Staff Sgt. (P) Marquiesha R. McKenzie, 629th Contingency Contracting Team, Republic of South Korea, is the noncommissioned officer in charge of a 15-person detachment that provides proactive cradle to grave contracting support for Osan Air Force Base.
McKenzie is dedicated to supporting the most demanding customers in Korea, the 7th U.S. Air Force and its 51st Fighter Wing. McKenzie readily volunteers to ensure the mission is met on time to meet the critical needs of the Osan military and civilian community.
McKenzie provided contracting support to U.S. Army Pacific for the Cobra Gold 2010 exercise as the contracting officer for transportation requirements. As a member of the Cobra Gold 10 Joint Contracting Cell, consisting of five contracting officers, two Marines and three Soldiers, the cell executed more than 2,000 contracts valued at over $3.5 million.
The contracts supported humanitarian assistance missions throughout Thailand, including seven medical civic action program sites and five engineering civic action program sites. McKenzie was responsible for more than 600 individual contract actions valued over $750K. Her relentless coordination with the joint task force forward/rear joint logistical section and her Thai commercial contractors, demonstrated her outstanding management skill and determination to ensure the Warfighter received the best commercial contract support.
Prior to her assignment at Osan, McKenzie was assigned to the 411th Contracting Support Brigade Headquarters, Construction and Supply Division as a contracting specialist. While there, she performed post and pre-award contractual actions exceeding $500,000 in direct support of U.S. Forces Korea units in the Republic of Korea and processed 50 contracts in support of the brigade's close-out program, valued in excess of $2 millions.
Her accolades are plentiful due to her work ethic. She was the first NCO in the 411th CSB to receive a contracting warrant and received a coin of excellence from Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, commander, Army Materiel Command, for excellence in mission support.
McKenzie also established the brigade's first equal opportunity program, training more than 100 military, civilian, and Korean national employees quarterly on all EO mandatory training. The program achieved commendable ratings during the 8th U.S. Army's first command inspection, and has allowed the contracting workforce in the 411th CSB to operate optimally under the Army Values.
McKenzie has obtained Level 1 Accreditation in Contingency Contracting and was recently selected for the Army Degree Completion Program scheduled to start in the spring of 2011.
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