JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAm HOUSTON, Texas –
Acquisition leaders from throughout the Mission and Installation Contracting Command are meeting to discuss contracting priorities at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.
The MICC 2018 Acquisition Leaders Training Event allows an opportunity for workforce leaders to come together face to face in a collaborative and educational forum. Hosted by Brig. Gen. Bill Boruff, MICC commanding general, participants include leaders from the command's two contracting support brigades, two field directorate offices as well as their nine subordinate battalions and 30 contracting offices.
Members of the command team kicked off the event March 6 by welcoming the contracting leaders and setting expectations for the week.
"There's a lot going on, and taking three days from our schedules is hard. I encourage you to network and share lessons learned to provide feedback … because I absolutely use that in my decision-making process," Boruff said.
The commanding general also asked contracting leaders to engage with the directors and deputy chiefs of staff from the headquarters also participating in the ALTE to help resolve any challenges they may be experiencing at their respective duty locations.
MICC Command Sgt. Maj. Marco Torres echoed the commander's intent, emphasizing that some of the takeaways and sharing of ideas from the training event may prove valuable particularly for some field contracting offices whose Soldiers will be deploying in the coming weeks.
The deputy to the commanding general, Clay Cole, reminded those in attendance that the ever-changing landscape of emerging threats requires flexibility and immediacy in the acquisition support provided the MICC. He added that this requires active listening for both members of the command staff and contracting leaders attending this week.
"You have to make sure that everyone is communicating properly and getting the right answers," Cole said.
Following welcome remarks, the commanding general opened the training event by providing organizational leaders a state-of-the-command briefing, including his assessment since taking command in July 2017. He said the first two quarters of fiscal 2018 have proven challenging due to the uncertainty of funding and anticipates that challenge to remain constant for the remainder of the year.
Boruff outlined the building of cohesive teams through trust and shared understanding of the mission as key to the MICC's success. He said this includes those in attendance leading efforts to improve the quality of customer service, accuracy of contracting actions and overall health of their respective contracting activities. The collaboration with the command's supported customers, he added, includes an expectation of leaders to talk with Soldiers, civilians, subordinate leaders and requiring agencies to establish that shared understanding.
Leaders from the MICC Contracting Operations Directorate led the discussion of topics on the first day. Those included the supplier self-service program, readiness initiatives with the human capital plan, Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund initiatives as well as best practices.
Topics on the second day of training will center on best practices from throughout the command, Government Purchase Card Program, familiarization with the business intelligence and Qlik virtual tools, procurement management review trends and category management. Cole also plans to discuss business process rules pertinent to the principal assistant responsible for contracting. Both officers and NCOs who are members of the acquisition corps will meet with their respective functional managers during an afternoon breakout session.
The morning of the final day will focus on acquisition leadership. Following a session led by the MICC command group, participants will then break out into sessions focused on commanders, command and sergeants major, and directors and their deputy directors. The training event concludes with discussions on quality assurance, competition goals and measurement before the two contracting support brigades and two field directorate offices conducted separate sessions.
Headquartered at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, MICC contracts are vital in feeding more than 200,000 Soldiers every day, providing many daily base operations support services at installations, preparing more than 100,000 conventional force members annually, training more than 500,000 students each year, and maintaining more than 14.4 million acres of land and 170,000 structures.