WEBVTT 00:03.840 --> 00:04.750 Mhm . Mhm . 00:08.640 --> 00:12.210 I started working as a senior at Battle 00:12.210 --> 00:14.480 Creek Central Go pear kids , which is 00:14.480 --> 00:16.369 just right down the road from the 00:16.369 --> 00:20.200 federal center . Um it was in 19 80 , 00:20.430 --> 00:24.020 the fall of 1980 and my business 00:24.020 --> 00:26.700 teacher asked me if I was interested in 00:26.710 --> 00:29.370 perhaps qualifying for a student aid 00:29.380 --> 00:32.350 position at the Federal center . And it 00:32.350 --> 00:34.572 was called the stay in school program . 00:34.572 --> 00:37.160 It was at for at risk youth from lower 00:37.160 --> 00:40.990 income families and I qualified and 00:40.990 --> 00:44.020 uh history was written . So I've been 00:44.020 --> 00:47.390 here ever since I worked as I graduated 00:47.390 --> 00:49.600 from Central . And then because I 00:49.600 --> 00:51.656 started working here , I was able to 00:51.656 --> 00:54.110 afford to pay my way through to the 00:54.110 --> 00:56.054 local community college and got my 00:56.054 --> 00:58.530 associates degree . And so then after 00:58.530 --> 01:01.380 that I took the civil service test and 01:01.390 --> 01:04.960 I started working full time in 1980 01:04.960 --> 01:08.780 for the spring of 1984 . Um I was hired 01:08.780 --> 01:10.890 into the newly formed contracting 01:10.890 --> 01:13.740 directorate and I think I was 1/5 01:13.740 --> 01:17.130 person hired . So um it's been a 01:17.140 --> 01:19.360 pleasure seeing contracting grow and 01:19.360 --> 01:22.050 working in every office and position 01:22.050 --> 01:25.960 within J7 . When 01:25.960 --> 01:29.720 I first started um We had just a few 01:29.730 --> 01:32.790 hazardous waste contracts . I think we 01:32.790 --> 01:36.250 had like five nationwide ones . 01:36.640 --> 01:40.140 And now we have 86 01:40.140 --> 01:43.060 global hazardous waste contracts . We 01:43.060 --> 01:46.420 also did sealed bidding . Now we do 01:46.430 --> 01:49.410 um negotiated contracts 01:49.420 --> 01:53.030 and um I believe it was 01:53.030 --> 01:55.860 under President Clinton at the time . 01:56.240 --> 01:58.351 It was called the federal acquisition 01:58.351 --> 02:00.460 streamlining act . That was a very 02:00.470 --> 02:03.570 comprehensive acquisition 02:03.570 --> 02:07.320 reform that made our 02:07.320 --> 02:09.320 jobs easier and more efficient . We 02:09.320 --> 02:12.170 provided more value to the taxpayers 02:12.170 --> 02:14.710 and then ultimately to our customers . 02:14.720 --> 02:18.340 It introduced uh tailing off of 02:18.340 --> 02:20.660 that the government purchased card 02:21.040 --> 02:23.890 which has made a lot of buys more 02:23.890 --> 02:26.230 streamlined and easier to get those 02:26.230 --> 02:28.410 everyday type supplies . The 02:28.410 --> 02:32.180 significance is um when we first 02:32.180 --> 02:34.610 started those few that we had those 02:34.610 --> 02:37.790 were just within the United States and 02:37.790 --> 02:39.950 they were riddled with litigation and 02:39.950 --> 02:42.228 the Resource Conservation Recovery Act , 02:42.228 --> 02:44.117 which was like the big granddaddy 02:44.117 --> 02:46.339 Environmental Law , was fairly new to . 02:46.339 --> 02:50.150 So we were learning as we grew um Now 02:50.150 --> 02:52.650 we provide worldwide hazardous waste 02:52.650 --> 02:55.870 coverage to customers Anywhere between 02:55.870 --> 02:59.180 1500 to 2000 generators of hazardous 02:59.180 --> 03:00.650 waste at any one time 03:02.740 --> 03:04.690 become a lot more efficient and 03:04.690 --> 03:07.930 streamlined when I first started , uh 03:07.940 --> 03:10.430 we did not have say for example , 03:10.440 --> 03:13.460 regulations at our fingertips online . 03:13.470 --> 03:17.120 We had hard copy fars and D fars 03:17.130 --> 03:19.297 and we were constantly waiting for the 03:19.297 --> 03:21.297 mail to come in for any acquisition 03:21.297 --> 03:23.297 changes . And then as a procurement 03:23.297 --> 03:25.519 tech , I was one of those people that I 03:25.519 --> 03:28.480 had to file all the new regulatory 03:28.480 --> 03:31.170 changes and advised the staff of . Okay , 03:31.170 --> 03:33.448 we've got a far update . How does this , 03:33.448 --> 03:35.670 then they in turn , it would impact the 03:35.670 --> 03:37.559 contracts and what provisions and 03:37.559 --> 03:41.450 clauses that you put in . Um Also going 03:41.450 --> 03:43.061 back to like hazardous waste 03:43.061 --> 03:46.640 contracting , we had approved 03:46.640 --> 03:49.010 qualified disposal facilities and 03:49.010 --> 03:51.500 transporters that are contractors had 03:51.500 --> 03:53.430 to use that we had been had fully 03:53.430 --> 03:56.170 vetted and that were considered 03:56.180 --> 03:59.260 compliant and good to go to use . 03:59.640 --> 04:03.530 Uh whereas today that's all online 04:03.530 --> 04:05.086 and are contracting officer 04:05.086 --> 04:07.760 representatives can check to ensure 04:07.760 --> 04:09.816 that those transporters and disposal 04:09.816 --> 04:11.982 facilities where the waste is intended 04:11.982 --> 04:15.400 for is qualified before we had to do 04:15.400 --> 04:18.040 all of that by hand for every proposal . 04:18.040 --> 04:20.350 Whenever we had a solicitation closing 04:20.640 --> 04:22.584 the offer's would submit hard copy 04:22.584 --> 04:25.320 packages and sometimes their proposals 04:25.320 --> 04:28.910 would be like that thick and um as one 04:28.910 --> 04:30.688 of the first receivers of those 04:30.688 --> 04:33.021 proposals , as a procurement technician , 04:33.021 --> 04:35.190 I would go through there and pull out 04:35.200 --> 04:37.830 any disposal facilities that they were 04:37.830 --> 04:40.050 proposing for use any proposed 04:40.050 --> 04:42.150 transporters in supporting 04:42.150 --> 04:45.390 documentation such as licenses . Um and 04:45.390 --> 04:47.557 then I would give that to the contract 04:47.557 --> 04:49.668 specialists and officer and then that 04:49.668 --> 04:51.723 was shared with the environmentalist 04:51.723 --> 04:53.834 and so as a drawn out lengthy process 04:53.834 --> 04:57.130 to manually check everything . Um Also 04:57.140 --> 05:01.080 our bid schedules on contracts uh Could 05:01.090 --> 05:04.920 average anywhere from 150 up to say 300 05:04.920 --> 05:07.260 line items or cleanse that we call them . 05:07.740 --> 05:10.860 And we had our calculators out and I 05:10.860 --> 05:12.693 was having to run , we called it 05:12.693 --> 05:14.582 running tapes and I was having to 05:14.582 --> 05:18.010 verify every clinton unit price and uh 05:18.020 --> 05:20.131 then ensure that that was , there was 05:20.131 --> 05:22.187 no mistakes in the offers proposal . 05:22.190 --> 05:25.600 Now everything's done Excel and you 05:25.600 --> 05:28.310 know with with some summary citations , 05:28.320 --> 05:30.850 you get your response very quickly . So 05:31.140 --> 05:33.362 we've seen the manpower , you know with 05:33.362 --> 05:36.660 the less people to do more 05:37.840 --> 05:40.340 that had to do manual functions are now 05:40.340 --> 05:43.580 doing uh more with less actually . And 05:43.580 --> 05:46.430 it's thanks to the internet and the 05:46.440 --> 05:48.760 tools . Um 05:50.540 --> 05:52.596 aside just from contracting , but it 05:52.596 --> 05:54.651 definitely impacted contracting . It 05:54.651 --> 05:56.373 impacted everybody here in the 05:56.373 --> 05:58.484 disposition services back then it was 05:58.484 --> 06:00.318 called defense property disposal 06:00.318 --> 06:02.830 service when I started um we had 06:02.830 --> 06:05.140 typewriters and since I was in the 06:05.140 --> 06:08.860 administrative field . Yeah . Every 06:09.640 --> 06:11.680 document that we had to type had 06:11.680 --> 06:14.190 certain color copy carbons behind it 06:14.190 --> 06:16.301 and we could not make errors . And if 06:16.301 --> 06:18.301 you did , we had our little pencils 06:18.301 --> 06:20.301 with the blue eraser and the little 06:20.301 --> 06:20.110 brush at the end . And we had to 06:20.110 --> 06:22.930 correct each and everyone we did not 06:22.930 --> 06:25.041 have computers , we did not have dust 06:25.041 --> 06:28.150 tops , we did not have multi devices 06:28.150 --> 06:30.317 that copied and printed as a matter of 06:30.317 --> 06:32.770 fact every other floor here in the 06:32.770 --> 06:36.150 building . And um we had one 06:36.150 --> 06:39.710 copier uh every other floor . And 06:39.710 --> 06:41.877 so people like me , I was a student at 06:41.877 --> 06:44.210 the time . The office is always sent 06:44.210 --> 06:46.432 the students . And so we would stand in 06:46.432 --> 06:48.654 line sometimes half hour , 45 minutes , 06:48.654 --> 06:50.654 just a copy . And the machine would 06:50.654 --> 06:52.877 always break down . And one funny story 06:52.877 --> 06:54.932 is the machine that I dreaded is the 06:54.932 --> 06:57.330 one closest to my office . And it was 06:57.330 --> 06:59.386 always breaking down . And one day I 06:59.386 --> 07:01.497 went to use it and we were in a hurry 07:01.497 --> 07:03.719 to get something and there was a wreath 07:03.719 --> 07:05.886 that said rest in peace on it . It had 07:05.886 --> 07:07.941 officially died . Finally . So , but 07:07.941 --> 07:11.260 then along the way , we I woke up and 07:11.260 --> 07:14.380 got modern and uh each director at that 07:14.390 --> 07:16.334 time had what we call a four phase 07:16.334 --> 07:19.230 computer . And it was one computer per 07:19.230 --> 07:21.286 directorate . And you had to sign up 07:21.286 --> 07:23.452 for time to even get on there to learn 07:23.452 --> 07:25.674 it and to use it and look how far we've 07:25.674 --> 07:27.674 come now . We have our own personal 07:27.674 --> 07:29.060 desktop computers . 07:31.740 --> 07:35.430 Desert Storm . I was a new 07:35.430 --> 07:37.840 contract specialists . I had graduated 07:37.840 --> 07:40.650 from the contracting internship and I 07:40.650 --> 07:42.372 was working in hazardous waste 07:42.372 --> 07:45.900 contracts . And uh it really I 07:45.900 --> 07:49.030 saw an impact on disposition 07:49.030 --> 07:52.400 services uh , and delay as a 07:52.400 --> 07:54.830 whole . Um , you know , we have been 07:54.830 --> 07:57.160 providing support to customers 07:57.540 --> 08:00.570 predominantly more at home in times of 08:00.580 --> 08:04.290 peace . And so our level of contracting 08:04.290 --> 08:07.720 support grew exponentially . Uh we 08:07.720 --> 08:09.770 started writing contracts for the 08:09.770 --> 08:12.730 disposal of waste that our soldiers 08:12.730 --> 08:16.630 abroad generated . Uh , so it went 08:16.630 --> 08:19.620 from mainly a Conus operation and not 08:19.620 --> 08:21.398 just for contracting for all of 08:21.398 --> 08:23.830 disposition services . Um , at that 08:23.830 --> 08:27.760 time was DPS I believe . Yeah . And 08:28.640 --> 08:30.970 providing that contingency support this 08:30.970 --> 08:33.060 so important and needed , you know , 08:33.060 --> 08:36.940 they need it , it's a environment that , 08:36.950 --> 08:40.360 you know , is ever changing . And so we 08:40.360 --> 08:42.530 needed to be flexible . So it also 08:42.530 --> 08:45.080 called for some more flexibility in 08:45.080 --> 08:46.858 contracting , which is a pretty 08:46.858 --> 08:49.830 stringent environment . And so some of 08:49.830 --> 08:52.430 the challenges for us was how can we 08:52.430 --> 08:55.070 provide the war fighters , what they 08:55.070 --> 08:58.010 need when they need , but still be 08:58.010 --> 09:01.920 legally compliant . And so being able 09:01.920 --> 09:05.040 to go with the changes and 09:05.050 --> 09:08.450 uh bringing that flexibility was key . 09:08.460 --> 09:10.404 So that's something . And now it's 09:10.404 --> 09:12.960 pretty common day that we have uh , 09:12.970 --> 09:15.260 kokonas support . We know we're a 09:15.260 --> 09:18.730 global footprint Mid 09:18.730 --> 09:22.450 2000s . We had a contract for 09:22.460 --> 09:25.510 hesitance waste disposal out of Iraq as 09:25.510 --> 09:28.690 a result of the ongoing war . 09:28.700 --> 09:31.640 And often times disposition services 09:31.640 --> 09:33.730 were called in at the tail end of a 09:33.730 --> 09:36.670 conflict and such was the case . And so 09:36.670 --> 09:40.130 we were writing contracts uh to 09:40.130 --> 09:43.220 dispose of the war fighters generated 09:43.230 --> 09:46.920 hazardous waste and material and 09:46.930 --> 09:49.590 one of the most challenging items to 09:49.590 --> 09:53.340 dispose of was lithium batteries . And 09:53.350 --> 09:56.310 because waste has to be moved through 09:56.310 --> 09:58.350 different countries . The basel 09:58.350 --> 10:01.930 convention applies and that can be a 10:01.930 --> 10:04.860 very drawn out time consuming process 10:04.860 --> 10:06.638 because you have to get all the 10:06.638 --> 10:09.410 countries that have touch points agree 10:09.420 --> 10:11.730 to having waste moved through it . 10:11.740 --> 10:15.460 Unfortunately Iraq and um 10:16.040 --> 10:18.910 I'm sorry Pakistan could not come to an 10:18.910 --> 10:21.021 agreement . And so our contractor had 10:21.021 --> 10:23.550 to arrange for airlift for the lithium 10:23.550 --> 10:26.920 batteries . And it was a logistical 10:26.930 --> 10:30.270 nightmare . But we prevailed . And for 10:30.270 --> 10:33.300 those batteries , um it costs a little 10:33.300 --> 10:36.110 over $1 million dollars to airlift 10:36.110 --> 10:38.260 those and have them disposed of 10:40.540 --> 10:43.070 Ebola when I became the J seven 10:43.070 --> 10:46.180 director , one of the actions going on 10:46.180 --> 10:50.100 was uh , oh you a uh Liberia , 10:50.100 --> 10:54.050 we had the Ebola crisis there . And so 10:54.060 --> 10:56.430 um our contractor again , we were 10:56.440 --> 10:58.650 called in at the tail end of the 10:58.650 --> 11:01.440 challenge . And so we had a contract 11:01.440 --> 11:04.360 for scrap that was generated . But then 11:04.360 --> 11:06.082 we also had a contract for the 11:06.082 --> 11:08.870 hazardous waste and that was a little 11:08.870 --> 11:11.750 bit more drawn out too because while 11:11.750 --> 11:13.920 we're trying to get the basel approval 11:13.930 --> 11:15.930 for all the different countries and 11:15.930 --> 11:17.652 we're dealing with third world 11:17.652 --> 11:20.120 countries , um we had to help arrange 11:20.120 --> 11:23.400 for storage of the waste . And that can 11:23.400 --> 11:25.940 be also challenging trying to find 11:25.940 --> 11:28.820 adequate storage facilities that meet 11:28.820 --> 11:32.160 us criteria in a third world country . 11:32.440 --> 11:35.180 Yes , Quadrille in , you know , that's 11:35.180 --> 11:38.240 Anatole in the pacific where scrap had 11:38.240 --> 11:41.940 been building up for decades and we 11:41.940 --> 11:44.230 were called upon a few years back . We 11:44.230 --> 11:47.780 wrote a contract for the removal of 11:47.790 --> 11:51.350 literally tons and tons of scrap 11:51.840 --> 11:55.410 and uh through our contract assistance 11:55.410 --> 11:57.460 and the great folks of disposition 11:57.460 --> 11:59.460 services that work out in the field 11:59.460 --> 12:02.280 that provided oversight and assistance . 12:02.290 --> 12:05.270 We cleaned up that area . And it was a 12:05.270 --> 12:09.200 real celebration for Kwajalein And 12:09.200 --> 12:11.490 the government because number one , it 12:11.490 --> 12:13.970 employed locals and it helped clean up 12:13.970 --> 12:15.914 their back yard . You know , it no 12:15.914 --> 12:18.470 longer was an ice or so we helped make 12:18.470 --> 12:20.560 that their world a better place 12:22.840 --> 12:26.520 for the pandemic . Um It's pretty 12:26.520 --> 12:28.742 much our public sales , you know , they 12:28.750 --> 12:31.790 really stepped up to the plate when the 12:31.790 --> 12:35.140 mask when the pandemic first hit mask 12:35.140 --> 12:37.720 were in short supply . So we pulled 12:37.730 --> 12:40.880 mask back from one of our sales 12:40.880 --> 12:43.440 contractors , we froze those items , 12:43.450 --> 12:45.561 pulled them back and so they got into 12:45.561 --> 12:47.672 the right hands and helped delay with 12:47.672 --> 12:51.370 that relief effort . And also there was 12:51.380 --> 12:54.120 some immediate impact on a few of our 12:54.120 --> 12:56.342 hazardous waste contractors in the real 12:56.342 --> 12:59.020 hot spots . Those contractors did not 12:59.020 --> 13:01.670 want to go in there and perform and we 13:01.670 --> 13:03.837 couldn't hold them accountable because 13:03.837 --> 13:06.003 this was something none of us had ever 13:06.003 --> 13:08.250 expected . And so we were able to work 13:08.260 --> 13:11.290 emergency contract support and to get 13:11.290 --> 13:13.210 that waste removed by alternate 13:13.210 --> 13:16.040 contracts by modifying other existing 13:16.040 --> 13:18.720 regional hazardous waste contracts . 13:18.940 --> 13:21.460 And as a result that waste was removed 13:21.460 --> 13:24.190 timely and safely so the base commander 13:24.200 --> 13:27.080 um was not fined and it can be fined 13:27.090 --> 13:31.090 upwards of $25,000 . I'm sorry $75,000 13:31.090 --> 13:33.960 a day for certain resource Conservation 13:33.960 --> 13:36.540 and recovery Act waste if it's not 13:36.540 --> 13:39.060 moved in a short timeline , 13:40.940 --> 13:43.080 I just feel extremely blessed and 13:43.080 --> 13:45.760 grateful that is a senior at the local 13:45.760 --> 13:47.871 high school . I had an opportunity to 13:47.871 --> 13:50.750 start working here . It really changed 13:50.750 --> 13:53.930 my life . It provided me a financial 13:53.930 --> 13:57.490 means to get a college degree even 13:57.490 --> 13:59.660 though I qualified for financial aid . 14:00.040 --> 14:04.000 Um I needed more and 14:04.010 --> 14:06.660 my loving family just couldn't provide 14:06.660 --> 14:09.920 that . So because of working here , I 14:09.920 --> 14:12.087 was able to do that . And then after I 14:12.087 --> 14:14.730 got hired in full time I was able to go 14:14.730 --> 14:16.730 back through the tuition assistance 14:16.730 --> 14:19.600 program and also get subsequent college 14:19.600 --> 14:23.360 degree . So I'm extremely loyal and 14:23.360 --> 14:26.070 thankful for that opportunity to be 14:26.070 --> 14:28.270 employed at such a great organization 14:28.270 --> 14:31.780 because it really changed my life . And 14:31.790 --> 14:33.790 in turn , you know , when I retire 14:33.790 --> 14:37.620 sometime in the future , I I want to 14:37.620 --> 14:40.000 continue giving and pass on that mantle 14:40.000 --> 14:42.420 to the next generation of leaders that 14:42.420 --> 14:45.060 are more than capable . I'm very proud 14:45.060 --> 14:45.650 of them .