ARMY AL&T
into motion within the Act Phase. The KO must expect that actions on the ground will cause the plan to change and must be ready to assist the staff in executing the branches and sequels that they have developed. Having the KO linked with the staff allows him/her to be a conduit of information. The KO receives information from the operational units on the status of sup- port, much of which is provided by the KO’s representative, and provides input to the operational unit. Often, the contractors have a better situational understanding of what is happening in a given area than the units operating there. They are operating on the roads and in the villages, interacting with the locals, and often have valuable intelligence information that the KO can relay to the operational unit. The KO uses the information from the unit and the contractors and begins the OODA cycle again. This is an ongoing process that enables commanders and staff to formulate plans and make decisions. If KOs can integrate into the staff and infl uence the OODA cycle, they can ensure that contracting support can truly enable the commander’s mission goals rather than simply being a source of supply and services.
KOs, by doctrine, are the business advisors to the commander. They must also be the experts on the requirements vetting process and provide advice to the commander and staff on this process. Additionally, KOs must learn the craft of the logisticians, under- stand the fi nancial/resource management processes, and have a basic understanding of the processes engineers use to develop their projects. Using this knowledge with their contracting tech- nical skills, KOs can become an important and critical piece in the operational staff planning and enable the commander to use the contracting assets on the battlefi eld as force multipliers.
LTC William Bailey is the Commander, 902nd Contingency Contracting Bn. He is currently deployed as the Chief of Operations for the Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting-Afghanistan. Bailey holds a B.S. in business administration from California State Polytechnic University, an M.S. in acquisition and contract manage- ment from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a master of public administration from Old Dominion University. He is Level III cer- tifi ed in contracting and is a U.S. Army Acquisition Corps member.
recommendations became law. Accordingly, Fort Monmouth, NJ, will close no later than Sept. 15, 2011, requiring the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Contracting Center to relocate to Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Edward G. Elgart, the CECOM Contracting Center provides advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities to our warfi ghters, keeping them resilient, effective, and safe. In August 2008, the center sent an advanced team of 20 volunteers ranging from GS-12 to -15 (or broad/pay band equivalent) to APG. Throughout the year, members of the workforce continued to voluntarily transfer early, thus expanding the contracting work- force at APG while diminishing it at Fort Monmouth.
Through open continuous job announcements, the Contracting Center has been successful in expanding its APG workforce. The organization has made great strides in hiring interns, senior specialists, and supervisors from outside the government, as well as other federal agencies. However, it has been a challenge to obtain experienced contracting offi cers, resulting in employ- ees being tasked beyond their normal signifi cant duties and responsibilities. Those individuals who transferred from Fort Monmouth are invaluable assets at APG since they understand CECOM’s core customers and commodities as well as the cen- ter’s policies and procedures. Hence, they play an integral part in training the new employees joining the APG workforce to maintain our mission with minimal disruption.
CECOM Contracting Center Continues BRAC Move Debra Abbruzzese, Deborah Gilligan, and Ann M. Calvin
On Sept. 15, 2005, then-President George W. Bush signed a letter addressed to Honorable Anthony J. Principi, Chairman of the Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, giving his approval of the commission’s recommendations to address the BRAC Act of 1990, Public Law 101-510. On Nov. 9, 2005, BRAC
66 APRIL –JUNE 2010
Through collaboration and innovative ideas, successful transi- tion of workload continues between New Jersey and Maryland. Although approximately one-third of the workforce remains at Fort Monmouth, the sector chiefs have established a philosophy that fosters knowledge sharing by operating on a split-base level. Fort Monmouth supervisors have been teamed with employ- ees at APG to transfer the resident knowledge housed in New Jersey. By providing strategic direction, 24,770 actions val- ued at $15.4 billion were awarded in FY09. The total award value of $15.4 billion is the second highest in command his- tory. Remarkably, this was accomplished as the organization embraced a tumultuous period of physical relocation from New Jersey to Maryland and had a workforce with 47 percent of its employees having less than 5 years of experience. Although the organization was in a state of extreme fl ux since the BRAC announcement, the total dollars awarded have been greater than any other years in the command’s history, with a remarkable $16.8 billion in FY08 and $15.4 billion in FY09.
Even though the transition has its challenges, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Our focus is to stay on track and retain a positive work atmosphere. The end state is near and center employees continue to maintain fl exibility and a
CONTRACTING COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
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