Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX –
U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command
acquisition and support personnel from Fort Sam Houston will be participating
in an annual operational contract support exercise Monday through April 8 at
Fort Bliss, Texas.
The MICC is providing more than 90 people for both exercise
support and training. More than half of these individuals will be trainees and
the remaining personnel will be part of a cadre providing exercise support.
“Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise-2016 is the Department
of Defense’s premier operational
contract support event,” said C.T. Fortune, MICC plans officer. “The exercise
develops integrated planning products, trains the workforce and increases
senior leader awareness. Participants gain the tools and confidence necessary
to succeed while deployed to support any contingency operation or natural disaster.”
In addition to MICC participants, the exercise involves
service members and civilians from all branches in the DOD, coalition partners
from three partner nations, and coordination with interagency and defense
combat support agencies.
This year’s exercise features a new wrinkle. For the first
time during an OCSJX, an Army service component command and a maneuver division
will train with DOD acquisition professionals on contract support integration
and contractor management functions to further their OCS readiness.
“For the first time in an OCSJX, we have arranged for a
significant warfighter presence to train with acquisition, financial management
and judge advocate professionals,” said Col. Joshua Burris, OCSJX-16 executive
director and Army lead.
U.S. Army South and 1st Armored Division staff will form an
operational contract support integration cell. The OCSIC will interact with its
primary staffs to develop OCS processes and critical staff thinking in contract
support integration and contractor management under a U.S. Southern Command
PANAMAX scenario.
PANAMAX is an annual multi-national exercise that promotes
interoperability and builds participating nation capability to function as part
of a multi-national force focusing on the defense of the Panama Canal.
“Planning today provides options for tomorrow,” said Lt.
Gen. Gustave Perna, Army deputy chief of staff, G-4. “The upcoming OCSJX will
provide us a great opportunity to exercise and synchronize multiple staff
elements. Additionally, our partner nations’ participation in the exercise will
set the foundation for enhanced cooperation, interoperability, and security
throughout our area of responsibility.”
Exercise personnel will focus on a scenario to incorporate
contracted support across the services and to its Central and South American
partners to further interoperability. OCSJX will train service component
commands and other major force headquarters that may be designated as a joint
task force to better integrate contracted support into operational access
missions to preserve national interests or provide humanitarian or disaster
relief.
Under the contracting support bucket of OCS, the 418th
Contracting Support Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas, will operate as a deployed
senior contracting official organization, providing mission command and control
over contracting units.
The brigade will consist of three regional contracting
centers, each of which has three regional contracting offices conducting pre-
and post-award execution and contract and contractor management.
The 418th CSB will also perform as the lead service for
contracting, coordinating theater-wide contracting support for the joint force
commander. The brigade, contracting battalions and contracting teams will use
the automated web-based system Joint Training Information Management System to
train under a variety of situations and with a large number of requirements and
deployed operational issues.
This system will train units on mission essential tasks and
enhance readiness objectives through observer/trainer observations and
feedback.
“We believe and hope our trainees and participants will
better understand that operational contract support is not contracting, but
that OCS is a team sport of complementary non-acquisition and acquisition
professionals, planning and integrating contracted support into the joint force
commander’s mission, to ensure effects support strategic and operational needs,”
Burris said.
“OCSJX is our Super Bowl,” said Col. Nancy Spencer, Army
South G-4. “The exercise integrates planning and key processes for contract
support integration, contracting support, and contractor management. I am
confident that all those involved, especially our planners, will make this a
great training event for the entire DOD.”
Headquartered on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston,
the MICC is an organization of more than 1,500 military and civilian members
responsible for contracting for Soldiers. In fiscal 2015, the command executed
more than 36,000 contract actions valued at more than $5.2 billion across the
Army, including $2.25 billion to American small businesses. The command also
managed more than 600,000 Government Purchase Card Program transactions in
fiscal 2015 valued at an additional $747 million.