Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. - Army Contracting Command-Afghanistan bid farewell to Kelvin Magee on June 8 at the U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) Headquarters. He served as the deputy to the senior contracting official from June 2017 to June 2019 during Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
Under the aegis of Magee's technical expertise and management guidance, ACC-A planned, synchronized, and managed contracting support to USFOR-A/Resolute Support (RS), Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A), Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan (SOJTF-A) and the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing.
"Mr. Magee's expertise and professionalism is known throughout USFOR-A. He and the ACC-A team's support to the RS mission does not go unnoticed," stated COL Thomas Feltey, USFOR-A Chief of Staff.
Magee quickly established a positive relationship with all the major commands across the Combined Joint Operational Area (CJOA), which allowed ACC-A to serve as a force multiplier enabling the train, advise, and assist commands and task forces the ability to conduct their mission in support of the Resolute Support's Operational Design.
He served as the deputy to an organization with more than 105 Soldiers, civilians and contractors postured across Afghanistan, as they executed and administered a $19.4 billion contract portfolio, and provided contract support to over 12,000 US and Coalition forces operating at 23 bases, and supporting multiple ANSDF locations across 34 provinces.
As the deputy to the senior contracting official, his efforts spearheaded and shaped acquisition strategies for multiple requirements in support of CSTC-A. His technical expertise was invaluable in developing and executing CSTC-A's contract management reviews (CMRs) for over 40 contracts worth $7.6 billion dollars. His advice provided strategic level guidance for contracting solutions to fill in organizational capability gaps with contracted support and improvements to current contractor performance. Through his technical expertise and experience, contracting solutions improved with a focus on execution, cost savings over time, and eventual transition to Afghan execution.
His impacts on contractors' quality of life in the Afghanistan Area of Responsibility were significant. He emphasized the policy that required medical services and support across the theater through issuance of a global contracting note that ensured all 33,000 contractors in CJOA have routine medical care options. Additionally, he ensured contractor compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Sexual Assault Response Prevention (SHARP) before entering theater through the Theater Business Clearance approval process.
Magee provided steady leadership which allowed ACC-A the ability to execute and manage numerous high level and politically complex contracts to support the ANDSF. This leadership was pivotal in providing rapid contracting solutions when Afghan procurement processes fail.
During his two years in Afghanistan as the deputy to the senior contracting official, Magee's efforts provided key continuity capability through the transition of three different contracting support brigade's command teams. His insight on historical decisions and current references proved valuable in understanding how and why decisions were made.
"Mr. Magee provided the continuity and knowledge through three different contracting support brigade rotations, which made ACC-A successful. His departure will be a significant loss for ACC-A, but we will continue what he established," said COL Robert McDonald, ACC-A commander.
Magee's dedication to duty and to the mission during turbulent times in Afghanistan allowed for transitions of personnel and leadership to occur without any degradation in services provided to the warfighter. He directly contributed to the overall success of ACC-A's ability to achieve its mission and intangibly benefited the strategic mission of USFOR-A/RS. Magee will be returning to ACC Headquarters at Redstone Arsenal where he will work in foreign military sales contracting operations.
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