Courtesy Photo | Contract administrators (from left to right) Linda Tralongo, Ronald Williams, Scott...... read more read more
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Farewells among small teams can be bittersweet. It is an opportunity to celebrate decorated tenures, while still reminiscing over shared accomplishments.
During such a gathering, a team of five contract administrators within the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Aircraft Integrated Maintenance Operations Command, or AIMO, realized their combined experience as 1102 professionals exceeded 100 years of contract administration services, primarily within the agency.
“While contracting work is not unique, the 1102 field is competitive and challenging, which requires experienced personnel to provide quality contract administration,” said Stephanie Soule, a contracts supervisor with the AIMO Eglin Air Force Base contract management office. “It is unusual to find over a century of experience in one office, so to find that kind of experience from one team is indeed a rarity.”
The Birmingham team specializes in contract frameworks and conducting oversight on complex procurement processes. This includes contract administration services for aircraft overhaul, maintenance, modification and repair work for their Florida-based parent command AIMO Eglin, while working remotely out of Birmingham, Alabama.
Meet the team:
David Lamb is an administrative contracting officer, or ACO, who has been an 1102 for 40 years. Much of that time has been dedicated to DCMA as it’s known today, as well as its legacy organizations. He worked out of Seattle and Burlington, North Carolina, prior to joining the Birmingham office in 1987.
“I enjoy my job,” Lamb said. “It’s good to know that I spent nearly my entire adult life contributing to national defense —definitely a worthwhile pursuit.”
Ronald Williams is a warranted ACO who began his career in the 1102 field in 1993 before becoming an ACO in 2007. While working with DCMA, Williams also served in the Army Reserve for 22 years and holds a degree from the University of Alabama.
“I wore the uniform, too, so I know how important our work is to the warfighter,” Williams said. “I enjoy my job very much. I work with great people who are my work family, and I enjoy working for an agency who serves the U.S. armed forces.”
Linda Tralongo is a contract administrator who began her 1102 journey 21 years ago. However, her dedication to the DCMA mission began 39 years ago with its preceding organizations, working the last nine years for AIMO. Her job duties include contract receipt and review, data integrity, contract closeout, cancelling funds, and working with the ACO to resolve unexpected issues.
“I love my job,” Tralongo said. “It is nice to know the work I do makes a difference for the warfighters.”
Darius Bush began his government career in the Air Force where he served as a logistics planner and program manager. He earned multiple degrees from the University of Alabama. He brought that education to DCMA where he began his career as a procurement technician six years ago. He has been a contract administrator since 2019.
“I love the team comradery and the continuous day-to-day learning of providing services across the world to different agencies.” Bush said.
Scott Self served in the Air Force and worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs as an 1102 prior to joining the DCMA Birmingham team in 2018. Self recently relocated to join the DCMA Lexington, Kentucky team to bring his contract administration experience to Special Operations Command contracts.
“I feel my time with this team helped me more than could be imagined as we had so much experience,” Self said. “We leaned on each other with our strengths and weaknesses, and we all helped in multiple ways.”
The Birmingham team is one of many that report to the AIMO Eglin contract management office. Other teams consist of government flight representatives, as well as quality, engineering and industrial specialists. While assigned to AIMO Eglin, these agency professionals work out of non-resident facilities located across Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Virginia and Maryland.
“Although the (Birmingham) contracting team is geographically separated from our contract management office, they masterfully leverage their knowledge and contracting expertise to deliver quality work and support to the customer, contractor and warfighter,” said Army Lt. Col. Shadrika Witherspoon, AIMO Eglin’s commander. “I’m extremely proud to have them as part of AIMO Eglin.”
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2024 13:29 |
| Story ID: | 468147 |
| Location: | BIRMINGHAM, AL, US |
| Hometown: | BIRMINGHAM, AL, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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