JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (Feb. 3, 2022) -- A former U.S. Customs and Border Patrol contracting chief is serving as new director of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command contracting office at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Ramona Watts-Sutton comes to the MICC from Washington D.C., where she served as the chief of the contracting office for the procurement directorate’s office of acquisition, managing the day-to-day contract operations of the agency’s $6 billion acquisition portfolio.
Upon arriving at the MICC-Fort Belvoir contracting office, she said the office was a dynamic office filled with enthusiastic people with a great attitude.
“I could not have received a warmer welcome,” Watts-Sutton said. “They say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And MICC-Belvoir scored Olympic gold.”
Watts-Sutton believes that her 20-plus years of experience as a contracting professional with the Navy, Department of Homeland Security, and now the Army, has taught her that, in life and in contracting, there are many different ways to approach situations.
“I learn, not only from my experiences, but also those of others. Every day, my colleagues handle situations differently than I would have,” Watts-Sutton said. “I have learned to keep my eyes and ears open, watch them closely, and make note of what works and what doesn’t. There is a quote attributed to T.D. Jakes that speaks to me. It says, ‘The world is a university and everyone in it is a teacher. Make sure when you wake up in the morning, you go to school.’”
Prior to her role at CBP, Watts-Sutton served as the chief for the aviation, and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems contracts division for the U.S. Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate, were she managed a $30 billion portfolio of recapitalization aviation projects and $5 billion portfolio for C4ISR projects.
Watts-Sutton began her civil service career as a contracting intern with the Department of Navy Naval Air Systems Command. During her tenure there, she served in positions of increasing responsibility from contract specialist to procuring contracting officer supporting the Naval Air Warfare Center-Aircraft Division’s contracted support services department, and NAVAIR’s air, anti-submarine warfare, assault and special mission contracts department supporting various aviation programs, which included the Marine Corps’ AV-8B Harrier Program, the H-1 Utility/Attack Helicopter Programs, MH-60 platforms and the V-22 Osprey Program.
Watts-Sutton brings to the contracting office a leadership style aligned with the Army’s priorities.
“I view my leadership style as adaptive, meaning meet people where they are. It’s important to connect with people in a way that’s effective for them,” she said. “The connections, or personal links that you help to create, are crucial to leading people through challenging times. In addition, my leadership style depends on making good decisions, with a focus on mission as well as making sure our objectives are clear, and respecting the staff’s capabilities and expertise and allowing them to execute.”
Watts-Sutton holds a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level III certification in contracting and was previously a certified member of the Navy and DHS acquisition professional communities. She also previously served as a Navy civilian recruiter. She is a graduate of the NAVAIR Leadership Development Program, also earning a certification as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She is a graduate from Fayetteville State University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She also possesses a Master of Business Administration from the University of Baltimore.
The MICC-Fort Belvoir contracting office awarded more than 1,600 contract actions in fiscal 2021 valued at more than $178 million. MICC-Fort Belvoir is partnered with more than 200 separate Army and joint organizations to include five separate garrison commands, Military District of Washington-Joint Task Force Headquarters, and Arlington National Cemetery.
About the MICC:
Headquartered at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command consists of about 1,300 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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