Tuesday, April 7, 2015
What is it?
Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise (OCSJX) is an exercise focused on producing shelf-ready products for future operations, training the OCS workforce and increasing senior leader awareness. The exercise provides OCS professionals with the training, tools and confidence to succeed while deployed in support of any contingency operation or natural disaster.
What has the Army done?
Army Contracting Command began these exercises in 2010. Since their inception, the exercises have concentrated on deployment readiness, mobilization and contingency contract support to the joint force. The year of 2012 was the first broadening exercise to include OCS. In 2013, the exercise expanded to include establishment and operation of the Joint Theater Support Contracting Command, to emphasize the unique demands of OCS in a deployed environment.
OCSJX-14 was U.S. Army-led and furthered DOD efforts to improve OCS across the services and established a forum to increase synchronization and review DOD policy to mature and enhance the effectiveness of OCS.
OCSJX-15, concentrates on OCS command and control during Phases I-IV and the three buckets of OCS: contract support integration, contracting support, and the contractor management process. The U.S. Air Force-lead, Joint Staff J4-sponsored, annual exercise is being conducted Mar. 10 - Apr. 12, at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, U. S. Pacific Command, the Army Staff, and the Air Force Staff.
This exercise will involve more than 1,000 Soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, civil servants, and support contractors. It will also include personnel from OSD, Joint Staff, USPACOM, PACAF, USARPAC, USPACFLT, multinational partners from the UK, Canada and Australia, and will host distinguished visitors from the whole of government.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?
Lessons learned will be incorporated into the expeditionary skill sets of contingency contracting officers and improve interoperability between the services’ contracting operations.
Why is this important to the Army?
The exercise leads to better interoperability and mutual understanding of Operational Contract Support during all phases of peacetime and contingency operations. Future military operations will continue to demand expeditionary contracting professionals who are trained and ready to meet operational commanders’ needs. Increased OCS readiness and capability provides commanders with increased freedom of action through economy of force. Commanders are able to employ uniformed forces where most needed and use contractors where best suited.
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