JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (February 7, 2025)-Dedicated contracting officers and specialists from the U.S. Army Mission Installation Contracting Command worked to procure necessary services and supplies through efficient and effective contracting operations between Dec. 31 to Jan. 20 in support of both the state funeral of the 39th U.S. President, James Earl Carter, Jr. Jan. 6; as well as the inauguration of the 47th U.S. President, Donald Trump Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C.
Col. Randy Garcia, director and senior contracting official, Field Directorate Office-Fort Sam Houston, said that credit for both operations goes to members of FDO-FSH, FDO-Fort Eustis and the 418th Contracting Support Brigade. These commands collaborated on nearly a dozen contracting requests despite long hours, shortfall requirements and severe winter weather in the region.
“The MICC team’s commitment to excellence and adaptability played a vital role for both of these high-profile, nationally televised events, demonstrating their ability to provide agile and effective contracting solutions under dynamic conditions.”
MICC-Fort Belvoir team within FDO-FSH was lead for all the inauguration contracts and most of the funeral contracts.
Among the procured services for the funeral were various vehicles, including specialized colors and models to meet protocol customs and courtesy requirements. Critical logistical support was also secured for the National Cathedral where the service was conducted, including tents, media risers, latrines, and services including snow removal and tow truck assistance.
“Upon receiving the notice of President Carter's passing, the MICC-Fort Belvoir team swiftly mobilized to initiate the procurement process within hours,” said Garcia. “Tracking down specific makes and models of vehicles with specific requirements proved to be one of the most challenging aspects due to time and availability constraints.”
To overcome the challenges over a roughly 10-day period between receipt of the mission and the funeral on Jan. 10, the MICC-Fort Belvoir team coordinated with the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region to ensure all requested services and supplies, along with any necessary adjustments, were addressed in a timely and precise manner.
“The team ensured that contracts were awarded promptly, addressing a wide range of essential services required for the execution of the funeral arrangements,” said Garcia.
The MICC consists of two contracting support brigades, two field directorates, nine contracting battalions and offices across 30 locations within the continental United States.
Key members of the FDO-FSH contracting team included contracting officers, Lt. Col. Erica Chin, David Gecewicz, Gwen Bridges and contract specialists Sgt. 1st Class Frank Ouedraogo and Capt. Lashondra Canty. Further support was provided by Aundair Kinney, the FDO-FSH deputy senior contracting official, who collaborated closely with the team throughout the process to ensure seamless operations.
MICC-Fort Moore, under FDO-Fort Eustis also provided a team of contracting professionals to support the Carter mission. Led by Shawndra Rhodes, MICC-Fort Moore’s business operations division chief, the MICC-Fort Moore team Successfully issued five delivery orders and one purchase order totaling roughly $4 million for the hotel rentals, rental vehicles, catering service and outdoor tents. Assisting Rhodes ensuring that all 75 rental items were returned with no issues, all tents and flooring were picked up, and all mission support personnel vacated the lodging venues was a small team of professionals that included Jackie Peacock, installation support division chief, Saundra Love, procurement analyst and Jason King, director, MICC-Fort Moore.
In addition to the 24/7 operational support provided by the FDOs, Maj. Tina Hill and Staff Sgt. Xochitl Tiedemann from the 901st Contracting Battalion under the 418th Contracting Support Brigade at Fort Cavazos, Texas, also provided support of Carter’s funeral through a contracting award in support of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment, traditionally known as The Old Guard, headquartered at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.
Hill said supporting the funeral allowed her and her MICC teammates to pay tribute to Carter’s legacy of service. “He dedicated his life to the service of others,” Hill said. “I was humbled by the opportunity to administer contracting support for President Carter’s last ride to the capitol.”
Chin hopes that the entire MICC enterprise watched the ceremony with a sense of pride knowing that contracting had a role, no matter how big or small, in such a storied and consequential event.
“It was not lost on our team that what we were doing was not just an ordinary contracting mission,” Chin said. “We were happy to do our part to ensure President Carter received the funeral he deserved.”
She admits that her team at Fort Belvoir did not have much downtime to enjoy the success of the Carter mission as they were parallel planning for the Trump inauguration during the same timeframe.
“Our team played a critical role in supporting the JTF-NCR efforts to the Presidential inauguration within days of the Carter funeral by awarding a variety of essential service and supply contracts,” said Chin. The ceremony contracts also covered a wide range of logistical needs, including media risers, buses of various types, wireless communication services, tents, portable latrines, command post trailers, light sets, dumpsters, towing and snow removal services required due to the harsh weather.
“The MICC Fort Belvoir team operated with precision and urgency, working continuously to ensure seamless support for the inauguration,” said Chin. Like the Carter funeral, the MICC’s efforts during the inauguration were closely synchronized with the task force, ensuring successful execution of vital logistical framework contracts were awarded in a timely manner. “Even when the inauguration was moved indoors due to inclement weather, the contract support was seamless.”
Looking back on what such a small group of contracting professionals accomplished for two very important and historic events in less than a month, Garcia marveled at the seamless execution of both contracting operations.
“The team remained highly responsive to constantly evolving requirements, such as weather-related adjustments impacting venue changes, relocation of various logistical effects; addressing these challenges efficiently to maintain operational effectiveness,” said Garcia. “The power of Army contracting is knowing that the mission could not be done without us while being so effective and efficient that our customers never have to learn that lesson.”
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, facilitating 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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