Program enabled MICC – Fort Carson to significantly exceed four of its five goals for FY17 and increased the small busi- ness vendor base for MICC activities at Fort Carson, Fort Polk and Dugway. As a result of her efforts, MICC – Fort Carson received the U.S. Small Business Adminis- tration Region VIII Administrator’s Small Business Advocacy Award. While serving remotely as the small business professional for MICC – Dugway, she worked closely with office personnel to set aside approx- imately $11.4 million in construction actions for small business vendors in Utah. As a result of that organization’s improve- ment in supporting local small businesses, it was named the Small Business Admin- istration’s Contracting Office of the Year for 2017.
“Most vendors that I counsel are over- whelmed with the amount of work it takes to get registered to do business with the government,” said Arwood-Gallegos.
“It is my job to help them find the right resources.”
If she were queen for a day, Arwood- Gallegos would make a couple of changes.
“First and foremost, I would ease some of the stress by hiring more qualified people
to assist in accomplishing the mission. Ten, I would increase communication throughout the process—all the way up to the contracting officer for award—so that everyone involved has a good under- standing of the requirement, documents get submitted with sufficient time and the information provided is complete,” she said. “It’s great when this happens, and I wish it could happen more often, particu- larly for the more complex requirements.”
Arwood-Gallegos, an Army spouse, got her start in the Army Acquisition Workforce after learning about it from a friend who was accepted into the Air Force Copper Cap Internship Program. “I researched the Army internship program and was fasci- nated with all it had to offer,” she said. She started her first acquisition post in 2006 with MICC and has been with the command ever since. “Te more I learned along the way, the more I came to love the acquisition career field. I enjoy the chal- lenges and the constant changes, and it does a great job of keeping me on my toes and energized.”
Te biggest challenge that she faces in performing her job “is that there is too much of it and not enough people to
keep up with it all.” Prioritizing, organiz- ing and multitasking are keys to getting things done, she said, as are solid commu- nication skills and being prepared for what’s next. “I integrate with the acqui- sition teams as early as possible so I have a good idea of what is coming before it gets here. When I can get involved in the acquisition early on, I have a better under- standing of the requirement, and I’m able to foresee any potential challenges it may present. It also helps to reduce my review time.” When it comes to communication, she said, “all of the different forms are crit- ical in this career field. It’s important to stay informed, to know the right time for soft skills versus hard skills, to be respon- sive, to be clear and concise when sharing information with others and to always keep an open mind.”
It’s easy to become overwhelmed with the constant changes of the acquisition career field, Arwood-Gallegos conceded. “Two quotes really help me: ‘A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn,’ and ‘Try not to become a person of success, but rather a person of value.’ ”
—MS. SUSAN L. FOLLETT
SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT SQUAD
The MICC – Fort Carson team gathers for a picture March 20 at Colorado Technical University. The team hosted a Small Busi- ness Acquisition Forecast Open House at the university to educate small business vendors on the contracting process and the requirements that Fort Carson is look- ing to fill this year. (U.S. Army photo by Amber Martin, Fort Carson Public Affairs)
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