Exercise support doesn’t 'just happen'

Photo By Matthew Veasley | The United States Expeditionary Contracting Command (ECC) recently deployed a contracting team, utilized in a modular capacity, to East Java, Indonesia, in order to execute and sustain logistic requirements in support of the U.S. Army Pacific’s annual bilateral exercise. The contracting team fell in to support the Garuda Shield 2014 mission by providing mass logistics support to include portable toilets.  

SURABAYA, INDONESIA

09.29.2014

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Veasley 

16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

EAST JAVA, Indonesia-­-­ Hot showers, food, potable water, fuel, latrines, and transportation are readily available for the eighth annual Garuda Shield Exercise held at Puslatpur Marinir, Dodiklatpur, and Semarang military bases in Indonesia. But how were these critical assets and commercial items leveraged at each location?

The United States Expeditionary Contracting Command (ECC) recently deployed a contracting team, utilized in a modular capacity, to East Java, Indonesia, in order to execute and sustain logistic requirements in support of the U.S. Army Pacific’s annual bilateral exercise.

With more than 15 years of collective experience, the Garuda Shield contracting team faced one of the biggest contracting missions executed during a Pacific region exercise.

For nearly eight months, the contracting team, consisting of five Army personnel with ranks ranging from sergeant to major, representing four separate regional contracting offices within the US, helped to shape positive and lasting impacts in the Pacific region, by planning and executing world class contracting support for Garuda Shield 2014 and additional exercises in Malaysia and Japan.

Exercise Garuda Shield is a continuation of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Army Pacific to engage with the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI, Indonesian Armed Forces) on peace support, training capacity, and stability operations. This year’s Garuda Shield exercise is the largest in its eight-year history.

“We are acquisition and procurement management experts, responsible for ensuring that supplies and services are purchased with the best interest of the U.S. government, our immediate requiring activity, and the U.S. tax payer in mind,” said Sprunger. “Most of our team members are warranted Contracting Officers, with the authority to bind the U.S. government through obligation of properly allocated funding”. “This is not a job that should be taken lightly,” he added.

With lineage dating back to 1781, Army acquisitions, logistics and technology contracting specialists have been in place to meet the continuous and increasing need for contingency operations support in today’s Army. Soldiers in this capacity are responsible for life cycle management, sustainment operations, and contracting support to the war fighter during exercises, combat operations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

Often, the Army supply system is not accessible, so contracting officers and specialists are here to fill the void. The roles of contracting personnel are critical to the sustainment of the Army’s constant changing operational environment.


“The Soldiers don’t really understand how important the contracting element is to the life support of our mission,” said Col. Louis A. Zeisman, Commander, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Joint Base Lewis-­‐McChord.

Contracting officers and specialists provide critical mission capabilities such as fuel, line haul transportation, material handling equipment support, and personnel movement that would otherwise not be available.

“Essentially, we are business advisers for the United States Army,” said Oklahoma native Sgt. 1st Class Christina Kidwell, contracting specialist for the 413th Contracting Support Brigade out of Wheeler Army Airfield Hawaii. “We advise the ground forces commander on the best and most effective way to get what they want and need, legally, within the most flexible contract parameters, while maintaining fiscal responsibility. First and foremost, we are here to support the war fighter.” “That is our primary mission,” she concluded.

There is a common perception that contracting and logistics efforts are subsequent to combat firepower. However, many of the most effective leaders throughout history understood the role of the support effort, and the leverage it brings to combat. What would the operational, tactical or strategic environment offer without first being shaped by the effects of Operational Contract Support?

The GS14 contracting team has executed more than 45 contract actions, responsible for the movement of 179 pieces of equipment and more than 500 military and contracted personnel during reception, staging, onward movement, and integration and retrograde operations, to four separate areas within Central and East Java; procured fuel for all deployed ground vehicles and MEDEVAC aircraft; and established the primary means of communication throughout half of the exercise, via Wi-Fi and cell phone contracts. Additionally, the team executed contracts for most of the base life support.

“I don’t know what I would do without this shower and clean latrines,” said Specialist Miriam Lopez-­‐Sanchez, a lab tech with the Army Reserve based out of San Antonio, Texas. “This is by far the cleanest hygiene facilities I have ever had especially in a field training environment and I cannot complain.”

The team built their contractor base by hosting vendor conferences in major cities located in Central and East Java. The impact to future Garuda Shield exercises, and joint operations, as well as to the Indonesian economy, includes contract awards to ten different local businesses since last year’s exercise, and more than 50 new potential contractors to the vendor base.

“Our job is basically broken down into two phases, pre award and post award,” said Maj. Charles Allen, lead contracting officer, with the 413th CSB, 715th CTT, Regional Contracting Office, Alaska. “Developing an interested vendor base that is responsible and capable enough to provide the broad scope of supplies and services required to support GS14, was fundamentally the most important aspect of the Pre Award phase.” “Without local support, the exercise would simply not be successful,” he said.

The Garuda Shield 2014 contracting team has proven that the contracting support efforts implemented during this exercise have been nothing less than a significant force multiplier.

“We are here to support our customer, and develop contracting continuity not just for this exercise, but for other exercises and operations in Indonesia and around the world,” said Allen.

• Date Taken: 09.29.2014
• Date Posted: 09.29.2014 12:02
• Story ID: 143596
• Location: SURABAYA, ID
• Hometown: TOKYO-TO, TOKYO, JP
• Hometown: FORT LEWIS, WA, US
• Hometown: SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI, US
• Hometown: WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, HI, US