JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (May 6, 2022) -- Members from the 900th Contracting Battalion gathered May 5 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to observe the uncasing of the battalion’s colors following their deployment to Qatar in support of the completion of the Defense Security Cooperation Management Office – Afghanistan mission.
Lt. Col. Jay VanDenbos, the 900th CBN commander, and Sgt. Maj. Jalia Wahid, the 900th CBN’s sergeant major, uncased the colors during the ceremony officiated by Anne Talbot, the 419th Contracting Support Brigade deputy commander from Fort Bragg.
“Today we can uncase the 900th Contracting Battalion colors because our mission to close out the Afghanistan contracts has been accomplished,” VanDenbos said. “I want to thank our Soldiers and civilians here at Fort Bragg for their continued support of our mission partners. The 900th Contracting Battalion command team is now back ready to support.”
The 900th CBN and Contracting Detachment Bravo operated as Regional Contracting Center-Afghanistan. The RCC-A provided contract closeout support for all remaining theater support contracts awarded in Afghanistan from the past 20 years. The team was able to close more than 860 theater support contracts, de-obligate excess funds in support of DSCMO-A, and develop a validated process to allow for Afghani to U.S. dollar conversions. These actions allowed for a smooth transition of enduring contracts and claims that were transferred for further action to the 408th CSB and Theater Contracting Center-Southwest Asia.
“The battalion’s deployment to Qatar in support of over-the-horizon closeout of Afghanistan, may not have been the hardest deployment but it was definitely challenging,” Wahid said. “The mission required a lot of thinking outside the box, creativity, and coordination, culminating in mission success. A success that could not have been achieved without the support of home station MICC-Fort Bragg and the 900th Contracting Battalion Rear Detachment.”
Members of the 900th CBN cased their colors in September 2021 for the deployment. This month’s uncasing signifies the unit’s return to garrison.
Subordinate to the 419th CSB, the 900th CBN is comprised of a headquarters and two contracting detachments. It is responsible for planning and executing contingency contracting in support of Army and joint operations, preparing warfighters to accomplish operational contracting support missions, and training and deploying contingency contracting detachments. In garrison, the battalion along with MICC-Fort Bragg is aligned to provide contracting support for the XVIII Corps as well as other mission partners across the installation.
About the MICC
Headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-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. As part of its mission, 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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