700th Contracting Squadron shows off good work

***image1***The 700th Contracting Squadron recently showcased its achievements in the area of advancing the contracting field’s joint environment to Tina Ballard, deputy assistant secretary of the Army,  policy and procurement.

Ms. Ballard, who directly supports the Army acquisition executive and the assistant secretary of the Army acquisition, logistics and technology, serves as the Army’s principal acquisition and procurement policy authority for all Army acquisition programs. She is responsible for the management and execution of the Army’s contracting function.

The 700th CONS and the U.S. Army 606 Senior Contingency Contracting Team have spearheaded this program since March 2006, when Maj. Robert McDonald arrived at the squadron.

The underlying concept is to foster a joint contracting force in a garrison environment and enable accelerated training for preparing the members of the 606 SCCT for contingency operations in a joint environment.

The U.S. Army AL&T contracting personnel work side-by-side with the Air Force equivalent, AFSC 6C0X1. This allows for Army contracting personnel to learn from the vast experience of the Air Force contracting personnel, who have a long history of successfully deploying enlisted members to support theater operations.

On the flipside, the 700th CONS military population benefits from the deployed experience that their Army brethren bring to the table. The members of the 606 SCCT are integrated into the day-to-day operations of the 700th CONS Army support flight and receive the same workload and training as their civilian and Air Force counterparts.

Ms. Ballard received an immersion briefing outlining the work of the Army support flight and its integration efforts.