COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) ‒ Omaha District, Acquisition Support Team
TITLE: Contracting officer
YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 9
YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 7.5
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: DOD contracting professional
EDUCATION: M.B.A. in managerial accounting, Trident University; B.B.S.in business administration, Touro University International
AWARDS: Headquarters USACE Procurement Analyst of the Year (2022); Army Acquisition Executive’s Excellence in Leadership Contracting Unit/Team of the Year (2022); Omaha-Lincoln Federal Executive Association Norma Kolbe Team of the Year Award (2022); USACE Northwestern Division Procurement Analyst of the Year (2021); Secretary of the Army Award for Excellence in Contracting Outstanding Contract Specialist/Procurement Analyst (2020); Commanders Award for Civilian Service (2020, 2019); USACE Omaha District Contract Specialist of the Year (2019); Air Force Installation Contracting Agency Quarterly Team Award (2017)

Melanie A. Caines

by Holly DeCarlo-White

After leaving the military in 2006 and entering the private sector, Melanie Caines missed the purpose that supporting the warfighter provided her.

Today, in her Army civilian role as a contracting officer for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) ‒ Omaha District, Acquisition Support Team, she handles highly complex contract actions, and awards the majority of indefinite-delivery contracts, which provide an indefinite quantity of services for the duration of the contract for the Omaha District. Programs include fuels, disaster, infrastructure; rapid response; environmental remediation and environmental consulting services.

“I tend to call myself more of a mobile asset to our district because I augment several other branches, as needed, such as the Business Oversight Branch assisting with training-related duties, the Environmental Branch and the Special Projects Branch,” Caines said. “A lot of what I do supports the warfighter and their families in making sure they can focus on their duties rather than the many other things potentially taking a toll on their personal lives.”

One example is the contract her team awarded under the Rapid Response Program to treat fuel contaminated drinking water at the Aliamanu Military Reservation, Red Hill Housing area in Honolulu. “This directly affected Soldier’s families and homes. While some of them had to temporarily relocate to areas that had safe water supplies, we were able to get them back into their homes as quickly as possible, limiting the impact as far as time they were outside of their homes because of the quick response time our program was able to provide,” she said. “This enabled the Soldiers to be able to focus on the mission at hand rather than the stresses a situation like this can bring to the table.”

During active-duty service, Caines was as a financial management technician and also worked directly with a contracting office in Baghdad, Iraq, doing commercial vendor services and making payments to contractors in theater. From 2006 to 2013, she worked in various finance and accounting roles for private industry. She rejoined government service as a civilian through the Air Force-managed Cooper Cap Internship Program at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado in 2013. “Being able to support the cadets, the future leaders of the military, in their technical and tactical endeavors provided a great deal of satisfaction,” she said. After completing her internship, she took an assignment as a contract specialist at the 764th Specialized Contracting Squadron in Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where she said she worked through the many challenges of international acquisitions overseas.

In 2018, she decided to return to the U.S. so her oldest daughter could attend her last two years of high school in the same school. She accepted an opening within the USACE Omaha District Environmental Branch. “I wanted to challenge myself by going to a different agency,” she said. From there, Caines moved to the Business Oversight Branch as a procurement analyst, where she said doing a term in the role really helped her to understand the policy side of things much more, which, in turn, has made her a better contracting officer. In 2021, she transitioned to her current role with the Acquisition Support Team. “I wanted more experience doing large formal source selections,” she said.

“Most people are surprised at just how much USACE is actually involved in as far as the different programs they support. Most individuals outside of USACE know USACE for their construction abilities, but we do so much more,” Caines said. “We have environmental, fuels and civil works programs that have a great impact on the public as well. We do everything from providing hydropower through the operation of dams to responding to natural disaster incidents in coordination with FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] by providing temporary covers to damaged roofs and temporary power during hurricanes, temporary housing during wildfires and temporary alternate care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

As part of the Army Acquisition Workforce, Caines said she has always tried to learn as much as she can, and her collective experiences and trainings have benefited her throughout her career. “Any time I have been presented with an opportunity to volunteer for a project or some sort of educational training, my answer has always been yes.” she said. “Applying for different leadership programs have been beneficial in terms of making myself a more well-rounded individual. Through every opportunity I take tidbits of information with me and carry those forward in everything I do,” she said. Caines completed her latest career development course, the Inspiring and Developing Excellence in Acquisition Leaders (IDEAL) program, in March. “I cannot speak highly enough about this program,” she said. “This program has given me a lot of tools to use as a supervisor and leader moving forward. I highly recommend this program to those who are new to supervisory duties or thinking about becoming a supervisor.”

Caines offers this advice to those interested in joining the contracting career field: Do not let the volume of information thrown at you overwhelm you. “Anyone in this career field will likely tell you that it really takes time to grasp the information, so you should not feel bad about asking so many questions.” Secondly, she said, advocate for yourself. “We tend to get overwhelmed with daily activities in this career field so if you are not getting the training you want or need, ask for it,” she said. “Make your leaders make you a priority.”

“The most important thing you can do is gain people’s trust. Be sincere and upfront,” Caines said. “I think people really appreciate that and will be more understanding when you may have to tell them something they don’t necessarily want to hear. I approach everything in this manner both and on and off the job. I think it is very important in acquisition because we don’t necessarily always have the time to give someone the runaround or to talk in circles,” she said. “Being up front and sincere when helping others means that you can both work towards the same goal and get to a solution faster and they will trust that you are taking the right steps to get them there.”

Outside of the office, Caines loves to travel and learn about other cultures. Taking at least one trip out of the country each year, she said, “definitely helps me forget about work and enjoy life.”