FORT CARSON, Colorado (March 21, 2024) -- Earlier this month, Soldiers from the 918th Contracting Battalion’s Contracting Detachment Alpha at Fort Carson, Colorado, teamed with their multi-service partners for a joint exercise evaluation conducted by the unit.
CONDET A Soldiers partnered with Airmen from the 21st Contracting Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base and 50th CONS at Schriever Space Force Base, both in Colorado, March 8-13 for the exercise that simulated contingency contracting operations in the European Command area of responsibility.
“The overall outcome of the training exercise was to prepare deployers from both the Air Force and Army to work as a collaborative team in a simulated contingency environment while also providing networking opportunities for future collaboration,” Lt. Col. Amy Saal, 918th CBN commander, said.
Soldiers from CONDET A are preparing to deploy to Poland in the coming weeks in support of European Assure, Deter and Reinforce operations. Soldiers from the battalion operations group worked jointly with Air Force members to incorporate their contracting requirements into the master scenario event list, or MSEL, injects. MSEL injects are made of up a chronological timeline of scripted events to prompt responses by exercise participants, ensuring tested exercise objects are executed.
Exercise personnel were split into two teams and presented scenarios, which they would most likely encounter while deployed, to include vendor final invoice discrepancies for worldwide expeditionary, multiple-award contract task orders. In addition, civilian members of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Carson contracting office also supported the exercise by serving as role players, requiring EXEVAL participants to practice their “soft skills” when responding to and interacting with contractors.
The joint exercise evaluation highlighted the similarities and differences between the services and how each approaches solving complex contracting problems. Leaders from the 918th CBN, along with the 21st CONS and 50th CONS, plan to continue and build upon joint training opportunities to include the 918th CBN participating with the Air Force in its annual contingency contracting officer training.
“Overall, the training event was a huge success with both Air Force and Army members providing valuable feedback to improve future iterations while also certifying Contracting Detachment A for deployment,” Maj. Eric Munn, 918th CBN operations officer, said.
The 918th CBN and MICC-Fort Carson lead contracting support for Headquarters 4th Infantry Division, Installation Management Command, 10th Special Forces Group, 407th Army Field Support Battalion, and other tenant units on Fort Carson and Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado. Contracting personnel also plan and execute contingency contracting in support of Army operations and initiatives overseas. The battalion also provides support to warfighters and 4th ID for training exercises and rotations at the National Training Center.
About the MICC
Headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command consists of about 1,500 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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