Shaping the future of military construction through innovation and partnerships

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Excellence in Contracting Awards Program recently selected the Louisville District as the Innovative Team of the Year for their work awarding the Fort Campbell, Kentucky Voluntary Army (VOLAR) Barracks Renovation, the first construction agreement award for USACE using Other Transaction Authority (OTA).

The VOLAR Barracks project will renovate building 4067, an existing 44,106 SF barracks facility built in 1978 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky for the Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing (UEPH).

“The project supports the wellbeing and operational readiness of 101st Airborne soldiers, ensuring quality housing for America’s elite combat units,” said Louisville District Engineering Design Branch Chief, Carl Mudd, who serves as the Engineering Division lead for the project.

“The goal of the project is to design and construct the facility renovation using emerging technology solutions to repair failed systems, remove persistent mold growth and prevent reoccurrence, and reconfigure the spaces to current Army Barracks Standards,” explained Louisville District Planning, Programs, and Project Management, Support for Others Branch Chief Rachael Haunz.

The team’s efforts kicked off in January 2024, after the project was chosen in late 2023 as a pilot program for the use of OTs to acquire military construction services by USACE, as approved by Congress.

The USACE team partnered with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) designating DIU to act as the executing agent and USACE as the support agent, providing technical design and construction support. To prepare, the DIU acquisition and project management teams facilitated training for the team on the DIU vendor selection process which consists of three phases, and includes conducting structured vendor engagement throughout, as well as development of an Area of Interest (AOI) statement to solicit proposals from industry and negotiating a final Scope of Work (SOW) with the selected Design-Build team.

From there, the project moved at a fast pace to meet a rigorous deadline due to expiring one-year funds through the Fiscal Year 2024 Facilities Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (SRM) program.

“The $40 million project was awarded Sept. 25, 2024, five days ahead of the team’s deadline, using Other Transaction Authority, a non-[Federal Acquisition Regulation]-based procurement method,” said Louisville District Contracting Division Branch Chief April Judd, who serves as the support agreements officer for the project. “This allowed us to select a non-traditional defense contractor and negotiate the terms of the agreement directly with them once selected.”

As of Fall 2025, the project has completed the design phase, with a goal of successful project completion by Fall 2027, with the ability to prototype.

Diverting from traditional FAR-based contracting procedures to a more performance based, less prescriptive approach was one of many challenges the team faced, especially with limited precedence.

The new approach required multiple checkpoints weekly, and sometimes daily, with members from the Louisville District, USACE Headquarters, DIU and the Fort Campbell Resident Office explained Louisville District Project Manager, Jack Oakley.

“Constant communication was essential to ensure we all stayed on the same page to produce a detailed scope of work document that led to awarding the design build project,” he said.

Strong communication throughout the multi-phased approach also aided the team in engaging new industry partners.

“The process introduced the team to a non-traditional defense contractor who would have otherwise not been interested in executing the project had it been procured using FAR-based methodology,” Judd said.

Through the process Judd became the first Agreements Officer in the USACE Great Lakes and Ohio River Division, receiving an unlimited Agreements Officer (AO) warrant in July 2024.

“Going forward the Louisville District Contracting team is actively pursuing OTA training and AO certification for other Contracting Officers so we may continue to lead the enterprise,” added Judd.

Mudd noted that lessons learned from this project will influence upcoming pilot projects at Fort Campell for the new Design Build to Budget (DB2B) program.

“The success of this project is reshaping how USACE approaches construction acquisition, especially for projects requiring speed, flexibility and innovation,” added Mudd. “The impact extends enterprise-wide, as this team is now mentoring others and helping guide future OTA pilot programs.”

The team also received the 2025 Louisville District Award for Engineering Excellence, in addition to the Excellence in Contracting Awards Program Innovative Team of the Year.

“The VOLAR Barracks [Project Delivery Team]’s commitment to leadership contracting, excellence, and professional development exemplify the essence of teamwork and Army Values, supporting the [Assistant Secretary for the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology]’s program execution and performance initiative by embracing a new approach,” read the award citation. “They are recognized for developing a unique and innovative contracting strategy which provided an exceptional improvement to Army capabilities and to meet the strategic needs of the warfighter.”

Other Louisville District PDT members include Stacey Purifoy-Jones, Miller Moore, Nicole Angst, Charles Greenwell, Dijana Banjanovic, Julie Musial, Joel Greenwell, Josh Westgate and Bill Dorsch.

Other Partner Agencies include USACE Headquarters, Military Programs Integration Division; Fort Campbell Department of Public Works; Department of the Army, Headquarters, G-9; Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Housing, and Partnerships; Office of the Secretary of Defense.