Coming on board Fort Belvoir, Patrick Plummer, the Contract Management Support Officer, realized the need for deeper knowledge by the garrison’s appointed Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs). So, he coordinated with lnstallation Management Command (IMCOM) Sustainment (ID-S) at Redstone Arsenal to boost contracting literacy.
The Redstone Acquisition and Business Specialist/CMSO Instructors, Mr. Stanley Brown and Ms. Marella Akridge from Redstone, obliged by helping him set up an ID-S staff assistance visit hybrid training session Aug 29 and 30 at Fort Belvoir, with classroom accommodations provided by Fort Belvoir Directorate of Human Resources (DHR) Ms. Glenda Payne, Administration Assistance and DHR I.T. Specialist. As a first, it was decided to maximize efficiency and expand its effectiveness by extending class participation via MS Teams to other MDW Garrison CORs and supervisors from Fort Meade, Fort Walker, Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, and Fort Detrick.
“I wanted to do a four-day class, but it was said that was too much time,” Plummer told the Belvoir Eagle, agreeing that two days of instruction would be a good start. “I plan to have more classes in the future to follow up on practices learned in the first session – so this first class was just an introduction,” he said.
Plummer noted that the training was specific to contracting from the IMCOM HQ perspective.
“I wanted the personnel to understand that the relationship we had as a garrison when it comes to contracting directives from IMCOM HQ and ID-S, because when CORs receive the initial MICC online training for COR appointment, what they learned did not cover the IMCOM required day-to-day acquisition processes. Now I do understand what the garrison’s Directorate CORs need to successfully manage their contracts.”
Plummer said he was pleased with both the enthusiasm and the participation from numerous garrisons, with 28 attending in-person and another 55 via Teams. The first day had ID-S Resource Management Chief, Terry Ewing, welcoming the participants and helping them realize how important their role as COR is. Ewing provided an overview of HQ IMCOM Acquisition Planning and Management Program (APMP) roles and responsibilities. There were presentations provided by Fort Belvoir’s Mission Installation Contracting Command (MICC), Mr. Matthew Todd Quality Assurance Specialist, Fort Belvoir Resource Management Budget Officer Ms. Lauren Hammock, and Budget Analyst Ms. Keisha Wallace. Pete Green, with ID-S Operations and Maintenance, Public Works, outlined the hallmarks of a successful Performance Work Statement (PWS), and how to best evaluate Independent Government Cost Estimates (IGCE).
To underscore the importance of these roles, U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division held talks on waste, fraud, and abuse, as well as the numerous ethical considerations in federal contracting. In addition, the ID-S Staff Judge Advocate, Redstone Arsenal, provided an overview of ID-S requirements regarding garrison’s submitted Request for Service Contract Approval (RSCA) packages legal processes for ID-S Director’s approval. The course also provided non-contracting personnel with knowledge of the Federal acquisition process as well as the knowledge, skills, and core technical competencies to execute their responsibilities as a representative of the contracting officer.
The classes also created a lot of interactions among presenters, CORs and supervisors when sharing best practices and lessons learned.
“This hasn’t been done before,” Plummer said, but admitted participants were pleased with the resulting collaboration. “This class was a good first start.”
With so many garrison directorates having to do more with less, it’s good to know that Resource Management teams will be there to ensure every dollar is properly allocated.
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