitted their offers, and the contracting team worked to award the projects before the midnight deadline. In the end, the DPW contracting team awarded five construction contracts for 13 projects with an estimated value of $6.3 million.

"The team never lost track of the mission. They maintained a can do attitude and crossed the fiscal year-end closeout timeframe with 10 minutes to spare," said Ron Newlan, the DPW contracting division chief. "The MICC-Fort Bragg DPW contracting support team played an instrumental role in supporting the warfighter through fixing the roofs where they live and work."

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. MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, providing many daily base operations support services at installations, facilitate training in the preparation of 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.

Related Links:

Mission and Installation Contracting Command

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