AVOIDING THE PERILS OF A POORLY WRITTEN CONTRACT
B
STAFF SGT. ADRIANE DUNKLIN
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: 626th Contracting Team, 902nd Contracting Battalion, U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command – Joint Base Lewis-McChord
TITLE: Contract specialist YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 7 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 18
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Level III in contracting
EDUCATION: M.S. in management and Bachelor of Professional Studies in business and management, Excelsior College; certifications in workplace mediation, and arbitration and media- tion, Mediators without Borders Institute
AWARDS: Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror- ism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Action Badge
ased on what Staff Sgt. Adriane Dunklin has learned about contract- ing, the animated character Gumby would make a great addition to the acquisition workforce. “Te most important thing is to be resilient and flexible,” she said. “Te acquisition field is constantly changing. You have to be able to conform to the changes and continue to support the mission.”
Dunklin is a contract specialist for the 626th Contracting Team. Her organiza- tion is aligned with I Corps to support the Pacific Pathways missions, and she is the central point for getting requirements into a contract and delivered throughout all phases of the mission. Te 626th is part of the 902nd Contracting Battal- ion within the U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, which provides support to Army and Air Force customers on the joint base as well as Army requirements at Yakima Training Center, Washington. “I could be supporting one mission today and it will completely change in a week or so,” she said. “As an acquisition professional, you have to be able to deal with the everyday changes without any impact to the warfighter. You never know what is going to happen from one day to the next.”
A big part of Dunklin’s work is teaching her mission partners about how the acqui- sition process works and what documents they need to get their requirements submitted on time. She relies in part on certifications in arbitration and mediation to help address that challenge. “Tose certifications help me recognize and resolve conflict, and taught me a lot about different personality and leadership types and how to deal with all kinds of people,” she said. “All of those skills help me develop relationships, which are an important part of the work I do.”
Dunklin has been in acquisition for almost seven years. “Before coming to this field, I was a truck driver. I knew that I did not want to drive 18-wheeler trucks when I got out of the military, so I made the decision to transition to the acquisition career field.” For her, the transition was an easy one. “Te hardest part was getting the right person to actually write my recommendation letters,” she said, adding that Soldiers who are interested in acquisition should research the field first. “Get as much information as possible. It is a very appealing field, and there is great poten- tial for success on active duty and after you’ve left the service.” But, she added, be prepared to work for it. “Tis field is not your ordinary MOS [military occupa- tional specialty], and getting through the school will not be a cakewalk. Tere is way more to the acquisition workforce than what is presented online, and talking to someone that is already in the field will be very beneficial to you.”
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Army AL&T Magazine
Spring 2019
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