ACQUISITION
and balances system that was in place for contracting.” Part of her work involved matching an obligated line of account- ing to a contract, invoice and receiving report.
For some of the invoices, “it appeared as if it was an accidental duplicate contract, but it was suspicious because another receiving report was generated with the duplicate contract on the same date,” Western said. “In this case, invoices were erroneously generated by other service members, one in contracting and one in supply. Because we were downrange and it was before GFEBS was in place, gener- ating an invoice was too easy: It could be written on a piece of paper, and as long as it was legible, it counted.”
Western turned over her discoveries to the Criminal Investigation Division but was transferred to another location shortly afterward, and she isn’t sure what came of the investigation. “I have seen supply [personnel] generate a second receiving report because the first one was suppos- edly lost, instead of figuring out what happened to the first
report and mak- ing sure it didn’t happen again,” she said.
“Regardless of the reasons behind it, it’s careless to generate documentation out of laziness, especially with so many mil- lions of dollars at stake. GFEBS is a more secure program, and it’s unlikely there’ll be many more fraudulent attempts. Te program catches mistakes for us—it’s similar to the difference between an online checkbook and one maintained by hand.”
Stateside since 2011, Western now coordi- nates and monitors the quality assurance (QA) program and surveillance systems for MICC-Fort Lee, providing QA sup- port to the contracting office, contracting officer’s representatives (CORs) and other surveillance personnel. She also supports
the organization’s acquisition strategy planning, documentation review, quality management reviews, QA support and annual contract management reviews.
“We have an amazing team and great sup- port at MICC-Fort Lee,” Western said.
“Our leadership at headquarters genuinely cares for our well-being; they’ve worked with us to help us meet our mission and demonstrate that even though we’re a tiny office in Virginia, we are an asset and are treated as such.”
Among the leadership at MICC is Terry Hyatt-Amabile, whom Western credits as having a significant impact on her career. Now the chief of contracting operations for the MICC Field Directorate Office at Fort Eustis, Virginia, Hyatt-Amabile was formerly the director of MICC-Fort Lee.
“When I was her assistant at Fort Lee, she showed me the acquisitions field from a management perspective,” Western said.
“Terry has been the most effective leader I’ve worked with, not just during my time in acquisition but through 20 years of working in various positions. I con- tinue to pass on her knowledge to others, including incoming directors and new procurement techs. It is a good feeling to be able to help beyond my career field, and it feels good to be part of a team.”
Western’s favorite task “is training, men- toring and evaluating more than 120 CORs in monitoring, reviewing and exe- cuting surveillance of services provided by contractors to ensure that the goods and services they provide comply with the terms and conditions of the contracts.”
She noted that the biggest challenge fac- ing QA specialists is shifting the mindset of contracting officers (KOs), contract specialists and CORs so that they’re focused on the importance of contract surveillance. “Generating a contract
can be an exhausting process, but the next step—ensuring that the vendor is performing to the agreed-upon stan- dards—is
also important,” she said.
“Being a COR on Fort Lee is usually an additional duty. Often, personnel don’t find out they have to perform that role until after they’ve been nominated for it. Additionally, they often aren’t given clear instruction as to what qualifications they need or what the position entails.”
For Western, the COR Tracking (CORT) Tool has been effective in overcoming that challenge. Te CORT Tool provides contracting personnel and requiring activities the means to track and man- age COR assignments across multiple contracts throughout DOD. Western has set up monthly workshops, open forums designed to help familiarize users with the new software. “In addition to get- ting users up to speed on the system, the meetings have become a great way for me to communicate with the COR, the KO and the contract specialist,” she said.
“We’re now all on the same sheet of music. Additionally, CORs are now helping their co-workers navigate through the soft- ware and informing them of the training requirements as a COR, so it feels like each class is multiplying my efforts.”
With the advice she’s received and
some things she’s learned about herself along the way, Western envisions a long career in acquisition. “Over the years, I have discovered that my three strongest characteristics are integrity, loyalty and persistence, all of which create a solid acquisition specialist. I can’t imagine not working as an acquisition specialist in support of our warfighters and their mission.”
—MS. SUSAN L. FOLLETT
ASC.ARMY.MIL
11
ACQUISITION
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