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Civilian and military defense contracting representatives gathered to discuss issues surrounding the U.S. contracting community in Europe Jan. 24 on Ramstein.
The Air Force Installation Contracting Agency in Europe organized the meeting to allow representatives to exchange ideas for smarter, faster and more efficient ways to work. Featured speakers emphasized the need for contracting units from all branches of the U.S. military to work together for optimum mission accomplishment.
“Today’s event is about sharing information,” said Capt. Marco Campos, AFICA operations staff officer. “What we’re trying to do is consolidate information, combine efforts and hold joint initiatives so we can leverage our current funds for other procurements.
“Now that we are sharing information, we have better market research,” Campos added.
Contracting agencies represented included the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Acquisition University, Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, and Air Force, Army and Navy contracting units.
Participants discussed how to efficiently acquire supplies and material, the state of the enlisted contracting force, the warranting process and mission briefs of various contracting units.
“The big item is savings and, furthermore, using those savings to buy more weapons systems and other merchandise for military readiness,” Campos said. “With a smaller budget, this is necessary, and we are confident that this will take us where we need to be so our military can be ready.
“We’re providing guidance for the next generation of the contracting workforce. We’re leaning towards sharing more information and working in a more joint environment,” Campos added.
With the myriad of talking points and subjects discussed throughout the meeting, two principles summed them up: saving taxpayer dollars and making the U.S. military as efficient as possible.
