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CROATIA — The 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s contracting partner, the 409th Contracting Support Brigade, participated in Jackal Stone 2012, a Special Operations Command Europe multinational special operations forces exercise, conducted in Croatia during September.
Contracting specialists from the 409th CSB, with headquarters in Kaiserslautern, Germany, provided support at five different locations across Croatia in support of the mission.
The 409th CSB’s 624th Contingency Contracting Team started planning for JS12 in November 2011 and integrated with the SOCEUR logistics team to ensure that all contracting requirements for the exercise were met.
“Getting our contracting teams engaged early in the planning stages ensures open communication, and leads to better strategic planning,” said Col. William Bailey, commander, 409th CSB. “Early integration is critical to the success of the mission.”
The team, in conjunction with support provided by the 409th CSB’s Kaiserslautern-based Theater Contracting Center, awarded six contracts worth more than $1.9 million.
“What we do as contracting specialists is critical to the mission. While supporting SOCEUR during this exercise, we weren’t necessarily in the fight but our support kept them in the fight,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Thompson, 624th CCT.
The contracts provided logistical support for approximately 1,700 personnel from 18 different NATO and partnership nations; covering everything from food, vehicles, life support services, fuel, a boat lease, and construction materials, but not without its own logistical challenges.
“Locating reliable vendors in the immediate area was a challenge. Most of the supplies that we are procuring are coming from sources that are located more than 100 kilometers from where we are running operations,” said Sgt. 1st Class William Rawe, 624th CCT.
JS12 was also a learning environment for newer contracting professionals.
“This exercise has been an excellent opportunity for the team to gain experience with all aspects of the contracting process. They’ve been exposed to many contracting tasks,” said Maj. Jessica Kovach, contracting officer, 624th CCT leader, 903rd CCBN.
JS12 is coordinated by the United States through Special Operations Command Europe and is primarily a partnership building exercise.
