search.noResults

search.searching

saml.title
dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
ALWAYS HIT THE SAVE BUTTON


Sometimes the most valuable lessons learned are those taught through our own mistakes. For Sgt. 1st Class Donald Piper, this happened early in his career when a simple mistake cost him hours of additional work. As mistakes go, this one was somewhat small, but the lesson had great impact.


“Always hit the save button and double-check your work,” he said about the step he won’t forget to do again. Piper, who is a noncommissioned officer-in-charge (NCOIC) for the Regional Contracting Office – Jordan, had been working in Procurement Desk- top-Defense, which is part of the Standard Procurement System for training, when the site crashed unexpectedly, just as he was finalizing his work. “After I was able to log back into the system, I realized none of my previous work had been saved. I was upset with the fact it seemed like I had just wasted an entire day of work, but in reality, it was more like a couple of hours. After this incident, I hit the save button all the time.”


SGT. 1ST CLASS DONALD PIPER


COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: 1965th Contingency Contracting Team, deployed with 408th Contracting Support Brigade Theater Contracting Support – Southwest Asia


TITLE: Noncommissioned officer-in-charge, Regional Contracting Office – Jordan


YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 6 YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 14


DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Contracting Professional


EDUCATION: B.S. in business administration, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville


AWARDS: Joint Service Commendation Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Air and Space Achieve- ment Medal; Humanitarian Service Medal


On the computer and in real life, saving and retaining valuable information he learns along the way helps avoid future problem-inducing issues.


“Another important lesson is to always be open to learning. Always be able to learn from and grow from your own mistakes, be open to other people’s ideas and advice, and be willing to seek out the answers you are looking for,” he said.


Piper is currently deployed with the 408th Contracting Support Brigade as the office’s primary contracting officer and the administrative contracting officer for all Army Base Life Support contracts throughout Jordan. In this role, he provides theater contract support for things like nontactical vehicles, host nation coordination services, custom broker services and military exercises in Jordan. As administrative contracting officer, Piper also ensures that all aspects of the contracts are being adhered to, managing all contracting officer’s representatives (CORs), reviewing and approving monthly status reports and handling any issues that may arise.


Overall, Piper said, he assists the units he supports in procuring the supplies or services that allow them to complete their missions. “When my supported units are completing their missions, they are also assisting in completing their higher headquarters mission, which, in turn, helps with the Army’s overall mission success.”


And the people he works with are a big part of that success. “Tis goes from other Army Acquisition Workforce colleagues, requiring activities and CORs to contractors,” he said. “We all must form a partnership to be able to ensure our missions are completed successfully.”


Te most interesting thing people find about his work is the wide range of things the Army purchases. “One day I can be purchasing simple supplies or catered meals, to the next day trying to figure out how to procure supplies for humanitarian assistance,” he said. “One of my friends thinks I have a bunch of the U.S.’s secrets. But I, in fact, don’t have any of the U.S.’s secrets.”


36 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2025


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