RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Master Sgt. Andrea Vigliotti received a double treat on Halloween -- a Bronze Star Medal followed immediately by a promotion to senior master sergeant.
She earned the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service while serving as deputy of acquisition policy and evaluations at the Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan at Baghdad, Iraq.
"During her six months in Iraq, she provided critical contracting support and regularly traveled by road, aircraft and helicopter, often under hostile conditions, to 14 contracting centers at 12 forward operating bases," said Col. Dan Badger Jr., Air Force Manpower Agency commander, who presented Sergeant Vigliotti the medal during the ceremony at the agency. "She's a proven leader who helps push those around her to higher levels. It's a definite plus to have her on our AFMA team."
Now that she is stateside, and with Thanksgiving just a couple of weeks away, Sergeant Vigliotti is already starting to prepare.
"I'm looking forward to spending the holiday here with my family since this time last year I was in Iraq," said Sergeant Vigliotti, who serves as superintendent of AFMA's Competitive Sourcing Division.
In fact, she spent last year hunkered down in a bunker with her face in the dirt while her compound was being struck by mortars.
"It made me mad more than anything else," she said, "since their whole objective was to keep our morale low and to keep us from performing at our best."
Apparently, the enemy's efforts were unsuccessful in Sergeant Vigliotti's case.
Her deployed job involved instituting policies and procedures that enabled the Joint Contracting Command to not only equip more than 250,000 Iraqi soldiers, but allowed the command to inject crucial capital into the local Iraqi economy.
"While helping the contingency contracting officers do their jobs, we also functioned as inspectors by making sure all their transactions at the regional contracting centers were in compliance and were following the necessary regulatory guidelines," she said.
During her tenure, Sergeant Vigliotti also mentored and trained more than 141 joint service contracting officers, provided essential feedback to senior leaders on the health of contracting operations throughout Iraq, and created the command's first-ever procurement technical training course that lead to the employment of 20 Iraqi nationals.
In addition, Sergeant Vigliotti developed the Joint Contracting Command's acquisition instruction by re-writing regulations on Iraqi acquisitions. This instruction is the single source of theater guidance for all Iraq contingency contracting professionals that support 165,000 coalition forces in Iraq.
"Whether it is purchasing weapons systems or robots for explosive ordnance disposal, one of our main jobs as contingency contracting officers is to provide deployed commanders on the ground with critical services and the supplies necessary to sustain the fight," she said.
Since returning from her deployment last spring, and with the holidays approaching, Sergeant Vigliotti said she is grateful for the support she has received from her many friends and family during her 19-year career.
"Like many Airmen, I know what it is like to be overseas during the holidays," Sergeant Vigliotti said. "I indeed have a lot to be thankful for this year."