Photo By Capt. Amber Kelly-Herard | First Lt. Anthony Schelstrate, 332nd Expeditionary Contracting Squadron contracting...... read more read more
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SOUTHWEST ASIA - It's early morning and airmen from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing are preparing for an outside-the-wire mission.
Before they head to their SUV, three airmen ensure the proper equipment is by their side: government contracts and local currency.
Represented in the vehicle is the 332nd AEW Financial Management office and the 332nd Expeditionary Contracting Squadron. The two organizations' responsibilities are to transfer, stand up and sustain the 332nd AEW from Joint Base Balad to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.
"Finance receives the requirements from different agencies, ensures they meet the criteria to make the requirement valid and legal which then allows us to set aside funds for the purchase," said Master Sgt. Julianna Gibson, 332nd AEW/FM dispersing agent.
"Contracting then takes the requirements and looks for local vendors who are able to provide the service or product needed and then obligate the government's money to purchase them," continued 1st Lt. Anthony Schelstrate, 332nd ECONS contacting officer.
"It's like a check and balance system; a representative from finance and contracting need to be present in order to make the payment to the vendor. "
The transition of the 332nd AEW has caused many airmen to step out of their traditional career fields to help others to get the mission done. Contrarily, the austere conditions have also allowed some airmen to do their core tasks that become outsourced at more established locations.
"This is the epitome of what we're trained on: teaming with contracting and heading downtown to make vendor payments with foreign currency," said Gibson, who is deployed from Pope Air Force Base, N.C.
"Similar for us, the Air Force as well as our home station provides Contingency Contracting Officer training that we usually never used at more established locations," continued Tech. Sgt. Damon Chrismer, 332nd ECONS contracting officer.
At non-deployed locations and even more established locations such as Joint Base Balad, government purchase cards are used to procure required items.
"Normally there are GPC holders in different squadrons, so we wouldn't buy little things," said Schelstrate, who is deployed from Laughlin AFB, Texas, and is a native of Phoenix, Ariz. "Here we are trying to limit off-base travel, so we make all the purchases."
Using local currency over a GPC also saves the government and taxpayers money.
"A credit card purchase in this country has a surcharge of three to five percent," said Gibson, who is a native of Greenville, Texas. "We limit our use of the GPC because we can obtain the local currency which saves money."
Something else that is congruous with their mission is building partnerships with the host nation.
"We spend time downtown, meeting the different vendors and learning about their culture," said Gibson. "When we sit down to make a payment, it is customary to drink tea or juice and interact with them. They want to get to know us; however, we do not get a chance to do this often. Depending on the number of vendors that we need to visit, we may only get a chance to shake hands and make the payment."
How the local vendors' actions have changed is an example of the need to create a bond.
"When we first arrived, the vendors would not deliver the products without being paid on the spot; however due to the relationships we've built, they are now willing to provide these items immediately and delay payment for a few days," said Gibson.
Facilitating government purchases is rewarding for those who make it happen, just as it is for all the airmen who benefit from the purchases.
"Since I've been here from the beginning, I can look around and notice I bought this or I sourced that," said Chrismer, who is deployed from Dyess AFB, Texas, and is a native of Abliene, Texas. "The dining facility for example, I know the process of how we acquired it, everyone else only sees the final product."
The two different units working together has also been beneficial.
"We have streamlined the process, especially being collocated," said Gibson. "Our communication between the two units has improved and changes are able to be coordinated immediately."
The next time something new appears on base, hopefully airmen of 332nd AEW will know there is a story behind each one.
| Date Taken: | 11.14.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2011 04:06 |
| Story ID: | 80147 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 134 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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