Contracting; making a difference on war front

  • Published
  • By Major Marvin Baugh
  • 22nd Contracting Squadron commander
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Whether it is food service and bottled water for US, Coalition or Iraqi, Afghan forces, or vital supplies to keep the aircraft flying and humvees running, the critical contingency contracting officer is on site to make sure the mission gets done. One of the most important missions of an Air Force contracting squadron is to train and equip its military to deploy as CCOs.

The 22nd Contracting Squadron's CCOs are among the Air Force Contracting community's best. In two years, our CCOs awarded nearly $600 million for the war fighter, and the Global War on Terror impact has been astounding.

Here's just a sampling:

At Camp Eggers, Afghanistan, our McConnell CCO awarded $12 million in mission-critical contracts. In less than a day, he delivered $2 million in emergency food to Afghan Parliament election workers, ensuring the success of Afghanistan's first-ever election of Parliament representatives.

He also set up a $3 million communication systems lease to enable the U.S. trainers embedded with the Afghan Army to communicate with US and Coalition commanders … a first.

He then helped equip and modernize the new Afghan Army: $4 million in uniforms and cold-weather gear, $300 thousand in AK-47 cleaning systems, and, $630 thousand in medical equipment, just to name a few.

At Camp Sather, Iraq, another McConnell CCO delivered $17 million in critical supplies for 1,600 troops. This contracting Airman single-handedly reduced the Camp's worst security vulnerability by engaging with security forces and base leadership to execute and award a $1.4 million barrier contract in a matter of days, ensuring its flawless execution.

He then provided vital support to a successful insurgent bomb offensive by Coalition special operations forces with an emergency $50 thousand helium procurement with delivery in less than three days.

In Kandahar, Afghanistan, three of our CCO warriors awarded $8 million in contracts in support of 8,800 U.S. and Coalition forces. They were solely responsible for expediting the construction of reinforced concrete bunkers for a remotely-based reconstruction team. The bunkers provided life-saving protection when the team was attacked three times by rocket propelled grenades just days after the bunkers were completed.

Additionally, they awarded an urgent fence project for the secured military aircraft parking ramp, crucial to returning use of the commercial air terminal to Afghan authorities. These actions resulted in daily flight operations from Kandahar to Kabul for the first time since the fall of the Taliban.

You can easily see the impact McConnell CCOs have made and the impact they play on the war. You should be very proud of them. They do more than provide home station contracting support for Team McConnell. They make the GWOT mission happen in the trenches!