JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Small businesses, those with fewer than 1,000 employees or $40 million in annual revenue, are critical to our defense industrial base and are the backbone of our nation’s economy, according to a 2016 Air Force report.
Congress addressed the importance of small businesses when it passed the Small Business Act in 1953 because of concerns about large corporations gaining a monopoly on federal contracts. The law emphasizes a need to encourage “full and free competition.”
Members of Air Education and Training Command are committed to ensuring the use of small businesses to the maximum extent possible, said Elizabeth Tijerina, AETC’s Office of Small Business Programs director.
“Utilization of small businesses ensures warfighter needs are met with innovation and efficiency while enhancing the industrial base,” said Tijerina.
AETC’s Office of Small Business Programs is composed of 10 small business specialists who work with other small business specialists at AETC’s bases across the country.
Small businesses provide a variety of goods and services for AETC. Goods include items such as computer hardware and software, office equipment and supplies for civil engineering requirements, while services range from computer maintenance and refuse collection to laundry and dry cleaning needs. Small businesses also provide construction services such as new construction, renovation of existing structures and paving requirements for streets, curbs and walkways.
Small businesses also include special sub categories that include veteran-owned, women-owned, minority-owned and others. Just being a small business or even a special category of small business does not guarantee a contract. Regardless of category, any business must be capable of providing a product or service that meets Air Force needs and at a fair market price.
AETC awarded $146.7 million in contracts to veteran-owned small businesses and $113 million to service-connected disabled veteran-owned businesses in 2016. Another $332 million in contracts went to minority-owned small businesses last year..
If two or more small businesses exhibit capability and capacity to meet a need, the contract must be awarded to a small business, according to Tijerina. She added that if a small business is in a special category, a contract can be awarded immediately. The contract gets the product to the customer quickly and often at a cost savings because many small businesses have lower overhead expenses than larger ones.
“Effective use of small businesses brings value to the Air Force,” said Tijerina. “Small businesses are often innovative, providing creative solutions. Making every procurement dollar count is important to our ability to perform military missions. We want to maximize Air Force buying power through effective use of small businesses where they can best deliver.”
“One of the exciting things we see with small businesses is innovation,” she said. “For the warfighter, rapid integration of innovative ideas and technologies, time and again, is a game changer. We see small businesses with great new ideas and the ingenuity to take us to a new level. Small business programs help our Air Force tap into a resource that results in competition, affordability, and choice. At the same time, we grow a healthy, diversified industrial base to meet government requirements.”
A key component of the business maximization strategy for the small business specialists is a partnering with the federal government’s Small Business Administration and coaching and developing small businesses. Focused outreach efforts assisted in building a source list of capable small businesses for both current and future contracting requirements.
A perfect example of outreach efforts in providing small business information to small businesses is at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.,where 56th Contracting Squadron members focus on sharing information on upcoming training events and how to do business with the Air Force through their Facebook page. The team at Luke AFB has increased followership by more than 100 each year during the past five years.
Another example of outreach is the 97th Contracting Squadron at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., where members attended the 10th Annual Indian Country Business Summit in Norman, Okla., in 2016. The event showcased Native American-owned businesses and provided an opportunity for collaboration between those businesses and federal, state, and municipal procurement offices. Representatives of the 97th Contracting Squadron met with more than 50 small business owners at the two-day event.
Of the Air Force’s major commands, AETC’s Office of Small Business Programs was the only one to achieve its goal in all six areas measured by the Small Business Administration during fiscal year 2016.
For more information about the Small Business Administration, contact your local SBA office.