AFMC Command News

Contracting program expands civilian deployment opportunities

  • Published
  • Air Force Materiel Command Directorate of Contracting
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Air Force Materiel Command's Directorate of Contracting recently developed a new program to select junior contracting civilians for deployment opportunities to U.S. Central Command's area of operations.

The Junior Civilian Deployment Program was created to enhance professional development among junior contracting specialists, as well as reduce the deployment rate of military contracting personnel.

Patsy Reeves, director of contracting for AFMC, said that the program benefits the entire workforce.

"This program provides a win-win for both the military and civilian workforce," she said. "It reduces the operations tempo of our military contracting personnel, while providing a great learning experience for our civilians."

Historically, the Air Force has supplied more than 65 percent of contingency contracting officers to support combatant commander's requirements, which have resulted in high operations tempo for Air Force contracting officers during the past 10 years.

Ruth Ann Ijames, who served as the chief of contracting policy in Iraq in 2006 and 2007, said that her deployment experience was unparalleled.

"I learned more in the two years I was deployed than I learned in the previous 20 years," she said. "We saw acquisitions we would never encounter otherwise and we saw a difference on the ground as a direct result of our efforts."

Stel Kirbabas, chief of the Workforce Development Branch at AFMC's Aeronautical Systems Center, said the Junior Civilian Development program is a great opportunity for civilian contracting professionals.

"The potential for these exceptional, highly motivated individuals is limitless," Kirbabas said. "They are our future, and we need to provide them with opportunities to grow professionally, as well as feed their desire to make a difference in the world. This deployment initiative does both."

For more information and to apply to the program, contact Senior Master Sgt. Chris Soares at (937) 257-3853.