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ECONS takes requirements, produces mission

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Christian Michael
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The 8th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron needs new passenger terminal seating and 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron needs toner for their printers, but satisfying these requirements isn't as simple as driving to the nearest office supply store. It requires a measured process by skilled contracting professionals.

The 379th Expeditionary Contracting Squadron coordinates every day with vendors to ensure units assigned to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility have the materials they need to keep the mission alive and on time.

"We deliver quality goods, services and construction on time to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing and mission partners through proactive customer support and a sense of urgency," said Maj. Richard Hulun, 379th ECONS commander. ECONS completed more than 4,600 contracting actions with a total value of just more than $50 million in fiscal year 2012, alone. That execution rate averaged more than 12 actions valued at $11,000 every day. "We accomplish this with a total of 17 persons, including myself and the superintendent."

While the details are numerous, the overall process is simple.

When the 8th Expeditionary Aircraft Mobility Squadron needed new seating for the passenger terminal, they contacted ECONS, which began a specific process, starting with contacting other bases to get perspective on those requirements.

"Contacting other contracting officers from other bases prior to soliciting for a new Air Force need is not a requirement, but other COs are an invaluable resource that we utilize during the market research phase," said Tech. Sgt. Christina Shorkey, contracting officer. "For instance, during the acquisition of the PAX terminal seats, I was trying to decide if the requirement was a legitimate sole source (can only be acquired through one vendor). After speaking with many COs, I determined only one other Air Force base of five had sole sourced their PAX seating requirement and it was not common practice; I would need to compete the requirement."

After getting a better perspective on how the same or similar requirements were filled at various bases, ECONS then used the Federal Business Opportunities Web site to solicit competitive bids from vendors to fulfill that requirement. Once the month-long bid period was over, staff members like Shorkey sift through bids to see first who can fill the technical requirements, second whether the bid, itself, meets requirements and finally how much it will cost.

Once the vendor was selected for the toner, the contract was written and sent up the chain for approval. Contracts then go through a review and revision process to ensure all angles are reviewed, all bases are covered and the government gets the best product for its money.

"I think the biggest thing that stood out about the PAX terminal requirement was the 8th EAMS evaluation criteria," Shorkey said. "Technical specifications and past performance all played an equal factor. Because of the specifics in which award was to be made, I had to start with the lowest priced vendor and use the provided evaluation criteria. I continued this until one vendor met all the technical requirements that were stated in the solicitation."

379th Expeditionary Mission Support Group Commander Col. Stephanie Wilson recently went through the final purchasing process for the toner cartridges. For Wilson, the process opened her eyes about the process - start to finish.

"I learned that being a contracting officer requires tremendous attention to detail and patience," Wilson said. "For every purchase, the contracting officer is required to help customers define the requirement, advertise the requirement, and analyze contractor proposals to determine the best deal for the government."

Wilson's experience mirrored that of members all over the AOR who ensure their operating units have the materials they need to preserve their mission. Numbers are checked and rechecked before and after each transaction to ensure all numbers match up, payments are exact and contracts are followed properly.

Attention to detail is what keeps it all together.

"A good contracting officer has to pay attention to what they're doing," Shorkey said. "Absolute attention to detail is necessary."