PARTNERING FOR READINESS: Army veteran Joel Nededog, right, and fellow Skookum employees issue equipment and process returns on an AbilityOne contract at the JBLM CIF in July 2023. (Photo by Cade Martin, SourceAmerica)
Strategic partner helps the Army through innovative products and services, while employing veterans and people with disabilities.
by Brett Boyle, Matthew Buchanan and Carla Goulart
The Army looks to its industrial base for innovative products and services, efficient development and fielding, cost savings and other aspects of best value to meet warfighter needs. At the same time, Army acquisition supports socioeconomic objectives such as veterans’ employment and other economic opportunities for underserved communities. The AbilityOne Program is helping the Army meet its procurement needs while making a difference in the lives of veterans and others with disabilities.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 60% of working-age Americans with disabilities are not actively participating in the labor force. AbilityOne is one of the largest sources of employment in the U.S. for people who are blind or have significant disabilities, including veterans. The program is a strategic partner that helps the Army support warfighters through innovation, timely delivery, cost savings on goods and services and waste reduction.
The program is overseen by the U.S. AbilityOne Commission, an independent federal agency. The Army’s representative to the commission is Megan Dake, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for procurement (DASA(P)), who was appointed to the commission by President Joe Biden in October 2022. “AbilityOne is a valuable resource for supplying goods and services to the warfighter,” she said. Dake recently sponsored the first Armywide AbilityOne Training Day for the Army contracting enterprise, held virtually on April 3, 2024. The training used panel discussions to reinforce the benefits of the AbilityOne Program in meeting warfighter needs and saving taxpayer dollars.
AbilityOne is implemented with the support of two central nonprofit agencies—National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and SourceAmerica—designated by the commission to help administer the program through a network of nearly 425 nonprofit contractors that perform the work.
KITTED UP: AbilityOne Program employees are proud to support the U.S. military, creating uniforms, helmets, tools, hydration systems, protective equipment, and many other items to outfit American soldiers from top to bottom. (Graphic courtesy of NIB)
SERVING THE WARFIGHTER
NIB and SourceAmerica provide agile development and Soldier-centered designs through a manufacturing and development service contract that develops innovative prototypes as well as improvements to existing products.
Take the five-layer Cold Temperature and Arctic Protection System (CTAPS), for example. When the Army quickly needed a state-of-the-art cold weather clothing system that improved Soldier mobility and performance, and could withstand temperatures as low as minus 65 degrees Fahrenheit, it contracted with commercial manufacturers and the AbilityOne Program. Four AbilityOne apparel and equipment manufacturers were able to produce a durable, high-quality system within an accelerated six-month delivery time frame in spring 2023.
During the compressed production schedule, SourceAmerica and NIB’s productivity engineers performed a lean manufacturing study that identified new ways to eliminate waste and cut and handle materials to meet the aggressive deadline. For example, the productivity engineers created a new laser cutting station that allowed operators to cut and also adhere multiple fabric layers simultaneously, which significantly reduced manpower for material handling and sewing. Ten thousand CTAPS units, half of which were provided by the AbilityOne Program, were field-tested at Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely, Alaska, in March 2023 during a large-scale cold-weather exercise. In the 5,000 garments produced by AbilityOne contractors during the compressed production schedule, fewer than 10 defects were identified.
EMPLOYING UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES
More than 36,000 people who are blind or have significant disabilities make up the AbilityOne workforce, including roughly 2,500 veterans, and more than half work on DOD contracts. More than 6,600 AbilityOne employees contribute to Army warfighter readiness, providing mission-critical services on Army bases nationwide or producing mission-critical products like CTAPS. By doing so, they uphold Executive Order 13985, which charged the federal government with advancing equity for all, including communities that have long been underserved, such as people with disabilities.
PAYING IT BACK: Army veteran James McGarity found meaningful employment at Peckham through the AbilityOne Program. (Photo by Jack Schabert, Peckham)
DELIVERING EXPANSIVE BASE SERVICES
AbilityOne contractors offer an extensive range of expertise. At Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Washington, six AbilityOne nonprofit agencies perform work on 11 different contracts with an annual contract value of more than $41 million. Their combined total economic impact—tax revenues and cost savings through reduced reliance on federal benefits as well as additional tax revenues created in local economies—is estimated at more than $3 million.
The contracts include a central issue facility, barracks and vehicle maintenance, dining facility services, custodial and latrine services, laundry, dry cleaning and base supply center services. Many of the contractors have long-term experience with the base and employ veterans who bring military insight and commitment. AbilityOne contractor Professional Contract Services Inc. oversees barracks maintenance at JBLM, with veterans representing 69% of the direct labor force and 60% of leadership personnel.
Additionally, JBLM employs 371 full-time AbilityOne employees with disabilities through SourceAmerica’s network, saving the government an estimated $1.4 million through reduced reliance on public benefits and generating an estimated $1.2 million in tax revenue by employing people who may not otherwise be able to find work. At JBLM alone, AbilityOne procurements create an additional $630,000 in local economic benefits through job creation and federal tax revenues.
| A POSITIVE ECONOMIC INVESTMENT
An independent 2023 Mathematica Socioeconomic Impact Study commissioned by NIB and SourceAmerica found that AbilityOne provides a positive return on investment (ROI) for every dollar spent on program administration and increased employment of people who are blind or have significant disabilities. The average ROI for the federal government is $2.66 for every $1 spent to administer the AbilityOne Program. The total economic impact (direct and indirect) of AbilityOne contracts held by SourceAmerica’s nationwide nonprofit network and DOD is $185 million. Considering the Army’s share of AbilityOne DOD contracts, the study indicates that more than $68 million of total economic impact is generated by Army purchases of AbilityOne products and services. Direct impact includes tax revenues and cost savings through reduced reliance on federal benefits for AbilityOne employees. Indirect impact includes additional tax revenues created in local economies. When veterans and people who are blind or have significant disabilities are employed, they are also able to invest in their communities through spending on housing, transportation and other sectors of the local economy. |
AbilityOne contractor Skookum Services has streamlined the Army’s equipment-issuing processes at the JBLM central issue facility, which provides service members and civilians with organizational clothing and individual equipment and also stores, receives and exchanges the gear that helps facilitate the service member’s clothing record. Historically, Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE) was issued to Soldiers without being electronically recorded in the Soldiers’ central issue facility records. Skookum’s central issue facility team has properly accounted for it in the central issue facility property book and has since recovered millions of dollars of OCIE. This excess equipment is then refurbished and redistributed to support other installation missions, reducing waste and unaccounted-for government equipment. AbilityOne contractors Austin Lighthouse and Peckham Inc. provide cost savings for the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command through contracts for OCIE receipt, inspection, repair and reissue that allow the Army to avoid or reduce its purchase of new, higher-cost equipment.
Angela Chaplinski, contracting officer for the U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command – JBLM, explained why her team so driven to succeed. “We are proud to have programs in our country that support those who are blind or have disabilities. This creates an incredible sense of purpose and esprit de corps for all those involved in and supporting the program.”
CONTINUING TO SERVE:Army veteran Jeff Mittman continues a career of service after leaving the military as president and CEO of Bosma Enterprises and on the NIB board of directors. (Photo courtesy of NIB)
SAVING MONEY AND COMBATING WASTE
Along with CTAPS, AbilityOne contractors also manufacture the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) and the Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV). The AGSU, originally called the pink and greens by service members in the 1940s, was redesigned a few years ago to provide Soldiers a uniform for professional environments. In July 2021, four AbilityOne contractors and eight commercial industry partners successfully completed initial fielding efforts for the ensemble, including manufacturing, sourcing, packaging and shipping. Using an innovative, state-of-the-art distribution system, the contractors were able to streamline delivery to the Army. Work on the IOTV is an excellent example of how the program combats waste. Through a repurposing effort developed by the Program Executive Office for Soldier, AbilityOne agencies inspect legacy bulletproof vests; remove, cut down and sew the soft armor ballistic inserts; and integrate them into the new Modular Scalable Vest (MSV). By repurposing the ballistic inserts, the Army was able to reuse existing item inventory and reduce waste and contracted for 76,500 MSV units rather than buying new tactical vests.
PERSONAL IMPACTS
The AbilityOne Program offers extraordinary benefits to veterans, employees and the warfighters they support. James McGarity was sworn into the National Guard three days before 9/11. Shortly after infantry training, he was in a devastating car accident that resulted in cervical and other fractures, a lacerated liver and head injuries. Doctors placed him in a medically induced coma for 75 days.
Following extensive rehabilitation, he found work at Peckham, headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. After his first position learning to sew uniforms for the Army, he progressed through several job roles and now works at Peckham’s largest warehouse, loading and unloading military equipment and fabrics while training to move into management. “Even though I’m not in the military anymore, I still am helping Soldiers,” McGarity said. “So, I’m still doing my part, which I think is great. I love my work. I love the people I work with. There are people with severe disabilities. Peckham gives those people a purpose.”
After hundreds of combat missions as a platoon sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division, Master Sgt. Jeff Mittman (USA, Ret.) was on a Baghdad highway in 2005 when a projectile struck his vehicle. It caused severe head and facial trauma and took away his eyesight. Retiring after 21 years and four combat tours, he underwent more than 40 reconstructive surgeries.
Mittman credits the National Industries for the Blind with helping to save his life. “When I got hurt on the battlefield, products produced by NIB agencies saved my life—from the gloves they treated me with, to the bandages they used to stop the bleeding, to components of the very helmet I was wearing on my head. Without those agencies, I would not be here.”
Today, Mittman is president and CEO of Bosma Enterprises in Indianapolis, Indiana, one of the largest disability service organizations in the Midwest and the largest employer and only comprehensive service provider in the state for people who are blind. As a member of the NIB board of directors, Mittman is one of more than 500 veterans working at NIB and its associated nonprofit agencies.
CONCLUSION
The AbilityOne Program creates far-reaching value for the Army and offers meaningful and potentially life-changing jobs to veterans and people who are blind or have significant disabilities. In turn, they contribute economically to their local communities. The Army benefits as well: The AbilityOne Program provides innovative products and services that meet warfighters needs and are used by the warfighter in the field every day.
If you would like to work with the AbilityOne Program, email opportunity@abilityone.org and include a copy of your performance work statement.
For more information, go to U.S. AbilityOne Commission, SourceAmerica and NIB.
BRETT BOYLE is a primary AbilityOne representative for the Army. He holds an MBA in accounting from Monmouth University, a B.S. in finance from The George Washington University and a Graduate Diploma in applied computing from the University of Limerick, Ireland. He is a DAWIA certified DOD contracting professional and a licensed certified public accountant in New Jersey.
MATTHEW BUCHANAN is a lead AbilityOne representative for the National Industries for the Blind and was previously a contracting officer for the U.S. Army Contracting Command. As an Army civilian, he frequently used the AbilityOne Program to deliver products on time and at a reasonable price. At NIB, he works directly with federally appointed AbilityOne representatives and NIB nonprofit agencies to increase awareness and use of the AbilityOne Program. He holds a B.S. in business administration from Framingham State College and is DAWIA certified DOD contracting professional.
CARLA GOULART is the senior director of AbilityOne Strategic Business Development and the SourceAmerica point of contact for all AbilityOne representatives. She is responsible for developing new strategies and new lines of business to drive program growth.
