FORT STEWART, Georgia (April 13, 2020) -- When the COVID-19 virus struck Georgia’s Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Stewart members immediately provided contracting support to increase the health, safety and force protection of the entire community.
MICC-Fort Stewart contracting professionals quickly procured hand washing stations for many buildings across Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field to allow patrons to wash their hands prior to entering buildings to stymie the spread of the virus. MICC-Fort Stewart members were also able to very quickly procure laptops and IT equipment for units across post to enable those units to telework in order to support social distancing.
In support of the medical community, the contracting office procured 500 oxygen concentrators for Winn Army Hospital, which will be used in alternate treatment facilities on the installation. The procurement proved challenging for contracting officer Joshua Fejeran when researching private businesses registered in the U.S. government’s System for Award Management.
“There was no single vendor registered with the government that could provide all 500 machines in the time needed, so using Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 18, Emergency Acquisitions, we reached out to other vendors and found a vendor that could meet the number of machines, the timeline, and at a fair market price," said Fejeran. “FAR Part 18 gave us the ability to procure these devices where it would have been a much longer process via standard procurement procedures.”
Fort Stewart contracting teams are postured to move forward as needed, and a reach-back capability has been established with contracting officers and contract specialists providing extended coverage daily to enable MICC-Fort Stewart members to quickly meet the changing demands of the COVID-19 response by mission partners. The 904th Contracting Battalion and MICC-Fort Stewart staffs support the 3rd Infantry Division and other mission partners on the installation. Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield is responsible for training, equipping and deploying active and Reserve component Army units.
Also, the 904th CBN commander and executive officer, Lt. Col. Torrionne Reché and Maj. Jerry Andes, deployed forward to New Orleans to aid in the nationwide COVID-19 response. They are providing business advice to Army, Air Force and Navy units operating in their area, and procuring COVID-19 related supplies and services.
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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