Being the administrative
contracting officer for
the largest Army
pre-positioned stocks
contracts requires more
than just contracting
knowledge.
B
etween January and June 2013,
the administrative contracting
officer (ACO) for Army Prepositioned Stocks 5 (APS–5) was
responsible for administering three
contracts involving over 1,800 contractor personnel. To successfully accomplish this, the ACO was required
to serve as an integrator for the 402nd
Army Field Support Brigade (the requirements owner), the contractor,
the Army Sustainment Command
(ASC), and the Army Contracting
Command–Rock Island. This article
captures the observations, insights,
and lessons of the ACO of the largest
APS contracts administered during
the first half of 2013.
Initial Requirements
Prior to arriving in theater and assuming their duties, ACOs attend a
four-day course called Basic Contingency Operations Training (BCOT).
The purpose of BCOT is to familiarize deploying Defense Contract
Management Agency (DCMA) civilians and military members with the
roles and responsibilities of an ACO.
During BCOT, DCMA provides the
students with in-class instruction, scenarios, and practical exercises to prepare the ACOs for their deployments.
Individual augmentees assigned to
DCMA–Kuwait, are selected for their
assignments by the DCMA–Kuwait
commander and theater ACO. Contracting officers typically are selected
for positions based on their backgrounds and experiences. In most
cases, contracting officers assigned to
ACO duties must be Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act
(DAWIA) level II certified.
Contracting Authority
The ACO receives contracting authority from the DCMA headquarters or a designated official through
the issuance of a Standard Form
1402, Certificate of Appointment,
also known as a warrant. The warrant
is set at a specific dollar limit and for
a specific purpose.
In the case of individual augmentees supporting DCMA, ACOs are
34 Army Sustainment
granted the authority to administer
contracts in a contingency environment. Most people dealing with U.S.
government contracts know that only
contracting officers can le