The Contracting Experience

This episode of The Contracting Experience podcast features Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) Specialist Rich Delisio. There are 94 PTACs, with over 300 local offices, that form a nationwide network of dedicated procurement professionals working to help local businesses compete successfully in the government marketplace. PTACs are the bridge between buyer and supplier, bringing t...

AFWERX was established in 2017 by the Secretary of the Air Force to be a catalyst for agile Air Force engagement across industry, academia, and non-traditional contributors to create transformative opportunities and foster an Air Force culture of innovation. On this episode, we welcome AFWERX Director, Dr. Brian “Beam” Maue to the podcast to talk about the AFWERX mission and how the organization i...

Spark Tank is an annual competition put on by AFWERX where Airmen "pitch" innovative ideas to top Air Force leadership and a panel of industry experts. This episode we sit-down with six of the Airmen who pitched their ideas at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, FL, in February 2020. These Airmen are solving Air Force problems using solutions like: robotic process automat...

This episode of the podcast highlights the training and development opportunities open to civilian employees through the Civilian Developmental Education and Civilian Strategic Leader Programs. Applications opened Jan. 13, 2020 and close for boarded programs on Feb. 7 and non-boarded programs Feb. 28. This episode identifies things to consider when applying for CDE or leadership training regardles...

This episode of The Contracting Experience podcast is about the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Pitch Days. We speak with Air Force Research Laboratory’s Small Business Intrapreneur, Ryan Helbach, and LCMC Pitch Day Contracting Officer for the Fighters & Bombers Program Executive Office, Brett Wray. Ryan and Brett discuss what it takes to put on a Pitch Day and the value Pitch Days provide...

On this episode of The Contracting Experience we welcome back previous guest to the podcast, Joyce Pappas, who is an Industrial Security Program Manager at the Information Protection office, Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters. This episode will look at Industrial Security from a small business and Defense Contractor point of view. Check out Episode 6 to get refreshed on this important subject...

This episode features Air Force Installation Contracting Center Commander, Brig. Gen. Alice Trevino. Trevino talks about AFICC’s mission and how she encourages her teams to be “Change Agents”. She is an active promoter of continuous learning and development of the acquisition workforce and emphasizes the importance of communication at all levels. Trevino is a gracious supporter of the podcast and...

In this next episode, we are going to try something a little different. MSG Mic’d Up is a podcast hosted by 87th Contracting Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Axel Clark. The podcast offers on-demand interviews and stories from around the 87th Mission Support Group at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ. Hear from leadership across the joint base and get up to date on the latest MSG 2020+ initiatives....

This episode is Part II on podcast host Amber Pecoraro’s Startup Innovation Fellowship experience. Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, takes the mic and interviews Amber on her fellowship experience. The Startup Innovation Fellowship program is run by the National Security...

The next two episodes of the podcast will focus on the Startup Innovation Fellowship program that podcast host, Amber Pecoraro, completed in June. The Startup Innovation Fellowship program is run by National Security Innovation Network and provides military and civilian employees with 4-15 years of experience an opportunity to embed with a startup company to explore a command issue for six weeks....

This episode features a team that changed the way training systems and support were being competed in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Simulators Program Office. Program Manager Jacob Kolb and Contracting Officer Dustin Tatum led the C-17 Training Systems acquisition team in its use of Federal Acquisition Regulation 16.5 Fair Opportunity Selection procedures for a program valued over $...

Ever wonder who those professionals are that get to crawl around planes and productions lines to inspect government supplies and services to check quality and ensure adequate performance? Don’t forget the cost and financial analysts that ensure tax payer dollars are spent correctly on products and services that support our missions. Well in this episode you get a big picture view of what Defense C...

Services Acquisitions make up approximately 50% of the Air Force expenditures. A significant amount of that spend is for specialized services outside of the Weapon System Program Offices that are overseen by the Program Executive Office Combat and Mission Support. These services range from support of test operations, design and engineering, and technical data to support of facility services of our...

Speed Chess. In this episode, Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, challenges the workforce to make good decisions faster. He highlights how contracting professionals are shifting the pace in which we buy capabilities through events like Air Force Pitch Day, use of Section 804 authorities, and agile software development. Dr. Roper emphasiz...

SCRM stands for Supply Chain Risk Management. Supply chain risk is not just part of another government acronym. It is a critical risk that needs to be managed as part of our national security. In this episode, we sit-down with Trixie Brewer who is the Mission Readiness Supervisor in Air Force Materiel Command’s Logistics Directorate. Trixie provides candid insight into the integral part we as acqu...

Kessel Run is the Software Capability Development Division within the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Program Executive Office - Digital, with a mission to “continuously deliver war-winning software our Airmen love.” On this episode we speak with Tory Cuff, former Agile Acquisitions Branch Chief at Kessel Run. Cuff discusses how Kessel Run is different than other program offices in the Ai...

This episode broke a record for the number of guests on The Contracting Experience podcast at one time! We sit-down with Air Force Contracting’s top leaders to discuss their outlook on Maj. Gen. Holt’s Contracting Flight Plan and provide additional insight into how the four "Lines Of Effort" will be executed. We also have a little fun talking craziest acquisitions and what our Air Force leaders wi...

This episode features a continued conversation with Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, with a focus on questions from the Air Force contracting workforce. Holt candidly addresses questions on retention of the workforce, CON-IT and information technology instability, contracting officer authorities, use of the Government Purchase Card and bringing Air Force business professionals up to the level of industry i...

This episode is for all of those acquisition professionals out there who are interested in the new direction of Air Force Contracting. We talk with Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. Holt discusses the importance of being a critical thinker and not accepting the status qu...

Pete Herrmann is a program manager for the Air Force Installation Contracting Agency Business Intelligence Competency Cell. He explains what business intelligence is and how acquisition teams can use it to effectively manage costs. If you haven’t heard about tools like the Air Force Business Intelligence Tool, Procurement IQ Research Reports or the Product Service Code (PSC) prediction tool, check...

Joyce Pappas is an Industrial Security Program Manager at the Air Force Materiel Command Information Protection office. In this episode of The Contracting Experience, Pappas demystifies industrial security and explains why it is important for acquisition professionals to understand how it impacts contracts. Does industrial security seem daunting or confusing? What is a DD Form 254, and when should...

On this episode we are joined by Brian Morris, a procurement analyst on the Air Force Contracting field support team. He talks about ways the field support team can help competitive acquisition teams through training and guidance on competitive selection strategies. He discusses the focus on speed and gives advice on how teams can set themselves up for success in competitive acquisitions. Enjoy th...

Col. Damian Wilborne is Deputy Director, Air Force Materiel Command Contracting Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Wilborne is an engaging guest and passionate about leadership, and this passion shines throughout the podcast. Wilborne provides insight into his leadership philosophies and talks about how he applies these philosophies in the contracting career field. He talks about...

Daniel Parish is the Contracting Systems Branch Chief in the Process Management Division, Air Force Materiel Command Contracting Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Parish has functional oversight over the contracting business systems and helps to ensure those systems support the nearly 4,000 contracting professionals across AFMC. In addition, he is one of the lead functional subje...

Are you a new contracting officer, or are you in the process of becoming a contracting officer? This episode is the first in a series of episodes on notes to new contracting officers. We will talk with seasoned and new contracting officers about what they wish they would have known when they first started out as contracting officers and advice and insights they can share with the folks out in the...