Courtesy Photo | Meet Capt. Oleksandr Bakuta, deputy branch chief for operations at the Air Force...... read more read more
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It’s Mission Monday! Meet Capt. Oleksandr Bakuta, the deputy branch chief for operations at the Air Force Installation Contracting Center Operating Location-Europe at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Capt. Bakuta and his team direct Operational Contract Support planning and execution across U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) supporting up to 50 annual events, including exercises, site surveys, and partner building events supporting 30,000 U.S. and partner nation personnel. Directs the planning and response for humanitarian support, noncombatant evacuation, and contingency operations across a 104 country portfolio, including 32 NATO member countries. Oversees the deployment taskings for 9 operational contracting units.
Bakuta was born in Ukraine and moved to the United States in 2003. After graduating high school in Spearfish, South Dakota, he wasn’t sure in which direction to focus his life.
“My stepfather served in the Air Force, which gave me the idea to visit a recruiter, and they provided information about all the opportunities the Air Force offered, even for someone without United States citizenship,” he said.
He was excited about what he learned and took the challenge “to better myself and to serve the country that provided me so many amazing opportunities from the start.”
We asked the captain to tell us more about himself and his work.
What do you love about your job?
I love that every day there is something new and interesting happening in the office. Taking care of missions on two continents is exciting! New challenges or interesting questions to figure out come up daily. We are a high-demand, low-density joint force capability. We work through laws and regulations, but also develop and maintain relationships with our customers and commercial vendors.
When it comes to your job, what keeps you motivated?
The sense of purpose, the sense of belonging to something bigger than myself, and the knowledge that I'm making a difference for our warfighters.
Why are you and your team important to your customers?
The operational contract support team is essential to the Air Force enterprise and its customers, as it enables critical commercial support that enhances mission success while staying in compliance with regulations.
Describe a project or event you and your team worked on recently that gave you a great sense of accomplishment.
Recently, some of our team members participated in events that will strengthen key partnerships and address global challenges. Master Sgt. Alex Smith went to Abuja, Nigeria, to support requirements for the Africa Partnership Flight event and Tech. Sgt. William Underhill was in Benin to provide contract support for the annual African Partnership Outbreak Response Alliance event.
Why do you serve and what keeps you serving?
Being able to make a difference. People, relationships and being part of something truly special along with some of the smartest and most talented people I have ever met.
How does what you do support AFIMSC strategic priorities?
Operational contract support is key to readiness and lethality. We integrate, plan and acquire goods and services. We bring commercial capabilities to fill gaps and ensure mission success for our partners in operations, logistics and other fields.
Complete this sentence … I power the world’s greatest Air Force by …
Providing agile and innovative mission-focused commercial business solutions.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I play tennis, listen to podcasts, hike and work on to maintaining my native language capabilities through the Language Enabled Airmen Program.
Is there anything else you’d like to add that might help people understand the importance of what you do for the Department of the Air Force?
Air Force contracting is a critical capability that turns funding into tangible outcomes for our warfighters. We're not just contracting experts, we're strategic partners, innovators and problem solvers who are dedicated to supporting those making the mission happen every day.
| Date Taken: | 11.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.03.2024 10:13 |
| Story ID: | 486254 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 5 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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