SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (June 26, 2023) – Members of the 921st Contracting Battalion are poised to support mission partners in the Indo-Pacific region as more than half of the battalion have earned warrants as contracting officers recently here.
Contracting officers hold a warrant that allows them to negotiate on behalf of the U.S. government to authorize, execute, modify, or terminate a contract. Once 921st CBN members hold a warrant, they can provide contracting solutions to enable and sustain the U.S. Army Pacific region.
Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Kennison, the 921st CBN support operations NCO in charge, assumed responsibility of the warranting program from Sgt.1st Class Scott Voigt and Amanda Zawieruszynski, both of the 413th Contracting Support Brigade at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Kennison refined the systems that Voigt and Zawieruszynski put in place by revising the study guide for the contracting officer review board, or CORB, and establishing a warranting succession plan for the battalion and Regional Contracting Office-Hawaii.
Becoming a warranted contracting officer starts with many hours of dedication studying the Federal Acquisition Regulation and its supplements in addition to performing daily duties as a contracting professional. Kennison established a weekly study group that simulates a mock CORB and serves as a steppingstone to the warranting process.
Tier I warranted contracting officers are authorized to obligate the government up to $249,999.99 and must pass at least one mock CORB and a final CORB conducted by Lorenzo Lopez, the Regional Contracting Office-Hawaii chief, and Lt. Col. Christopher May, the 921st CBN commander. Tier II warranted contracting officers are authorized to obligate the government up to $6.5 million and must pass two mock CORBs and a final CORB with Col. Jason Miles, the senior contracting official of the 413th Contracting Support Brigade.
Regional Contracting Office-Hawaii Soldiers and Army civilians met with Kennison weekly to prepare for the CORB. Once a warrant candidate demonstrated proficiency in knowledge of CORB study material and the contracting process, dates were scheduled for them to attend mock CORBs presided by the battalion support operations officer in charge, a warranted Army civilian, and a warranted contracting NCO. Upon successful completion of the mock CORBs, warrant candidates advance to the final review board to potentially obtain a warrant and the ability to sign contracts and obligate government funds.
“This warranting program is the most robust that I have seen in my 10 years of contracting,” said Master Sgt. Bryan Tucker, the Contracting Detachment Bravo NCO in charge. “Typically, Soldiers take it upon themselves to study to become a contracting officer. The 921st CBN and Regional Contracting Office-Hawaii goes above and beyond to ensure there are plenty of contracting officers to support the mission.”
The 921st CBN is headquartered at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, and the unit’s primary mission is to provide contracting support to 25th Infantry Division, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, and aligned forces, advancing tactical priorities throughout the U.S. Army Pacific area of responsibility. Soldiers in the 921st are typically tasked to deploy forward in teams of two to support the 25th ID and 8th TSC with operational contract support in more than 12 countries throughout the Pacific. This requires that one of the team members is a warranted contracting professional charged with making contractual decisions in a fluid procurement environment.
“The warrant study group has helped me fully understand the contracting process and I look forward to passing the CORB in the near future,” said Staff Sgt. Susette Lujardo Lahera of the 413th Contracting Support Brigade at Schofield Barracks who has been supporting the region the last three years as a contracting professional.
About Army Contracting Command
The Army Contracting Command’s headquarters is at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. From food and clothing to bullets and bombs; from tanks and trucks to boats and aircraft; from Soldiers’ weapons to the installations where they work and live with their families, ACC ensures Soldiers have what they need to be successful from foxhole to factory. As the Army's principal buying agent, ACC supports Army readiness and modernization by using best practices and expert-level oversight to provide warfighters with premier contracting support. 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.
Social Sharing