Contracting officials make big impact in National Capitol Region

By Ben Gonzales, Mission and Installation Contracting Command Public AffairsJuly 6, 2010

Contracting officials make big impact in National Capitol Region
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Good things come in small packages. This can also be said for the undersized staff of the Mission and Installation Contracting Command Directorate of Contracting at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.

With nine people, the DOC support some of the Army's most visible units including the third U.S. Army Infantry Regiment (Old Guard), the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own," and handle contracts to keep Arlington National Cemetery a national treasure.

Led by Kenneth L. (Mitch) Mitchell, director of contracting, members of the DOC managed more than 1,200 contracts in fiscal year 2009 valued at nearly $40 million. The staff has already worked 634 contracts worth more than $22 million for fiscal year 2010.

With such responsibility, contracting officials here deal with many challenges to keep Army contracts on deadline while working with some of the service's most senior officials including 44 general officers residing on the installation. The DOC staff also supports Joint Forces Headquarters Command, Joint Air Defense Operations Command, and manages contracts for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.

Brig. Gen. Stephen B. Leisenring, MICC commander, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, visited the DOC to meet the entire staff one-on-one and to address root causes of contracting issues.

"I relish the opportunity to talk to my senior (contracting officers)," Leisenring said. "This is a difficult customer base and I want to support this DOC in any way I can."

The MICC has 42 subordinate directorates of contracting including the DOC here, which happens to have the least number of employees of all the DOCs, yet a demanding workload with many events and units needing contracts in minimal time but with maximum exposure.

"People see the face of the Army when they see an Old Guard member at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or when the U.S. Army Band," Mitchell said. "This DOC keeps in mind we do contracting to take care of the Soldier. It is a challenge to satisfy the demands of the customers here while working with businesses to make sure we have clear contracts, but we do the best we can to get the most value out of the American taxpayers' dollars and to give the Soldier everything he needs to get the job done."