Sgt. 1st Class Jacqueline J. Cole COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District TITLE: Contracting specialist – officer YEARS OF SERVICE IN AAW WORKFORCE: 7 MILITARY OR CIVILIAN: Military YEARS OF MILITARY SERVICE: 17 DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Contracting professional EDUCATION: MBA and B.S. in business management with human resource, both from Columbia College-Missouri AWARDS: Meritorious Service Medal (2023); Meritorious Service Medal (2020); German Armed Forces Gold Proficiency Badge (2020); Army Accommodation Medal (2018); Army Accommodation Medal (2016)
No one has all the answers, which is why collaboration matters. When people come together, share perspectives, and build on each other’s strengths it leads to better ideas, smarter solutions and a clearer path forward.
“The most important lesson that I have learned during my time in the military and in the Acquisition Corps is that no one knows everything,” explained Sgt. 1st Class Jacqueline Cole, who is a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 51C contracting specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Worth District. Although individual creativity is vital and encouraged often, group think is required to achieve the very best path forward. And, she said, “someone’s time in the field does not automatically constitute the contribution they will provide.”
As a 51C, Cole is responsible for the execution of contracting requirements and advising Project Delivery Team (PDT)s on contract tools, types and strategies. She conducts market research to support strategy and issues pre-solicitation notices (used to inform potential contractors about upcoming opportunities or request feedback from industry) and solicitations (formal invitations seeking bids or proposals for goods or services that meet specific requirements, terms and conditions). Cole is also responsible for guiding boards in evaluating proposals; advising her Command on contractor performance; coordinating with legal and awarding contracts, task orders and modifications – as a contracting officer and performing post-award contract administration and reviews.
“My key responsibilities in supporting our district mission as a 51C in the Fort Worth District is to collaborate with PDT members to generate and support engineering solutions for our partners in the common goal of securing our Nation, energizing our economy and reducing disaster risks for the public,” she said.
This is vital to the Army and the warfighter as many of her projects are in direct support of the Army’s mission and personnel—from the construction of housing for families and single Soldiers to the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility buildings built to maintain operations and secure information.
Knowing her career field bridges the gap between the supply channels and the real time requirements of the warfighters and the mission brings her great satisfaction, in a job she describes as “a unique role in the grand operating picture of what it takes to support the greatest military in the world.”
Cole first learned of the Army Acquisition Workforce while serving as a 25U signal support systems specialist stationed with 2-25 Aviation at Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, during a live-fire range in 2014, years before being assessed into the 51C MOS.
“A 51C came to use our range to qualify and, in his unique attendance, I asked him why he needed the support of my unit’s range. He described what he did and how unique his career field was as well as the design,” she explained. “The units are too small to be assigned a traditional MOS to support the logistics that natural units have and rely on the ability to join a larger unit’s training opportunities. After the discussion of his mission, I was intrigued.” Cole admits that role taught her a lot about thinking outside of the box in problem solving and doing whatever it takes to complete the mission.
“As a contracting professional we are called on at any moment to support a wide variety of missions from contingency fire support in Los Angeles, California to Maui, Hawaii to multi-year projects for installations,” she said. Which is why it’s crucial to always be ready to think unconventionally. Cole said she was not deployed for Maui support but completed deployment for the Los Angeles wildfire mission where she supported the contracts for debris removal, restoration and quality assurance services for 30 days.
Cole’s first acquisition position was with the Mission Installation Contracting Command in Fort Hood, Texas, a position that enabled her to see a volume of requirements that called on her experience prior to being assessed into the Acquisition Corps in working with the requiring activity to develop the package for the acquisition.
“Working with the units, while using my personal knowledge of the similar missions I have completed, I worked to use my acquisitions acumen to develop the requirement package with the unit and get them the resources they required when they required them.” One of her most memorable acquisitions was for a Light Detection and Ranging, which is used for battlefield mapping, target tracking, autonomous vehicle navigation and mine countermeasures. It was significant, she said, because it “provided extremely accurate feedback to the warfighter as they developed their skills in mastering their aim and weapon systems.”
One goal she said she brought to her current position in USACE was to learn as much as she could about the unique contracts and processes that the USACE mission requires in delivering projects to various military branches, as well as the public.
“The opportunity for a 51C to spend time supporting a USACE mission is rare and highly sought after by my peers,” she said. “I want to take what I learn here and give some insight or lessons learned to my peers in the Army units to potentially broaden their understanding of what Army acquisitions can do and how it can be used further for the warfighters.”
Cole will have achieved her goal, she said, once she joins a Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) unit after this assignment, and shares some of the exposure she had and what she took away from the experience.
“I have been blessed to have had unique and polar assignments so far,” she explained. “I started in a MICC, then deployed to a contingency environment during the pandemic, then served in Europe doing OCONUS [outside the continental United States] contracting and now with the Corps of Engineers. My experiences have been so rewarding and perfect for developing into a versatile professional.”
Training was also part of Cole’s career development. She attended the Architect-Engineer (A-E) Contracting prospect course at the end of 2024 as an in-seat offering and said it provided an in-depth breakdown of the aspects of A-E contracting including acquisition planning, public announcements, selection procedures, pre-proposal activities, negotiations, award and closeout topics. “This was a great course that would undoubtably benefit anyone that could be selected to serve on a PDT in any capacity,” she said. “This course allows the development of a picture on a wholistic level so that PDTs can communicate effectively when working together.”
Cole said the best way to learn to apply the information in this environment is to engage in many conversations in the office (or online) with co-workers to hear their experiences, lessons learned and thought processes in navigating to the solution. “Text is great to learn from, but the ability to ask questions and hear the whole thought process in a situation that is specific is where I feel I really take away experience.”
Outside of work, Cole said friends and family would note her versatility, humor and willingness to attempt unfamiliar things.
“My family is a big priority of mine,” she said. And she is always quick to adapt whenever plans change. That same mindset carries into her work, where flexibility and adaptability help her navigate challenges with ease. “There is always something developing with acquisitions as the landscape of our profession changes with the mission we support. There are often many solutions to a need in acquisitions and leaning in to trying new things is important.”
“Faces of the Force” highlights the success of the Army Acquisition Workforce through the power of individual stories. Profiles are produced by the Behind The Frontlines team, working closely with public affairs officers to feature Soldiers and civilians serving in various Army acquisition disciplines. For more information, or to nominate someone, go to https://asc.army.mil/web/army-btf/.
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