Photo By Christopher Rosario | When wildfires ravaged neighborhoods across Los Angeles County, FEMA called the U.S....... read more read more
By: Luciano Vera
LOS ANGELES – When wildfires ravaged neighborhoods across Los Angeles County, FEMA called the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to action in support of the disaster response. Behind the bulldozers and debris removal teams, however, stood a critical capability that ensured recovery operations moved with speed, efficiency and precision: contracting.
Recognizing the urgency and complexity of the mission, Brig. Gen. William Hannan, commander of the USACE Debris Recovery Task Force Phoenix, emphasized the vital role of contracting in turning planning into action.
“Every cleared property begins with a contract,” said Hannan. “The speed and precision of our contracting professionals directly impacts how quickly we can help families move forward. Their work is foundational to the entire recovery effort.”
To help accelerate that foundation and synchronize contracting with field operations, Col. Richard Pfeiffer Jr., deputy director of Contracting at USACE headquarters, deployed to the wildfire recovery mission—a rare move for a senior contracting personnel officer—to directly support Task Force Phoenix and ensure seamless coordination between contracting actions and mission execution. In addition, Pfeiffer was designated as the Task Force Senior Contracting Official (SCO), ensuring the proper authorities were present and responsive for the mission.
“It’s very uncommon for someone in my position to deploy, but the deputy commanding general for Emergency Operations needed a contracting subject-matter expert who could translate complex acquisition frameworks into operational effects,” said Pfeiffer.
Contracting, he explained, is the connective tissue that allows USACE’s engineering and oversight capabilities to become actionable on the ground. It ties government requirements to private-sector execution—mobilizing industry to help communities recover.
Speed, Readiness, and Execution
In disaster operations, time is a precious commodity. Pfeiffer emphasized contingency scenarios like the Southern California wildfire response have three top contracting priorities: speed, effectiveness and fair value.
“The greater Los Angeles area is high-tempo and dynamic, and the pressure to move quickly is tremendous,” he said. “We’re operating at a pace that in some cases rivals contingency operations I’ve seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
That tempo is possible thanks to tools like USACE’s Advanced Contracting Initiatives (ACI). In this case, a pre-competed debris removal contract administered by the USACE Rock Island District allowed the agency to tap a ready-to-deploy contractor within days of FEMA issuing a mission assignment.
“These contracts are in place during ‘blue-sky’ periods, so when disasters strike, we don’t waste time. The contractors already understand the requirements, the pricing is negotiated, and they’re ready to move,” said Pfeiffer.
The deployed environment also offers much skill-building for contract specialists.
“Being able to navigate through high-stress situations with little information, collaborating with multiple team members and learning how to manage different expectations and priorities are all good skills that were helpful during my time [on the mission] and can only help with my career moving forward,” said Master Sgt. Jenny Zuniga, a contracting officer and specialist who was deployed as part of the Acquisition Project Delivery Team during the wildfires recovery mission.
From Mission Assignment to Mobilization
FEMA activated the wildfire debris mission—currently valued at more than $1.3 billion—through a mission assignment that defined the operational scope. Contracting officers then translated those requirements into executable actions.
One key decision that accelerated recovery was the issuance of an “undefinitized contract action,” often called a letter contract, allowing contractors to begin mobilization before the final contract was fully executed.
“It’s not a new tool, but it’s not often used outside emergency settings,” Pfeiffer noted. “We used it here to make sure we were not late to the need.”
This was echoed by Michael Demasi, the USACE Emergency Support Function 3 team leader, working from the emergency response’s Joint Field Office.
“Using an undefinitized contract action allowed USACE debris experts to plan and coordinate with the contractor, start movement of contractor’s personnel and equipment to the impact areas, and for debris removal operations to start immediately,” he said.
Team of Specialists
The contracting team includes a district contracting chief, warranted contracting officers, contract specialists, procurement analysts, and even uniformed Army contracting officers (known as “51 Charlies”), many trained by the Army Contracting Command. Each plays a specific role—from obligation authority to policy analysis—to ensure the mission runs smoothly and legally.
“We built a team that could manage the complexities of this environment, including quality assurance oversight, small business coordination, and contract modifications as needed,” said Pfeiffer.
That expertise is continuously measured against contractor performance, dollars obligated, and parcels cleared, with adjustments made to ensure alignment with FEMA’s evolving requirements.
“We are responsible for setting the groundwork for requirements to eventually be executed,” said Zuniga. “While both blue sky and deployments are essentially two different operational environments, they both rely on the same process but different dynamics and timelines. In both, we can help ensure systems are in place whether it’s a long-term operation or critical, time-sensitive deployment.”
Partnership and Lessons for the Future
Ultimately, Pfeiffer underscored contracting doesn’t operate in a vacuum—it is an essential component of a broader team effort.
“We couldn’t be here without contracting. But we also couldn’t be here without the engineers, the debris experts, the resource managers, or the command leadership. This is the Corps’ product delivery team model in action,” he said.
His advice for future disaster contracting leaders? Leverage contingency-trained personnel early, embrace the PDT model, and move with intent—but never at the expense of compliance or safety.
“We are doing things ahead of need, not just on time. And that’s only possible when contracting and operations move as one.”
The Southern California wildfire recovery mission represents not just a regional effort—but a full-scale response by the USACE enterprise, setting a new pace for how the federal government delivers in the wake of disaster.
“This is USACE at its best—engineers, contractors, specialists, and contracting officers from across the country coming together to help people in their greatest time of need,” Hannan said. “Every minute matters to the survivors waiting to rebuild. That’s why we’re looking at every tool, every process, and every partnership to optimize our speed and effectiveness. We are setting a new standard for what rapid recovery looks like.”
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2025 18:36 |
| Story ID: | 496269 |
| Location: | CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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