Dr. Jette Presents SECARMY Excellence in Contracting Awards

By Mr. Kinsey Kiriakos (ASA (ALT))December 11, 2019

Winners of the 2019 SecArmy Award for Excellence in Contracting
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WASHINGTON (December 11, 2019) -- Today, Dr. Bruce D. Jette, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, presented the 2019 Secretary of the Army Awards for Excellence in Contracting at a ceremony in Arlington, Virginia. More than a dozen contracting professionals and organizations were recognized for their contributions to the Army, the joint force and our national defense.

Prior to presenting the team and individual awards, Jette praised the professionals who comprise the Army's contracting enterprise for their outstanding work in FY19. He stated the following:

● Army contracting professionals executed more than 231,000 contract actions valued at $105 billion;

● Of the 231,000 contracts, 77 percent were competitively awarded and 28 percent were awarded to small businesses.

A complete list of the Awards for Excellence in Contracting follows:

TEAM AWARDS

● Specialized Services and Construction Contracting Award: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Border Infrastructure Team -- Dallas, Texas. The USACE Border Infrastructure Team -- Dallas developed innovative acquisition strategies in response to the national emergency concerning the southern border. These outstanding contracting professionals demonstrated their ability to scope, cost, manage, acquire and support construction contract actions in response to a national emergency declaration.

● Systems, Research & Development (R&D), Logistics Support (Sustainment) Contracting Award: Enterprise Training Services Contract (ETSC) Contracting Team, U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) -- Orlando, Florida. The Enterprise Training Contracting Team streamlined acquisition procedures through the development and use of an ETSC-developed user guide that facilitated the reduction of procurement lead times, while maximizing competition and supporting small business awards. The team negotiated contracting actions of 18 expiring task orders.

● Installation Level Contracting Office and/or Directorate of Contracting Award: Other-Transaction Agreement (OTA) Training Team, ACC -- New Jersey. The OTA Training Team, ACC --New Jersey was responsible for the creation of an OTA curriculum to educate the U.S. Army Materiel Command workforce on the proper use of OTAs. The team has conducted training across a wide variety of Army and Department of Defense (DOD) organizations. The impact of the training and curriculum has had wide scope application and created significant positive impact for our acquisition and acquisition partners in regards to readiness and cost savings.

● Contingency Contracting Award: 902nd Contracting Battalion, Joint Base Lewis -- McChord, Washington. This is the second year in a row the battalion has received this award. The 902nd Contracting Battalion, while deployed in three separate theaters of operation across four geographic continents, has completed more than 3,000 contracting actions. They consistently demonstrate a commitment to mission accomplishment through superior support to the warfighter.

SPECIAL AWARDS

● Barbara C. Heald (Deployed Civilian) Award: Ms. Serina A. Allingham, ACC -- Rock Island, Illinois. Allingham consistently manifested exemplary professionalism and initiative in obtaining outstanding contracting results by providing unparalleled support with contracting oversight of the Taji Base Life Support and Security Services contract. She provided exceptional support to Soldiers supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.

● Innovation in Contracting Strategies Award: Facility Support Operations Services Team, Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) -- Fort Bliss, Texas. The team developed a pilot of a competitive process contracting approach for a Facility Support Operations Services contract that resulted in a 20 percent savings from the previous contract price. Additionally, the AbilityOne Commission selected the successful non-profit agency in 120 calendar days instead of the standard nine month time-period.

● Exceptional Support of the AbilityOne Program Award: Product Manager for Sets, Kits, Outfits and Tools Team, Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support, Project Manager for Force Projection; and ACC -- Warren, Michigan. The multi-functional team provided exceptional support to the AbilityOne Program. They embody the highest standards of professionalism, partnership and integrity that was required to execute several million dollar contracting actions with AbilityOne. The team was also recognized by the National Industries for the Blind with the DOD Customer Appreciation Award.

● Outstanding Contract Specialist/Procurement Analyst Award: Ms. Suzanne Wiggins, USACE --Dallas, Texas. Wiggins' contracting excellence was most notable in supporting execution of the Presidential Emergency Declaration concerning the southern border of the United States. Wiggins was instrumental in developing and coordinating acquisition documents at the highest DOD levels supporting the acquisition strategy of high-level presidential interest.

● Contracting Professional of the Year Award: Mr. Joseph M. Carroll, ACC -- Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Carroll consistently performed as a solution-minded business advisor and played a pivotal role in executing highly complex contracting actions. He is responsible for multiple billion-dollar contract actions in support of ACC. While serving as a branch chief, Carroll delivered innovative acquisition methods, instituted a higher standard of contracting, and developed an exceptionally competent and technical contracting team that is recognized across ACC.

● Contracting Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year Award: Master Sgt. Jeremiah J. Scheil, USACE -- Savannah, Georgia. Scheil developed the USACE 51C deployment rotation plan in support of the southwest border infrastructure program. He also was the first 51C on ground to provide support to the Task Force. He provided technical expertise, allowing for a successful FY19 closeout of over $100 million for the Baltimore District's Secure Environment Contracting Branch at year-end.

CONTRACTING OFFICER AWARDS

● Installation Level Contracting Office and/or Directorate of Contracting Award: Mr. Shaun McAfee, Regional Contracting Office -- Italy; 414th Contracting Support Brigade. While serving as a contracting officer and chief of the services division, McAfee managed an active portfolio of over 63 contracts. He also created contracting solutions that resulted in a 75 percent decrease in procurement action lead time for actions executed versus the previous year. McAfee has increased Army readiness with a highly operationalized contract portfolio and an adaptable, engaged and ready workforce.

● Specialized Services and Construction Contracting Award: Ms. Teresa V. Dinwiddie, MICC -- Yuma Proving Ground, Utah. As a contracting specialist for MICC -Yuma, Dinwiddie supported the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command in the timely execution of construction projects. She effectively trained junior contract specialists as their mentor and proactively reduced their procurement action lead time by an average of 52 percent. She embodies the highest standards of technical acumen and is a role model for her command.

● Systems, R&D, Logistics Support (Sustainment) Contracting Award: Ms. Stephanie M. James, ACC -- Rock Island, Illinois. While serving as a contracting officer, James exemplified professionalism, versatility and mission focus to major contract efforts supporting ACC. She served as the contracting officer on the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) 5 source selection. Her contracting acumen and innovative thought process resulted in estimated savings of over $1.9 billion. She was also instrumental in creating a program-wide change management process executed during the LOGCAP 5 source selection.

● Contingency Contracting Award: Maj. Katrina B. Grimes, 648th Contracting Team, 922nd Contracting Battalion, MICC -- Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While serving as the chief and team leader, Regional Contracting Office, Erbil, Iraq, Grimes managed the execution of over 120 requirements throughout Iraq and Syria. She fostered a climate of innovation and her efforts resulted in cost savings of over $1.2 million through the optimization of contracting strategies and vendor negotiations. Grimes and her team contributed to the overall mission of Operation Inherent Resolve.