ARMY AL&T
VICTORY SOUTH Victory South spanned portions of several countries, includ- ing Romania and Poland. Each location had its own separate administrative contracting concerns under the 923rd Contract- ing Battalion. Te Romania administrative contracting officer team provided support to multiple countries and locations across the Black Sea via the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) V contract vehicle with Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. and supporting requirements valued at over $80 million. Te main requiring activities included the 101st Airborne Division, Area Support Group Black Sea, and Area Support Activity Black Sea.
Te Poland administrative contracting officer team supported a $300 million portfolio that included a multitude of distinct units, each with specific and original requirements sprin- kled throughout strategically critical locations within Eastern Europe, spanning 13 sites, and thousands of Soldiers, civilians and structures.
Two forward operating stations in Poland that required contract- ing personnel were the Remote Maintenance Operations and Distribution Center ‒ Ukraine and the Military Aid Contri- bution Coordination Cell, which directly supported Ukrainian aid. Tey ensured arriving materiel reached the right place, at the right time, to support Ukrainian forces. Upon arrival to theater, these locations were at the beginning phases of devel- opment, but with coordinated efforts by the requiring activities (quality assurance specialists, contract officer representatives) and contracting officers, the throughput and capacity to provide aid increased exponentially.
Te administrative contracting officers received warrants at different stages throughout deployment. Te Poland adminis- trative contracting officer team received its warrant first, as its counterpart was first to depart theater. Te Romania adminis- trative contracting officer team received warrants a few weeks into the deployment.
This highlights the second insight, not having approved warrants immediately upon arrival created difficulties achiev- ing effects without delay, requiring reach-back support provided by personnel of the 928th Contracting Battalion in Germany. Once warranted, timeliness of administrative contracting officer actions would continue to be an issue as procuring contract- ing officer support for LOGCAP V is limited to Central Time Zone business hours. Not having a procuring contracting officer in the mission area and time zone delayed important decisions
COORDINATION IS KEY
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis; Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Cicua and French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly address dignitaries and NATO troops at Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase, Romania, March 6, 2022. As a member of the alliance, the U.S. makes a commitment to provide forces to the NATO Response Force and work in coordination with allies and partners to deter further Russian aggression. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Alvin Reeves, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, I Corps)
and fostered a negative perception with the supported units in contracting personnel’s ability to execute efficient and timely contract support.
MISSION EXECUTION As the war continued, DOD began to focus on quality-of-life support for robust formations, ensuring readiness through estab- lishing ample infrastructure to conduct training for NATO and U.S. forces, secure lines of communication throughout the theater and build relations with international partners. Units have government purchase card holders, billing officials, field ordering officers and pay agents to enable deployed units to be self-reli- ant and provide increased purchasing power. Tis fulfills their purchasing needs quickly and maintains lower level approval authorities related to contracting, thus relieving dependency on contracting professionals. With few government purchase card holders and billing officials in theater, the lack of options left units seeking contracting support.
Immediately upon arrival, 923rd Contracting Battalion completed key leader engagements with combatant commanders,
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