Photo By Staff Sgt. Maximiliano Rosas | U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Cesar Lopez, an operational contract support officer with the...... read more read more
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CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan -- 3 U.S. Marines with the Regional Contracting Office, MCIPAC, were awarded for their outstanding work in the contracting field by the commanding general of MCIPAC on June 3.
These awards recognized U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Cesar Lopez, chief of the RCO, MCIPAC, Gunnery Sgt. Robert Siewert, the formal team leader, and Sgt. David Bovee, the Special Acquisition Program section head who distinguished themselves through their outstanding work in the contracting field.
Lopez was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for winning Chief of the Contracting Office of the Year.
“It felt good to have that recognition but it felt better that our higher headquarters recognized our contributions,” said Lopez. “Even though the award is an individual award, our work shows the effort from the entire MCIPAC RCO, not just mine.”
The RCO is responsible for the commercial procurement of supplies and general services for all installations and organizations in Japan and is organized with Marines and General Schedule employees to contract commercial capability with local Japanese and U.S. vendors.
A commercial procurement is when the Marine Corps acquires supplies from outside the Marine Corps by making contracts with civilian vendors.
“The main mission of any contracting in the Marine Corps is to provide supplies and services and to bridge the gap that organic capabilities cannot provide,” said Lopez. “We only have 144 total enlisted personnel and commissioned officers in the contracting field which we disperse across the entire Marine Corps.
After 10 years in the Marine Corps, Lopez has decided to separate from the service and pursue his other passions, making this his last award he will receive while active duty.
“My plan after getting out is to establish a scuba diving learning center, specifically guided towards veterans,” said Lopez. “Scuba diving has become my passion and has allowed me to really help with any anxiety or anxious thoughts that I've had from different deployments. I want to introduce an alternative to veterans that are dealing with these issues. For me, this is my therapy; being in the water where it's quiet and witnessing the beauty that it holds. I want to spread awareness of the things diving can provide, not just the beauty, but also the calmness and the breathing techniques. That’s ultimately what I would like to do full time.”
The recipient for the Simplified Acquisition Threshold is Siewert.
The simplified acquisition threshold is a price limit of $250,000, where any contracts or any requirements that come under this price limit are simpler and can be completed quickly. The SAT Professional of the Year is awarded to Marines in the contracting field who utilize this system appropriately.
“Part of the award is showing that we're not only proficient at using the SAT,” said Siewert. “But we also know how to use them over $250,000 as well.”
One of the contracts that Siewert was recognized for was the contracts made during Typhoon Kahnun. These contracts included the purchase of air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and large mobile radio sites worth $213,000.
“It takes having mentors within the MOS in order to know how to do things,” said Siewert. “Because every situation is different and sometimes you’ll run into a situation where there's a bit of a gray area in the regulations and you're not really sure what to do and in those times you call up a mentor and ask if they’ve seen this situation before, and that's why without any of those people, I wouldn't be where I'm at today. So without all of them and their hard work. I wouldn't be getting an award.”
Before contracting, Siewert was a supply chain and material management specialist.
“Contracting just has a lot more applicability when you transition out,” said Siewert. “Further education is a requirement, and I really wanted to finish my degree in contracting, if you get out
without a degree, then you lose your certification, but while you're in the military, you're exempt from having a degree in order to be a contracting officer, but when you get out you can't be a contracting officer without a degree. So having a marketable skill, and finishing college was my two biggest reasons for lateral move into the contracting office.”
As the formal team lead, Siewert is responsible for any contracts between $250,000 and $10 million as well as managing a team of master labor contractors. He also works with their foremost supervisor to include requirement contracts so the indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contracts and blanket purchase agreements.
“During the time of the award, I was working as the certified acquisition supervisor,” said Siewert. “I had a $1.5 million warrant at the time, and we were doing everything from $10,000 to a million dollars for supplies.”
Siewert re-enlisted and currently plans to do 20 years in the Marine Corps as a contracting officer.
The Rising Star Award was awarded to Bovee who has been in the MOS for under four years and has established himself as a Marine who has done the best work during their initial period.
“Sgt. Bovve came in and learned very quickly,” said Siewert. “Whenever I had a larger purchase or something that needed to go out quickly, he's always been my go-to, that's why he's now a contracting officer because he was able to pick up this MOS so quickly, that was the deciding factor for choosing him.”
Bovve’s responsibilities include the reviewing and managing of contracts that are under the SAT as well as being the section head of the Simplified Acquisition Program section.
“Right now I'm working as one of the contracting officers in our SAP section,” said Bovee. “Which is any of our requirements that are under 250k, which is our simplified acquisition threshold. As a contracting officer, I review the contract requirements that come to us and I approve them. So anything from a simple supply that we're buying or any type of service contract that comes up here.”
Bovee was originally a heavy equipment operator and moved to contracting for the business side of the Marine Corps offers through contracting.
“On the outside, there's a lot of General Schedule positions after your Marine Corps career,” said Bovee. “It just exposes you to a different world than just the Marine Corps.”
Contracting allows Marines to transition into new GS positions and do the same job they were doing in while in the Marine Corps. Contracting is a business-oriented job in the Marine Corps
that exposes Marines to business outside the Marine Corps by working with Japanese businesses and American businesses.
“I would like to thank Gunnery Sgt. Siewert,” said Bovee. “He taught me most of what I know in contracting, he exposed me to a lot of things that I wouldn't usually do up in this half of the section, like larger dollar contracts over the SAT. I've done a couple of those which actually helped me gain a lot of experience just in contracting in general. I would also like to thank MSgt. Alexander, he's given me a lot of guidance in being a contract specialist and all my other Marines up here.”
| Date Taken: | 06.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2024 20:38 |
| Story ID: | 474357 |
| Location: | CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 105 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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