TITLE: Contract specialist
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Theater Contracting Center, 409th Contracting Support Brigade
ACQUISITION CAREER FIELD: 51C
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 2
YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 13
ACQUISITION CERTIFICATIONS: Certification pending, contracting professional
EDUCATION: Associates degree in general studies, Barton County Community College

Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Jungnick

by Cheryl Marino

Live and learn. Cliché as that may sound, all too often it’s reality.

Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Jungnick can attest to this. He may be fairly new to the Army Acquisition Workforce, but as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) for 13 years, he’s traveled abroad, acquired useful new skills and learned valuable interpersonal communication methods that he did not anticipate, which have been of benefit for each assignment he’s held thus far.

According to Jungnick, there are many opportunities in Army acquisition to become more proficient in your area of expertise. The one he chose to apply for was the military occupational specialty 51C program, a critical career field that provides significant career and educational opportunities for both active and reserve NCOs interested in training to be contracting professionals.

Jungnick said given his training and hands-on field experience, he doesn’t feel as though he’s “missed out on anything.” Yet, there is ongoing training available, which he does take advantage of when relevant.

“We are consistently conducting training at the unit level within the TCC and every class has its own way of adding value.” He said the training varies from small classes such as conducting closeouts, updating and validating funding, and refresher training on procurement systems to bigger classes that focused on updates to policy and changes within the regulations. “The group of potential instructors bring a lot of experience and diversity to the classes. They offer their perspective to help others understand the information. I would recommend any training opportunity conducted by the TCC,” he said. 

Jungnick feels that although experience is extremely important, training is a great way to learn new things and open doors to new opportunities. Which is why he participated in the Contingency Contracting Administration Service (formerly CCAS, now CAS) class in February 2020.

“I wanted to learn and understand a broader function of the Army Acquisition Workforce, he said. “My expectation was to learn as much as I could and become familiar with the CCAS program.” He said from the class he learned that CCAS or CAS, a technical aspect of contracting, is used more often than most would think, and the program consists of multiple agencies and personnel working together to achieve the same desired outcome. “I learned a lot of new ways to conduct the administration of contracts,” he said. “I haven’t been able to directly apply the skills and knowledge that I learned in the course [to acquisitions], but it has helped shape decisions and drive discussions during real world and training events. This has enabled others to move forward with actions and reduce friction.” he said the course helped him understand that each person is responsible for how much they learn within the Army Acquisition Workforce and also that opportunities are unlimited within this field. “I would recommend this course to anyone who has an interest in learning about a major program, not only the Army, but others that services and agencies use.”

His favorite thing about being a part of the acquisition workforce thus far is meeting new people and hearing about their experiences. “There are so many different people with unique experiences,” he said. “Hearing about those experiences and being able to relate on a personal level really helps bring people closer in the workplace.”