CONS signs for mission success

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alyssa C. Wallace
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Contracts document a legally-binding agreement of service between two parties, serving as a visible pact that something will or will not be done. For the military, contracts are created with civilian companies to ensure personnel have basic life support needs - food, shelter, water and security; without them, a mission will falter.

Members of the 35th Contracting Squadron are responsible for soliciting bids for these contracts and making sure the best company is awarded the project.

"Knowing that you have an impact on the mission you want to get the job done - you have to - because if you don't it'll affect a lot of people...depending on what the contract is," said 2nd Lt. Jacqueline Mozingo, 35 CONS officer in charge of the commodities flight.

Contracts are needed for every major project on base such as security set ups, construction projects, vehicle procurement, water and electricity, and, according to Staff Sgt. Chad Michaud, 35 CONS warranted contracting officer, his squadron had a hand in obtaining almost anything that can be pointed to on Misawa.

The squadron's responsibilities in a deployed location can vary from starting all new contracts in a bare-base set up to maintaining agreements already in place. Operational readiness exercises like the one held here Oct. 7-10 give CONS the opportunity to practice these tasks in an austere environment without leaving home station. As part of the Wing Inspection Team, Michaud creates problematic scenarios for his team to work through.

In one scenario, an attack on the base put a hole in the runway.

"You can't fly planes unless you have a runway," Michaud said, "so we had to go through our expedited contracting procedures to get the hole fixed quickly and legally for the best value to the government because, at the end of the day, we're spending taxpayer's money."

These experiences are important to young Airmen like Mozingo, who have yet to deploy.

"During an ORE we get a lot of (critical requirements to support our
mission)," Mozingo said. "When we get to a new deployment (location) we have
to buy stuff to get the base up and going. I've never deployed before, so it's a good learning experience for me. We simulate buying barriers, soliciting refuse contracts to pick up trash and a bunch of different supplies you need to get the mission going."

Regardless of their location, the contracting team understands the importance of its meticulous job.

"It's always challenging, but it's not too bad," Mozingo said. "It's all for the mission...What else would keep us motivated to do what we do?"