CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Sept. 30 marked the closure of fiscal year 2009 for the United States Government and Charleston AFB.
The 437th Contracting Squadron and their Team Charleston partners have seen plenty of action over the past few months planning and purchasing many needed items for everyone on base.
The successes achieved Sept. 30 were not based upon actions which took place in September. These successes were based upon months of hard work by many Team Charleston units who contributed to this contracting war story. In the month of September, 55 contract actions totaling $23.4 million were awarded. Sept. 30, the fiscal new year's eve, 27 actions were awarded totaling over $4.9 million.
Every great war story starts out with "There we were ...," and this great story is no exception to that rule.
There we were in the 437 CONS at 11:40 p.m. Sept. 30 when we received a call from the 437th Comptroller Squadron deputy comptroller asking if we could execute a specific project prior to midnight. The project in this case was for the 437th Civil Engineer Squadron for the repair of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system located in the bioenvironmental engineering building.
The need for the repair of this HVAC system was identified to the contracting squadron the day before, Sept. 29 at 10:02 p.m. The project was a worthy project as it betters the quality of life for the occupants with improved heating and air conditioning.
Now that the tone is set for the war story, here is how the rest of the story unfolds.
The Contracting Plans and Programs flight chief told the deputy comptroller we could execute the contract if the funds could be certified quickly. Now the hope is the comptroller and contracting computer systems could process the required actions quickly enough to beat the looming clock. The deputy comptroller made it happen and certified the funds rapidly at 11:58 p.m. The contracting officer awarded the contract with only seconds to spare at 11:59 p.m.
The magic of this war story is it involved multiple Team Charleston organizations which had a real need and the good sense to plan for potential fallout of fiscal 2009 dollars prior to the end of the fiscal year. The 437 CES had a project to improve the quality of life for the occupants of the bioenvironmental engineering building. The 437 CPTS balanced the books so all available funding could be utilized as quickly and efficiently as possible. The 437 CONS negotiated contract vehicles which were agile enough to be executed within a moment's notice. The moral of the story is teamwork works for Team Charleston.
The teamwork displayed at Charleston AFB had many winners this year. The 437th Maintenance Group planned for re-painting and flat-proofing of the static displays in our airpark and the 437th Airlift Wing Chaplain campaigned for kitchen equipment and blinds for the upgraded base chapel.
The 437 CES championed improvements to our new track, including restrooms, lighting, emergency call station and side walk access. The 437th Aerial Port Squadron replaced distinguished visitor furniture and made facility upgrades to the passenger terminal. The 437th Communications Squadron paved the way for a new parcel X-ray screening system and updates for Charleston AFB computer systems.
The 437th Force Support Squadron advocated for new cycling bikes, free-weight equipment, library books and a Clipper Dishwasher for the Dining Facility. The 437th Security Forces Squadron will receive much needed ballistic vests, canine shipping containers and all terrain vehicles. The 437th Logistics Readiness Squadron planned for a new camera surveillance system and barcode scanning terminal.
The examples listed above for squadrons and their requirements are just a few of the great examples of teamwork in action on Charleston AFB. Remember, we all have to do our part of the job on time and on target for the whole team to succeed.