GSA Presents 3rd Annual Ida Ustad Award To U.S. Ops Officer For the Innovative Acquisition of Critical Air Missile Defense

GSA #10021

June 12, 2003
Contact: Viki Reath (202) 501-1231
viki.reath@gsa.gov

WASHINGTON - The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today presents the 2003 Ida M. Ustad Award for Excellence in Acquisition to Special Operations Command Contracting Officer Charles E. Bright of MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., in recognition of his speedy acquisition of a $102-million defense system for counter-terrorism helicopters.

"Thanks to Charles Bright, the federal government was able to obtain a missile defense system for U.S. helicopters in time to help save the lives of our young women and men participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom," said GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry. "Mr. Bright's accomplishment shows that one person can make a significant difference, in saving time and money while delivering outstanding acquisition services." Mr. Perry is scheduled to present the prestigious Ida M. Ustad Award tonight at the Federal Acquisition Conference 2003 at the Sheraton Premiere, Fairfax County.

Mr. Bright wrote and executed the competitive contract that enabled the U.S. Government to provide, almost immediately, a defense system to locate and neutralize infra-red mechanisms used by hostile missiles to track the MH-53M combat helicopters. The Special Operations Command draws from all services and reports directly to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The late Ida M. Ustad, a pioneer in the federal acquisition arena for 28 years, was GSA's longtime Deputy Associate Administrator for Acquisition Policy and our Senior Procurement Executive. Her reputation for innovative ideas and approaches that helped solve complex acquisition issues for both GSA and the entire acquisition community was unrivaled.

GSA is a centralized federal procurement and property management agency created by Congress to improve government efficiency and help federal agencies better serve the public. It acquires, on behalf of federal agencies, office space, equipment, telecommunications, information technology, supplies, and services. GSA's 14,000 associates provide services and solutions for the office operations of more than one million federal workers in 8,000 government-owned and leased buildings in 2,000 U.S. communities.