On Aug. 27, elements of the 412th Contracting Support Brigade deployed in support of U.S. Army North operations in the areas affected by Hurricane Irene.
The 904th CCBN, consisting of the Battalion Commander LTC Jeff Phillips, the Battalion Sergeant Major SGM Dennis Richardson, and Operations Officer MAJ Anthony Gibbs, deployed to Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst with the lead elements of Joint Task Force-51 and the 167th Theater Sustainment Command.
The team deployed before the storm made landfall and integrated with the JTF-51 Joint Operations Center. After hunkering down for the storm, the team found the Title X requirements were minimal; however, they were optimally positioned to provide operational contracting support to the commander in the disaster area.
"We deployed forward and linked up with JTF-51 so we could provide responsive operational contracting support to warfighters where needed," stated LTC Phillips. "Although the federal response was less than anticipated, we validated our concept of support and established standard operating procedures and best practices for future response operations."
The battalion acted in a liaison and advisory role, assisting JTF-51 and the 167th TSC in conducting mission analysis and identifying requirements that can't be met through existing sources.
The battalion also deployed with the equipment necessary to immediately award contracts, and had an additional contracting ready team on standby at Fort Knox, Ky. This CRT was prepared to deploy forward within 24 hours of notification and provide contracting support wherever needed in the disaster area.
Col. Jeff Morris, 412th CSB commander, was designated by U.S. Northern Command as the senior contracting official in Defense Support to Civil Authorities, and the 412th was designated the lead agency for contracting support for the Department of Defense.
Social Sharing