By SEAN KELLY
Aviation and Missile Command Public Affairs
The Aviation and Missile Command has many lines of effort. Its roles and missions range from aviation development and production to missile materiel readiness to Garrison support.
AMCOM maintains the role of contract review for both the command and the Garrison. AMCOM’s Acquisition Law and Operations Division reviews contracts awarded from cradle to grave: acquisition plans to solicitation to source selection evaluations to protests to contract administration.
One of AMCOM’s attorneys, Kathy Kelly, is integral to both AMCOM and to the Garrison in her role as a contract attorney in the Acquisition Law and Operations Division.
Kelly started her Army career as an enlisted cook. Upon the end of her enlistment, she went to college, earned a law degree and her commission and returned to service as a Judge Advocate General’s Corps lawyer. After she retired from the Army, she returned to service once again as a civilian attorney for AMCOM.
The Army could not operate without contracts. They cover a myriad of services and products such as power, water, copiers, janitorial services, grounds maintenance, weapons, missiles, aviation and much more. The contractors and their employees provide functions that would be difficult to replicate within the ranks of Soldiers and civilian employees, and they allow for greater flexibility as technology evolves to ensure we have the most up-to-date tools.
“I review contracts for the Garrison and base operations. Those things are integral to Redstone Arsenal and its tenants to complete their missions,” Kelly said. “We want to ensure there is competition and the requirements are met. All of that aids the warfighters and the federal agencies to complete their missions.
“You want to ensure the government is getting the best value. If there is no competition, the government may not be getting the best value. Competition allows contractors to get into the process and offer the lowest costs or best value to the government.”
Genevia Fontenot, chief of the Acquisition Law and Operations Division, Branch D, said of Kelly, “Kathy makes sure that all of the contracts for the services on Redstone Arsenal Garrison run smoothly. She is essential to the review process, guaranteeing it is fair to the contractor and the government.”