Buying for the best

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brittany Y. Bateman
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
The men and women of the 2nd Contracting Squadron are responsible for the acquisition of supplies, services, construction, architect-engineering design and utilities to support the 2nd Bomb Wing, Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command and associate units.

A channel for support, the 2 CONS develops acquisition strategies, leverages needs and negotiates more than 1,400 contractual agreements valued at more than $65 million annually. Additional support includes the oversight of Barksdale's $32 million Government Purchase Card program and service support Quality Assurance programs.

"One of the most important ways the 2 CONS affects the mission is by deploying overseas in support of military operations and ensuring that certain services, construction projects and purchases of supplies continue during a contingency operation," said Airman 1st Class Dreux Johnson, 2 CONS services contracting specialist.

There are three different sections that make up the 2 CONS; services flight, commodities flight and construction flight.

The services flight is responsible for all soliciting, negotiating, awarding and administering service contracts on base. Ground maintenance contract ensures the base continues to look sharp and that the grass is cut and trees are trimmed. These among many other services are the ways that services flight at the 2 CONS affects the mission.

"No day is the same in contracting," said Airman Johnson. "There are lead times and laws we must abide by that ensure competition; however, once we receive a requirement from our customer, we conduct market research to ensure the market can give us what we need. Once we have established that it can, we prepare a solicitation giving contractors a chance to bid or offer a proposal detailing price and how they would meet the requirement's needs."

The mission of the commodities flight is to provide swift and professional business strategies to ensure units receive the items needed to complete the mission.

"We provide warranted contingency contracting officers to the area of responsibility in support of ongoing war and ensure deployed units have all items necessary to conduct war," said Airman 1st Class Michael Madison, 2 CONS commodities contracting specialist. "We also train heavily by completing Defense Acquisition University courses, CCO training and many others."

The commodities flight purchases all these items to ensure mission success, from furniture to generators. Examples of this are: all the communication equipment used for the stand up of AFGSC, tools for the various maintenance squadrons and equipment that goes on, arm and help generate the aircraft.

"The most rewarding and important part of my job is costumer service," said Airman Madison. "It's a great feeling when a customer is happy with the service I've provided by acquiring supplies and equipment needed to fulfill their mission requirements."

The construction flight is made up of six-active duty Airmen and three civilians. They support the mission of the Air Force by ensuring installation facilities are up to government standards and ensure the Air Force is getting the best quality at the best price from the contractors hired to work each construction project.

"Our projects can range from as small as painting exterior doors or striping a parking lot to building a new command post and renovating entire buildings," said Airman 1st Class Karina Reyes, 2 CONS construction contract specialist.

By gaining experience in contracting and performing acquisitions, Airmen in this career field have the opportunity to work in many different aspects of business in the civilian world.

"Having the knowledge of how government contracting works is an advantage because many companies are willing to pay more for someone who is able to help them successfully get a contract with the Department of Defense," said Airman Reyes.

A typical day in the construction flight consists of checking e-mails and voicemails. This is their main method of communicating with their contractors, so it's always good to stay on top of any messages that come in, said Airman Reyes.

"Construction contractors are required to submit daily reports on each project they are working as well as weekly payrolls," continued Airman Reyes. "These have to be filed in the contract files. Then I would go on several site visits, where the actual construction work is being performed, to check on the contractors and their work. When I get back to the office, paperwork is filed from the site visit, and if necessary, submitted to the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron for approval from the engineers."

The contingency contracting officers provide the full spectrum of support to both forward deployed DoD warfighters and domestic relief efforts.

"I truly believe that contracting is one of the greatest careers in the Air Force," concluded Airman Johnson. "In this career field, you rarely have a dull moment, from the multiple kinds of people you deal with to constantly striving to learn federal regulations and keeping up on market trends. There is plenty to do in contracting to keep you on your toes and to keep you learning new things when we receive new requirements from our customers."