FORT DIX, N.J. - A new director for the Mission and Installation Contracting Command’s United States Army Reserve Center-East took the helm as the outgoing commander relinquished responsibilities at Army Support Activity-Dix on June 15.
Lt. Col. Catherine L. Roberts-Lassiter, the former director of the United States Army Reserve Command Contract Administration Support Office located at Fort McPherson, Ga., replaced outgoing director, Lt. Col. Kenneth Fields. Fields will be taking the new director’s former job for a short time then deploy to Afghanistan.
As Lassiter took to the podium to speak to the contracting workforce, as well as the leadership of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, she pledged to continue the high standards and teamwork set and maintained by Fields.
“I look forward to our future endeavor to ensure our organization is the best in MICC and continue on with the standard set of mission first. Soldiers always,” Lassiter said.
The MICC U.S. Army Reserve Center, headquartered at Joint Base-McGuire-Dix Lakehurst, and established Oct. 1, 2008, is comprised of five regional Directorates of Contracting responsible for base operations support. The USAR Center-East provides support for the ASA mission; Fort McCoy is home for the USAR Center-North; USAR Center-South is located at Fort Jackson, S.C.; the Presidio of Monterey is host to USAR Center-West; and Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico.
The USAR Center-East, in addition to the ASA mission, provides contracting support to the 99th Regional Support Command, Fort Monmouth, N.J., Fort Hamilton, N.Y., and Devens Reserves Forces Training Area, Mass. It also supports northeast operational and functional commands. The contracting support includes A-76, known as commercial activities and large and regional base operations support for the U.S. Army Reserves in the northeast.
Col. Dan Perrotta, the associate director of strategic services for the MICC USAR Center who presided over the ceremony looked directly at the former director when noting accomplishments and issued the benchmarks for the new leader.
He said Fields leadership style was not about him, but about the organization. This was best exemplified by the restructuring into a joint base, as well as the consolidation of the regional mission.
“His cool, calm demeanor translated into as smooth a transition as possible and without him we wouldn’t have been as successful as we were,” Perrotta said.
Fields customer support and his role as a business advisor continued to strive for acquisition excellence. This was displayed by picking up the active duty installations of Monmouth and Hamilton. He also respected the workforce during a time when some federal employees would be transferred to the joint base contracting operating operations. Fields personally met each worker, he said.
“His employees know that he truly cares about them,” he added.
To Lassiter, Perrotta said to be successful one must maximize customer service, live the role as a business advisor, embrace calculated and systematic business practices, and continue to develop and support the workforce. He added that one must also take the time to spend with the family.
The outgoing director, Fields, said during the transition phase of Joint Base, the USAR Center-East provided $167 million of contracting support. The following year $218 million of business was performed.
“We did it with only 13 people. I can’t remember any service being interrupted during that time,” Field said.
Lassiter began her military in the active duty as an enlisted Soldier in the Medical Corps after graduating from basic training at Fort McClellan, Ala. She was commissioned a second lieutenant after completing the Reserve Officers Training Corps Early Promotion Program at Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology, Butte, Montana.
She has held a variety of operational and acquisition staff assignments. The assignments have included being a platoon leader with Company B, 111th Support Bn., Texas Army National Guard; Operations Officer of the 309th Support Bn. (Rear Area Operations Center), Friedberg, Germany; Adjutant, 7th Army Reserve Command, Schwetzingen, Germany; Administration and Logistics Officer, Joint Contact Team, U.S. Army European Command, Stuttgart Germany; Training Officer and Mobilization Planner, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, 96th Regional Support Command, Salt Lake City, Utah; Training and Mobilization Officer, Command Assistance and Assessment Team 8, U.S. Army Reserve Readiness Command, Fort Jackson, S.C.; Plans Officer, Support Operations Directorate, 377th Theater Support Command, New Orleans; Chief, Mortuary Affairs, in Kuwait for Operations Iraqi Freedom; and the 377th Operations Officer, Assistant Chief of Staff.
Lassiter acquisition assignments include: Contract Specialist, U.S. Army Contracting Command-Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; Contingency Contracting Officer, Army Contracting Agency-Pacific Region, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Chief of Contracting, Regional Contracting Center Echo, Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan, Iraq, before being assigned to the contracting director position at Fort McPherson.
Her awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, five Meritorious Service Medals, two Joint Service Commendation Medals, four Army Commendation Medals, the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, the Iraq Campaign and NATO Medal. Her military education includes the Quartermaster Basic and Advanced Courses, Adjutant General Qualification Course, Combined Arms Service and Staff School, and the Logistics Executive Development Course.
She is married to Christopher Lassiter.