Photo By Troy Miller | Norfolk Naval Shipyard Contracting Department Business Operation Division Head...... read more read more
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Contracting Department (Code 400) executes approximately 1,400 contracts each year. To ensure that all Code 400 personnel are familiar with and adhere to various policies, rules and regulations, Code 400 recently held its inaugural Contracts Management & Practical Acquisitions Skills (CMPAS) Workshop (pronounced “compass”) for nine new personnel.
“The CMPAS workshop serves as an indoctrination for new employees to a gain better understanding of the skills needed to be successful within Code 400,” said Contracting Departments Business Operation Division Head (Code 420) Donyette Rodgers. “The CMPAS program is aimed at enhancing the participants’ ability to make sound business decisions in the complex world of government contracting and become a successful employee at NNSY.”
Contracting Department Policy Branch Head (Code 421) Tyler Macdonald added, “This comprehensive workshop spans over the course of 13 weeks, consisting of over 100 hours of academic instruction and 50 hours of hands-on training and mock procurements.”
The CMPAS workshop facilitators provide a broad overview of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) with a focus on Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP). Throughout the CMPAS program, the students have access to hands-on training, expert guidance, and collaborative learning experiences tailored to address the challenges and opportunities in the contracting field. Along with the facilitator-led training, the workshop involves practical application exercises, walkthroughs, knowledge checks and a capstone project which consists of several mock procurements which were deliberately sourced from real-world acquisitions, focusing on common errors and overcoming obstacles that the participants are likely to encounter early in their contracting careers.
“Government contracting is under close scrutiny, now more than ever, to ensure proper stewardship of the taxpayer dollars,” Macdonald. “This workshop provides a comprehensive grounding in correct contracting principles, business ethics, and effective communication—vital skills for any contracting professional. It ensures attendees can manage procurements responsibly, comply with regulation and policy, and most importantly, uphold the highest ethical standards expected as contracting professionals.”
In light of the Defense Acquisition University’s (DAU) shift toward a “back to the basics” approach—resulting in fewer formal classroom hours—the CMPAS Workshop fills critical knowledge gaps and shortens the learning curve, ensuring a capable and confident contracting workforce at NNSY.
“There is a widely circulated leadership axiom that goes: ‘what if you train your people and they leave? What if you don’t, and they stay?’ In other words, Code 400 is investing our time and energy in well-trained contracting professionals and we anticipate that it is an investment that will pay dividends year over year,” said Macdonald.
The personnel who completed the CMPAS workshop are Contract Specialist Ruby Decker, Contract Specialist Devin Edwards, Contract Specialist Miracle Griffin, Contract Specialist Jordan Moore, Contract Specialist Ashley Moose, Purchasing Agent Daliah Maxwell Sapp, Contract Specialist Chaunsa Saunders, Contract Specialist Melissa White, and Purchasing Agent Ms. Patterson.
“I was here at NNSY for one week with no experience to do my job,” said Contract Specialist Ashley Moose. “The workshop helped me feel confident in preparing to do my job. Plus, all the presenters were people who work in Code 400 and my coworkers, so now I know who to turn to for assistance in any particular area.”
The CMPAS workshop completed at the end of January 2025, with future sessions scheduled to start in March 2025.
| Date Taken: | 03.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2025 12:06 |
| Story ID: | 492597 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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