The 366th Contracting Squadron host meet and greet with local vendors

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Malissa Lott
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  The 366th Contracting Squadron hosted a meet and greet with local vendors from Mountain Home, Idaho, May 19, 2014.

Vendors had the opportunity to foster relations and pave the road for future endeavors.

"Our contracting mission is to convert Gunfighter requirements into warfighter capabilities," said Lt. Col. Brett Kayes, 366th CONS commander. "We do that by reaching out to our industry partners and capitalizing on their expertise and innovation to provide us with the best and most affordable product or service."

The needs of the Gunfighters are always top priority when members from the contracting squadron work with local vendors.

"Our long term goal is to continue procuring products and services that offer the best value to Gunfighters," said 2nd Lt. Monica Harvey, 366th CONS commodities officer-in-charge. "The meet and greet allows us to foster healthy competition, provide education and training to potential contractors and promote a positive working relationship between our customers, contractors and the contracting squadron."

The vendors who attended are vital to the mission success of the contractors.

"In addition to the $40 million in annual contract actions that we execute in our office, we also have training and oversight responsibilities for 279 Government Purchase Cardholders, which have decentralized purchasing authority to procure smaller dollar supplies and equipment for their organizations," said Kayes. "Both my contracting specialists and base-wide GPC Cardholders depend on industry to accomplish our collective mission and allow us to meet the 366th Fighter Wing priorities."

Small business participation and robust competition is essential to meet customer needs, while effectively maximizing taxpayer dollars.

"While vendors come from around the nation, the event catered primarily to small business owners which make up 97 percent of the local Idaho community," said Harvey. "Small businesses are the backbone of our nation and their innovations are utilized every day in today's Air Force."

The meet and greet created an avenue to enhance Mountain Home Air Force Base's relationship with vendors around the nation, Harvey remarked.

"This meet and greet is an opportunity to invite our local business community and partner organizations such as the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, the Small Business Administration, and the Idaho Air National Guard to accomplish objectives, such as improving transparency in our processes, budget and future outlook, as well as emphasize the importance of small business and competition," said Kayes.

The meet and greet is unique to the base, and could become an annual event.

"We have almost 150 contractors that have RSVP'd to attend and expect government representation from every organization on base. They are excited to visit Gunfighter Country," said Kayes. "Many of our sister organizations, including the 366th Security Forces Squadron and 366th Force Support Squadron, have played a key role in helping to make this event possible from base access to dedicating the Gunfighter Club and its staff exclusively for this purpose."