SAN ANTONIO - Mission and Installation Contracting Command officials were ready for the Oct. 1 transfer of administrative control for directorate of logistics contract requirements from the Army’s Installation Management Command to the Sustainment Command.

Centralization of contract administration is part of the service’s Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise, or EAGLE, program aimed at standardizing installation maintenance, supply and transportation services across the Army materiel enterprise while reducing costs.

The MICC will become responsible for overseeing the contract administration of most DOL services in the United States.

“EAGLE represents a significant effort by the Army and the acquisitions community to rein in spending at a time when our leaders are faced with historic budgetary constraints,” said Pat Hogston, MICC director of strategic operations.

“As vigilant stewards, we must explore every measure for reducing costs so that we can deliver the highest quality services and equipment to soldiers at a fair price.”

In preparation for the transfer of contract management, members of a MICC integrated process team worked closely with leaders from the ASC, Army Contracting Command, Expeditionary Contracting Command and DOL officials at Fort Benning and Fort Gordon, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Irwin, Calif.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Lee, Va.; Fort Polk, La.; and the Presidio of Monterey, Calif.

Dubbed a “war room,” the working group conducted numerous individual teleconferences and planning sessions over the last several weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

“As there are numerous moving parts and organizations involved, the war room concept was considered to provide a single forum for all parties to raise and discuss the many moving parts to accomplishing this mission,” said Cyp LaPorte, MICC plans and programs division chief.

“It was also needed based upon the importance of DOL mission functions to the sustainment of the Army and criticality of not allowing any breaks in service to Army customers during this transition period.”

LaPorte explained that while under IMCOM, directorates of logistics at installations developed and submitted their contract requirements to their servicing contracting offices. This resulted in either a single, installation-wide DOL contract or multiple smaller contracts divided over various individual DOL functions.

“Under the Army Sustainment Command model, requirements will all be centrally managed at the command headquarters through an EAGLE program office,” he said.

“Both ASC and ACC-Rock Island have spent a great deal of time and effort setting up integrated process teams to review and standardize the performance work statements of each of the various DOL functions to be assumed by ASC.”

LaPorte added that the transfer created a need for leaders at the ACC headquarters to review its contracting support mission for installation DOL services. That led to a decision to allow ACC-Rock Island to accomplish the pre-award mission for DOL support services because that center provides the primary contracting support to ASC.

MICC contracting officials will support the ACC’s contracting center at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., by performing post-award contracting functions at the local installation level. The MICC also becomes responsible for existing EAGLE contracts.

“The contract administration portion of DOL requirements will remain with the MICC as we are the ACC presence on installations and as such are in the best position to provide local contract oversight and management,” LaPorte said.

The transfer of DOL requirements from IMCOM to ASC at the start of the new fiscal year represents only a minimal increase in workload for members of the MICC as many local offices were already administering those contracts.

“There are numerous challenges in this process as the transfer of DOL functions is a significant effort for the Army to undertake,” LaPorte said, “but our people have the needed skills and expertise to administer the orders that will eventually be awarded by the Rock Island Contracting Center and transferred to our offices.”

The working group is finalizing a memorandum of understanding that includes the transition of management for EAGLE basic ordering agreement task order awards to MICC local contracting offices. A basic ordering agreement is a written instrument between the government and a contractor that outlines terms and clauses as well as describes contracted items or services along with pricing and delivery instructions.

The MICC is responsible for providing contracting support for the warfighter at Army commands, installations and activities located throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico. In fiscal 2011, the command executed more than 63,000 contract actions worth almost $7 billion across the Army.

Connected Media