ARMY AL&T
• Upward trend of Government Accountability Offi ce (GAO) protests. Increased contracting workload has brought con- comitant increased GAO audit activity. In FY08, only one protest out of 464 was sustained and, in FY09, seven out of 540 protests were sustained. The PMR program will be a venue to explore lessons learned in these situations.
I will address more Hot Button issues in future articles as we add to our portfolio. In the interim, I appreciate your continued com- mitment and support to our warfi ghters throughout the world.
Edward M. Harrington Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Procurement)
An Integrated Approach to Contracting Support LTC William Bailey
Contracting support can be used along a continuum of support, ranging from reactive organizations to proactive organizations. Organizations that use contracting as a source of supply and services are forced into a reactive mode of simply fi lling requests per the unit’s requirements. Units that use contracting offi cers (KOs) as key elements of their staff change the contracting offi ce into a proactive organization that integrates contracting into the operational mis- sion. These organizations consider the KO almost as a special staff member who advises the commander and conducts planning with logisticians, resource managers, and engineers to ensure that the commander can meet mission goals and achieve the fi nal end state.
On Jan. 30, 2008, the U.S. Army Contracting Command was established, which further changed the Army’s acquisition support structure by removing the authorizations for KOs and non- commissioned offi cers from operational units and consolidated
OBSERVE
One of the major challenges is the integration of KOs into the planning and decision cycles of the units that they support. In many ways, the KO has to serve as a liaison between the sup- ported unit and the contracting offi ce. In doing so, the KO must fi rst understand that integrating into the unit’s structure is a key element of being a successful KO. KOs can no longer sim- ply wait at the contracting offi ce for the requirements packages to arrive. They must actively engage the unit and insert them- selves into the unit’s planning processes to understand the intent or purpose behind the requirements and the unit’s desired end state. This knowledge will help acquisition planning before the requirements package arrives at the contracting offi ce.
ACT
OODA CYCLE
ORIENT
Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) Cycle One method described in FM 6.0 Appendix A, The OODA Cycle (see fi gure), can help KOs model their approach. The Observe Phase is when the commander or key leader observes the situation and collects information. The KO should be doing the same by focusing on the unit’s operational environment, the enemy situation, unit posture, and the contractor’s ability to support the unit. In the Orient Phase, the commander gains situational awareness and learns the common operating picture (COP). During COP development, the KO will inject contracting support realities to the staff, ensuring that they have an appreciation of the challenges that local-national and third-country providers will have in supporting any operation. This requires that KOs have a keen understanding of the business and cultural environment in which they are operating. They must under- stand the limitations of the transportation network, the availability of air hubs for moving supplies in and out, and the skills and availability of the labor force to provide services and construction support. They then provide the staff a detailed assessment of the contracted support from U.S., local-national, and third-country national providers. KOs should be able to provide rough time lines for construction, services, and commodity acquisitions. These timelines and assessments can be used by the staff in developing the COP that will help manage expec- tations on what contracting can do and how long it will take.
DECIDE
When the commander moves into the Decide Phase, his/her decision will be based on staff estimates that the KO pro- vided and infl uenced in the previous phase. The plan is set
APRIL –JUNE 2010 65
those positions in Contracting Support Brigades, Contingency Contracting Battalions (Bns), Senior Contingency Contracting Teams, and Contingency Contracting Teams (CCTs). This sepa- ration supports the independent procurement authority, but it was not intended to separate the bond between the contracting forces and the operational units. These elements are the Army’s building blocks for a comprehensive contracting support plan. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has deployed a few CCTs from both the Active Army and National Guard; however, the vast majority of KOs from all services are individual augmentees. This method of creating a contracting support structure using augmentees from all of the services presents some unique challenges and opportunities.
CONTRACTING COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
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