In Kosovo, the contingency contracting office, which is under operational control of the 409th Contracting Support Brigade, continues as an integral part of the sustainment to Camp Bondsteel, as well as to the U.S. forces stationed in the Balkans.
"With Camp Bondsteel scaling down, it's more important than ever to have an effective contracting office out here to support this area where there are few resources," said Col. William Bailey, commander, 409th CSB.
The 409th leadership recently visited the contracting office at Bondsteel to meet with customers and sync with the 1938th Senior Contingency Contracting Team of the Indiana National Guard unit currently running the contracting operations.
"The national guard team we currently have in this office is very experienced. They have been very forward with their contracting initiatives and continue to execute effective contracts all while keeping a watchful eye on resources to best serve the mission," said Bailey.
The 1938th SCCT currently supports the mission by writing and executing contracts for a variety of support functions including maintenance and repair of dental and medical equipment, custodial services and transportation.
"We are an experienced team getting out meeting our customers and contractors, keeping them focused on the same sheet of music - the contract requirements. That's just the way we do it here," said Lt. Col. Randy Singleton, 1938th SCCT team leader.
Established soon after Kosovo achieved independence from Serbia in 1999, Camp Bondsteel continues to house and support American and NATO peacekeeping forces as well as resident contractors through a forward operation cell headquartered in Sarajevo.
While elements of Camp Bondsteel scale back and military forces pull out, contracting continues to play a major role in the sustainment of the community.
"We couldn't feed people, we couldn't house them," said Della Hodges, director, Area Support Team Balkans. "We would be broke without contracting."
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