ACC contributes to Army winning in 2022

By Ben Gonzales, Army Contracting Command Public AffairsDecember 21, 2022

Army contributes to Army winning in 2022
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Christine Beeler provides the keynote address at a recent community function in Huntsville, Alabama. Beeler is the commanding general for Army Contracting Command. (Photo Credit: Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL
Army contributes to Army winning in 2022
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Army Contracting Command Soldiers and Army civilians discuss contract actions with mission partners recently. As the Army’s principal buying agent, ACC ensures Soldiers have what they need to be successful, from food and clothing to bullets and bombs. (Photo Credit: Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL
Army contributes to Army winning in 2022
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Leaders from across Army Contracting Command gathered recently to discuss command initiatives and priorities at Redstone Arsenal. (Photo Credit: Army photo) VIEW ORIGINAL

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama (December 21, 2022) – Fiscal year 2022 was another great year for Army Contracting Command officials as they delivered the power of acquisition that contributed to the Army winning every day.

Every day around the world the ACC team of acquisition civilian and military personnel enabled operational contracting in a variety of theaters and contingency operations ensuring Soldiers have what they need to be successful.

Officials from across the ACC enterprise executed approximately $97 billion with more than 128,000 contracting actions in fiscal year 2022 to deliver people, readiness and modernization to the Army. This was made possible by the more than 6,000 ACC employees at over 100 permanent locations throughout the world.

“There is a uniqueness to what this command does,” said Brig. Gen. Christine Beeler, the ACC commanding general. “One day we are working to improve living conditions for our Soldiers and families and the next day we could be working with our allies in European Command to support operations in the Ukraine. Our ability to provide accountable and credible business options with agility and precision has allowed us to maintain our position as the Army's premier buying agent of choice.”

As the Army’s principal buying agent, ACC officials support Army readiness and modernization by using best practices and expert-level oversight to provide warfighters with premier contracting support. The command procures everything from clothing, bullets and bombs to tanks, trucks and aircraft.

In addition, ACC officials supported 23 steady-state and request for forces and 68 exercises in FY22. ACC contracts awarded to American small businesses resulted in a $1.93 billion increase over the previous fiscal year to the small disadvantaged business program, including $1.7 billion toward the COVID response. Other major accomplishments by the ACC enterprise include $1.6 billion for Operation Allies Welcome, $615.1 million toward Ukraine operations and another $649 million toward the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

These accomplishments would not have been possible without being focused on ACC’s top priority: people. The command accomplishes its global operational missions with a professional workforce of Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians, foreign local nationals and contractors at more than 100 locations worldwide.

“Army Contracting Command's success stems from our diversity of thought and experiences that when combined with creative thinking and innovation improve our effectiveness,” Beeler said. “It is crucial that we focus our efforts on emerging talent to acquire, develop, employ, and retain a highly skilled workforce to meet our mission requirements and deliver the power of contracting to win! I want ACC to be the employer and unit of choice.”

To further enhance the Army Acquisition workforce, ACC officials are developing “Back to Basics” contracting education, career mapping, hiring through predictive analysis, and gamified interactive skill demonstrations. The command developed new strategies to attract, develop, and retain a world-class, high-quality workforce that can deliver results for the American people. In addition, ACC is collaborating with Army career managers and the Army Materiel Command Ready Army Civilian program to improve the analysis and completion of individual development plans for the various career sectors. The command is also exploring initiatives to support the new definition of workplace and workspace to increase employment flexibility and reduce government office space requirements.

ACC’s first three priorities mirror the Army's priorities: people, readiness and modernization. ACC’s fourth priority is reform and accountability.

“We evaluated all of our foundational documents, the Army Contracting Enterprise initiatives, the changing nature of our work and workplaces, the budget, and our five-year resourcing profile. Finally, we sought to understand our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to deliver our promise to perform for the Army and National Defense,” Beeler added. “We will continue to enhance our business operations, including implementing our top priorities, to strengthen the Army's lethality, capability and efficiency.”

Reform and accountability were evident during the command’s Senior Leader Forum this year as the command’s top officials gathered to prioritize where ACC needed to make adjustments to articulate its total mission and refine the unit’s vision while ensuring command actions, initiatives and outcomes are nested with AMC’s focus areas and the Army’s priorities.

ACC's acquisition efforts to sustain the Army's readiness posture are critical for the Army’s fight today. The Soldiers, Army civilians and contractors of the command deliver business solutions for tactical, operational, and strategic effects across the Strategic Support Area - from the factory to fort, fort to port, and port to foxhole – while conserving resources to stretch the dollars available for readiness.

While FY22 was a success, ACC is already leaning forward toward tomorrow and beyond.

“I’m excited by the opportunity to harness the Army’s extensive modernization initiatives to improve our contracting capacity and capabilities,” Beeler said. These initiatives include the new Army Contract Writing System, the use of BOTs to reduce contract professionals’ time spent on ‘high touch - low impact’ tasks, and the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to achieve contracting information dominance for pricing, market research, and negotiation strategies. Our ability to harness our workforce’s ideas and turn them into reality will increase our confidence and competence to deliver the power of Army contracting with precision and agility to achieve the Army’s objectives at the speed of relevance.”

With a vision of accountable and credible business options with agility and precision – today, tomorrow and in the future, ACC is postured to win today and to deliver the power of Army contracting anywhere, every time.