FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (March 9, 2020) -- Soldiers and Airmen partnered for the third annual joint contracting exercise to test their contracting knowledge, strategy and problem-solving skills in a scenario-based exercise Feb. 24 to 26 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The exercise brought together contracting personnel from the 900th Contracting Battalion at Fort Bragg and 4th Contracting Squadron at Seymour Johnson, North Carolina. Also, Guardsmen from the 1941st Contracting Team at Fort Harrison, Montana, also integrated into two Army-led and two Air Force-led contracting teams to conduct training during the Joint Contracting Exercise 20-03.
Organizers said the exercise fostered a unique training environment that created information sharing between the two services, ultimately enhancing the training experience and shared business practices that each contracting team will gain and use when deployed to a joint contingency environment.
"This is the third annual iteration of this vital contracting exercise. I'm so pleased that this year we were able to include the 1941st CT from the Montana, National Guard into the training formation," said Lt. Col. Jason Miles, 900th Contracting Battalion. "This joint training is critical because it promotes contracting proficiency, improves performance, and fosters growth of our military contracting forces."
This year the exercise was led by the Air Force, and included 41 unique scenarios, centered on a scenario-based operation in the Pacific named Operation Open Horizon. This exercise allowed contracting professionals to practice hands-on contingency training to master their profession as well as respond to simulated real-world problems that required contractual solutions. The joint exercise solidified relationships between the contracting teams and strengthened unit readiness and training objectives.
"The JCX was a great opportunity to see how a joint operation would work in the contingency environment," Staff Sgt. Connie Johnson, a 608th CT contract specialist. "The (scenario) injects and master scenario event lists promoted critical thinking and the opportunity for my team to work together as a unit. The different methods of procurement and wealth of knowledge that the Air Force provided will definitely be added to my toolkit."
The JCX challenged the teams with scenarios that were derived from previous exercises and deployments based on situations often found in a contingency contracting environment. The joint venture delivered training opportunities to contracting personnel, solidifying relationships between contracting teams, increasing unit deployment readiness, contracting proficiency and training objectives.
"It was a great learning experience, but also a great opportunity to build relationships," said Capt. Will Fuller, a 639th Contracting Team contract management officer. "It's very possible for us to work with the same Airmen downrange, so it's good to form those relationships early. It's interesting to be working the same mission with another service."
Participants were assigned to fictional regional contracting offices subordinate to a regional contracting center in Japan during a wartime environment. On the first day of the exercise, the team was required to acquire conventional services and supplies expected in humanitarian aid operations in support of combat units. As the training event progressed, participants contractual support requirements adjusted with the maturity of the operating environment. Teams were exposed to in-depth contract administration tasks, contract closeout tasks and Contingency Contracting Administrative Services tasks.
The exercise challenged teams with newly created scenarios, different in complexity from exercise tasks previously used in past exercises. The unique training as well as the training cadre's scenario injects allowed for a joint execution process between military services to problem solve and ensure mission success. In just three training days, teams were exposed to operational contracting support tasks through all four operational phases as well as actual tasks the service members will likely experience during a deployment in support of combat operations.
The JCX concluded with an awards ceremony. Contracting personnel from each regional contracting centers received coins for their outstanding performance. The top award was given to Maj. Matthew Szarzynski, who led Regional Contracting Center-Delta, and Staff Sgt. Lenise Pilcher, RCC-D NCO in charge, for their overall outstanding performance during the exercise.
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.
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