LOGCAP Summit Increases Global Readiness

The 414th Contracting Support Brigade (CSB) hosted the first Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) Contract Administration Readiness Summit (LCARS) from April 21-27, 2022. LCARS was conducted to foster multilateral relationships with United States Army Contracting Command (ACC), Army Sustainment Command (ASC), and key stakeholders with mission alignment to the U.S. Army Europe - Africa area of responsibility (AOR). This summit’s goal was to increase proficiency and cross-level organizational knowledge of LOGCAP V contract administration, contract management, program management, contractor capabilities, and broaden the collective foundational understanding of the organizations for whom the 414th CSB directly and indirectly supports.

This event took place in two phases with a classroom portion in Padova, Italy and hands-on training in Accra, Ghana.  A multitude of key stakeholders from the strategic, operational and tactical levels were invited to LCARS to include AFRICOM, ASC, ACC – Rock Island, Southern European Task Force – Africa, the 405th Army Field Support Brigade, the 409th CSB, the 79th Theater Support Command, and the performance contractor, Fluor Intercontinental.

Jude J. Stork, ASC LOGCAP branch chief, AFRICOM said, “The summit provided me an opportunity to meet the AFRICOM team in person, which allowed for open discussion on LOGCAP and how LOGCAP can support each command and for the LOGCAP contractor to interact with the AFRICOM team. It was a well-organized event and I look forward to the next one.”

Phase one of LCARS included strategic level overviews from ASC and AFRICOM of the LOGCAP mission in Africa to the tactical level within the 414th CSB. Classroom instruction covered additional topics such as the theater entry process, requirements development, the LOGCAP change management process, role of an Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO), property administration, and quality assurance. The performance contractor also provided a capabilities brief of all the locations that they support throughout the AFRICOM AOR.

Gregg Johnson, LOGCAP V procurement officer, ACC-Rock Island said, “LCARS was truly a great event. Not only did it afford an opportunity to put faces to names and build and strengthen relationships, it provided a valuable platform for the exchange of information. Though I’m familiar with the processes – from requirements development to mission execution – the summit brought all stakeholders together in one location and provided great insight into how all components work together to provide essential support to the Warfighter. I learned a great deal – even with over 10 years of LOGCAP experience. Next time I can hopefully make it to the continent and see firsthand the impact we make every day.”

Upon conclusion of phase one, a portion of the group then travelled from Italy to Ghana to conduct phase two of LCARS. Phase two of LCARS included the roles and responsibilities of an ACO, a detailed breakdown of a quality assurance inspection, and a walk-thru of the change management process for new requirements. The performance contractor also provided their concept of support, quality control plan, sub-contractor management plan, and capabilities throughout Africa.

Phase two concluded with a site visit to Cooperation Security Location (CSL) Accra. A walk-thru and capabilities brief of CSL Accra was completed and the team was able to participate in a real-world Quality Assurance Inspection of activated services.

“The Summit was an opportunity to train and learn about the strategic sustainment capability, exercise our contracting essential tasks, learn the major stakeholders’ roles from EUCOM, AFRICOM, ASC, and ACC; and collectively identify how to get left of the planning process and deliver the effects to the requirement activities. We hope to make this collaboration the standard in the 414th CSB,” said Lt. Col. Jason Supnet, director, Regional Contracting Office – Africa.

The 414th CSB supports the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) Area of Responsibility (AOR) through a combination of theater support contracts and use of LOGCAP contracts. LOGCAP provides the customer flexibility by reducing procurement lead time and allowing for rapid population and location changes. LOGCAP has also increased readiness to AFRICOM by providing strategic reception and staging areas to respond to any potential crisis throughout Africa.

Recently, LOGCAP has been used to respond rapidly to unforeseen requirements that could have not been supported through use of a traditional theater support contract. Year to date, the 414th used LOGCAP to support seven sites with 125 active services throughout the AFRICOM AOR.