MAKING IT HAPPEN
Whether stateside or overseas, Army units arrive to training or joint exercises with other countries expecting that all the amenities are staged and ready for use. What they don’t know or understand, said Staff Sgt. Robert Anderson, is that there is a military occu- pation specialty (MOS) within the U.S. Army working behind the scenes making sure it all happens. As a contracting officer with Contracting Detachment Bravo, 906th Contracting Battalion, 411th Contracting Support Brigade in South Korea, Anderson said, “Most Soldiers have never heard of our MOS, but when I explain how we assist them, and talk about the opportunities and the places we can travel and support, I usually grab their attention very quickly.”
ROBERT ANDERSON
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Contract- ing Detachment Bravo, 906th Contracting Battalion, 411th Contracting Support Brigade
TITLE: Contracting officer YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 8 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 15
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: DOD contracting professional
EDUCATION: B.S. in professional studies, business and management from Excelsior University
AWARDS: Various unit, overseas and personal achievement awards from 2008 to present. Of those his highest achievements include four Army Commendation Medals, the Air Force Commendation Medal and seven Army Achievement Medals
“We procure items for the warfighter so they can maintain their ‘Fight Tonight’ mission on Kunsan Air Base,” said Anderson. “Being here is a unique experience for an Army contracting officer. On the peninsula of South Korea, the Army has the overall procure- ment authority. However, we not only procure items for Soldiers here, but our main customer is also the Air Force’s 8th Fighter Wing and subordinate units.”
Anderson has supported Air Force units as an Army contracting Soldier for more than five years, first at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, and now in his current station at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. “Being able to operate in a joint environment is a great satisfaction for me. Not only am I able to affect our Soldiers by providing them with the mission-essential equipment needed to complete their mission, but also give support to our sister branch, the United States Air Force,” Anderson said.
Acquisition sparked his interest after he overheard a few noncommissioned officers (NCOs) he worked with in the motor pool talking about a new career field “where you buy things for the military,” he said. “As a couple other NCOs mentioned it, I began to research it.” What sealed the deal for him to transfer was when his former company commander and operations NCO changed over to acquisitions. “I reached out and began putting a packet together so I could submit for acceptance,” he said.
Anderson initially joined the Army as a 91D generator mechanic and served under the Forward Support Company of the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade. “I enjoyed my mechanic job and I loved fixing things, however, it wasn’t as fun putting the equipment back together after I got it running again,” he said. “I thought about it, and couldn’t see myself working as a mechanic well into my 50s or 60s.”
His first few years as an Army acquisition Soldier was at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, working in supply procurement. “I bought things as easy as cellphone equipment and services to robotic parts, to services required to monitor an endangered animal on our government installation,” he said. “Te thing that most appealed to me was the oppor- tunity to travel in this field.” In addition to regular duty station assignments, Anderson has had the opportunity to travel to Kuwait, Kwajalein Atoll, Tailand and Malaysia for his job.
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Army AL&T Magazine
Summer 2023
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