OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The Air Force recently announced the 55th Contracting Squadron as the Outstanding Large Contracting Unit of the Year.
The award, that can only be applied for every five years, was won by the squadron previously in 2010. In the last year, they have also earned one Department of Defense, one Air Force, two Air Combat Command, eight 55th Wing, and 18 55th Mission Support Group awards, as well as the 55th Wing's Spirit of Service and Hero of Heartland awards.
“I am very proud to be part of the 55th CONS team,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Larry Mercier, 55th CONS commander. “The contracting professionals in this squadron are some of the best I have worked with in my 19 years in the career field. The 55th CONS has one of the most challenging and diverse missions of any contracting squadron in the Air Force.”
They were the number one unit in Air Combat Command and number two unit in the Air Force for money obligated with 2,000 actions equaling $341 million. They supported two wings and U.S. Strategic Command, earning them a nomination for the Air Combat Command Installation Excellence Award.
Also among their many accomplishments, the 55th CONS managed the $1.2 billion relocation project for USSTRATCOM, mitigating $1.8 million in shortfall.
“The Airmen in the squadron, both military and civilian, work extremely hard to support the missions of the 55th Wing, USSTRATCOM, 557th Weather Wing and all of the other 49 tenant units across the base,” Mercier said. “The hard working men and women of 55th CONS deserve all the credit and they truly earned the recognition received through this Air Force level award.”
Not only are they succeeding in their mission accomplishment but they are also working hard in the innovation and process improvement arena. The Secretary of the Air Force Procurement Transformation Office sought Electronic Contract Action Reporting System enhancements and the 55th CONS identified three significant improvement, two were implemented Air Force wide.
“I am very proud to be a part of the best contracting unit in the Air Force,” said Debra Giles, 55th CONS business operations director. “The men and women of 55 CONS work hard each and every day to provide great contracting support to the warfighter in the global defense of our nation.”