MASTER GUNNER, TRAINER, YOGI
Yogis teach their hatha members to set goals, find balance and push their limits. Instruc- tors coach their students on the same. Acquisition professionals demonstrate these tenets to be just as critical in the field. Fortunately for the Army acquisition enterprise, Lilian Rodriguez has mastered all three roles of teacher, professional and instructor.
If one were to ask her what her job is, Rodriguez would simply reply, “I am a business adviser for the government.” Although technically correct, business adviser does not capture the breadth and depth of what she is responsible for providing to mission part- ners and the acquisition community.
LILIAN RODRIGUEZ
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: U.S. Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal (Colorado Springs Branch), Space, Missile Defense & Special Programs Directorate, Space Innovations Branch
TITLE: Contract specialist YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 6 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 11
DAWIA CERTIFICATION: DOD contracting professional
EDUCATION: MBA, Webster University; M.S. in procurement and acquisitions, Webster University; B.S. in management, Park University
Rodriguez is a contract specialist within the Space Innovations Branch for Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal, the Colorado Springs branch at Peter- son Space Force Base. Tough she cannot talk about specific missions there, her work continues to support our warfighter as she has throughout her career.
She recently departed Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) – Fort Carson, Colorado, where she was a contracting officer with a substantial workload. In addition to supporting Army contracts, she trained nearly a dozen contracting interns, mentored countless others and was a leader of a local yoga group.
“Leaving Fort Carson was very hard, it’s where I started my contracting career. I learned everything I know there. But then it started to feel ‘safe,’ and I wanted to challenge myself and see and do other types of contracts,” she said. “It was time to start a new adventure and meet more wonderful people.”
“Get yourself into a battle rhythm, from there it's all just a dance.”
Before joining MICC in 2017, Rodriguez served more than 10 years in uniform as a supply sergeant in the U.S. Army. In that role she was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, Iraq and Germany. Following active-duty service, she cultivated experience in the civil- ian sector as a logistics management specialist, financial services representative and a sales manager.
Rodriguez said she was drawn to the Army Acquisition Workforce for two reasons. First, the tangible impact the organization has on the warfighter and their mission. “Being involved from the first step of identifying a need to the final on-ground reality of receiv- ing that unique, contracted solution provides a professionally rewarding experience,” she said, and she can see her efforts come to fruition to benefit our mission partners.
112
Army AL&T Magazine
Spring 2024
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124
