410th Contracting Support Brigade enhances readiness with validation exercise

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas — Soldiers, Airmen and Civilians with the 410th Contracting Support Brigade (CSB), 502nd Contracting Squadron, 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron (ESS) and 773rd ESS conducted a joint validation exercise (VALEX) Feb. 10-13 on Fort Sam Houston, Texas to assess and refine their ability to provide contracting support for military operations.

410th CSB plays a crucial role in enabling mission success for both humanitarian and combat operations in the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of operation. The scenario for this exercise was a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) mission in response to a hurricane.

“HADR operations allow us to demonstrate and hone contracting professional skills while we validate and grow the capabilities necessary to support the warfighter at speed of need,” said U.S. Army Col. Kenneth Bulthuis, commander of the 410th CSB. “We are spending the time working with our sister service to sharpen our skills and learn best practices to enable a more lethal war fighter.”

By providing dynamic business solutions during military operations, the 410th CSB contributes to the six war-fighting functions: mission command, movement and maneuver, intelligence, fires, protection and sustainment. These functions enhance the capability and options of USSOUTHCOM and U.S. Army South commanders in executing theater security cooperation and contingency operations.

The exercise aimed to improve three key areas: people, quality contracting and organizational processes. These improvements directly contribute to the unit's ability to support operations in complex and dynamic environments.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Cherquria Peterson, 410th CSB operations officer and officer in charge of the exercise, said she was impressed with how all participants progressed professionally through the exercise.

“This exercise not only gave them an understanding of what they would encounter in a mission environment, but they're also getting an understanding of how their sister services execute similar tasks,” Peterson said. “So, this will help to make them more flexible and increase their skill set, while providing expert advice to a joint task force commander.”

Peterson noted the differences between the Army and Air Force benefited the overall objective of the VALEX and looks forward to future joint exercises.

“Because the Air Force puts junior enlisted directly into contracting, they bring a different perspective to problem sets versus the Army puts them in as a staff sergeant, which gives more of a leadership perspective” Peterson said. “In our next joint VALEX, we will look to integrate both Army and the Air Force on each team so we better share our experiences and creative solutions to similar problem sets.”

The most junior service member participating in the exercise, Airman 1st Class Aaron Wilkerson, contracting specialist with 502nd Contracting Squadron, was impressed with the content of the exercise and said that he gained invaluable knowledge during the exercise.

“There are a lot of scenarios that I haven’t been able to experience before, I mean I’ve only done simple contracts, so I’m learning things that I didn't know existed,” said Wilkerson. “And it was really cool working in a joint environment and getting to see how the Army operates gave me experience that I think will be useful in the future.”

By conducting this validation exercise, the 410th CSB, 502nd Contracting Squadron, 772nd ESS and 773rd ESS all reinforced their commitment to readiness and mission success, and the 410th CSB remains focused on providing effective and efficient contracting solutions that enhance military operations and ensure support for humanitarian missions across the Southern Hemisphere.