23d CONS delivers what the mission needs
At Moody Air Force Base, the 23d Contracting Squadron helps turn those requirements into reality.
As the acquisitions warhorse for the 23d Wing and 93d Air Ground Operations Wing, the 23d Contracting Squadron awards and manages more than $68 million in contracts annually, delivering the equipment, services and resources that keep Moody’s rescue forces, attack capabilities and first-in ground forces ready to answer the call.
The squadron’s work becomes especially visible during the end-of-fiscal-year, when contracting personnel work extended hours to prepare and execute contracts before the Sept. 30 deadline.
Throughout September, the squadron prepares contracts for more than 100 unfunded requirements, or UFRs, submitted by units across the wing. Wing leadership ranks the requirements according to priority, determining which receive available funding first. Meanwhile, contracting personnel prepare other requirements in anticipation of additional funding becoming available.
“We try to have everything ready ahead of time,” said Senior Airman Erick Boswell, a 23d CONS contracting specialist “That way, if funding becomes available at the last minute, we are not starting from the beginning. We are ready to move quickly and responsibly.”
That preparation can begin weeks or months before a contract is awarded. Contracting personnel review requirements, conduct market research, prepare solicitations, evaluate proposals and complete the documentation required to make purchases in accordance with federal regulations.
For infrastructure projects, that work can range from building improvements to major construction and renovation projects. The Infrastructure flight supports projects across Moody, including the renovation of the former Airman’s Attic into a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response facility designed to support approximately 11,800 base members and their families.
The flight also supported replacement of the Freedom 1 Fitness Center’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, new lighting and mirrors in dormitories and day rooms serving more than 140 Airmen, and electrical upgrades to the base’s Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory.
“Everyone works in or out of a building, trains in a building, learns their job in a building that has been built or renovated with the help of Contracting,” said Senior Airman Cloud Wharton, 23d CONS contracting officer. “You would be hard pressed to find someone whose readiness wasn’t directly impacted by the Infrastructure flight.”
Wharton said infrastructure projects require contracting officers to quickly understand the technical and operational needs of each project while working with customers to ensure the final product meets those requirements.
“It almost always requires the contracting specialist/contract officer to become experts on a project in a compacted time frame to ensure the customer receives exactly what they need,” Wharton said.
Beyond infrastructure, the services and commodities flight supports requirements across the installation, from contracted services to physical equipment. One example is the purchase of military and deployment gear, including uniforms, clothing and other equipment Airmen need to prepare for deployments and perform their duties.
“When you see Airmen receiving the equipment they need to go out and do their job, you can clearly see how contracting supports the mission,” Boswell said.
Those visible outcomes represent only part of the work. Before a purchase reaches an Airman, contracting personnel must understand the customer’s requirement, research available solutions, communicate with companies, evaluate proposals and ensure purchases comply with federal regulations. They also help ensure competition requirements are followed, businesses are treated fairly, prices are reasonable and taxpayer dollars are protected.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is that contracting simply buys things,” Boswell said. “We do much more than place an order.”
That responsibility becomes particularly important during the end-of-fiscal-year push, when contracting personnel must prepare requirements in anticipation of funding that may not arrive until the final days of the fiscal year. The goal is to ensure the squadron can execute available funding responsibly while positioning the wing to take advantage of additional resources when they become available.
2nd Lt. Kaitlyn Gorgus, 23d CONs construction contract supervisor, said one of the squadron’s strengths is its ability to bring its three sections together to meet the wing’s requirements. The team combines active-duty personnel with civilian employees whose experience helps develop the squadron’s younger contracting workforce.
“The team is hungry and they work so well together to achieve projects that are vast in nature,” Gorgus said.
While the active-duty workforce brings a fresh perspective to the squadron, 23d CONS’ civilian employees provide years of institutional knowledge and continuity. Valerie Clark, 23d CONS government purchase card program manager, has worked in contracting at Moody since 2014 and has spent 12 years managing the program. She oversees more than 340 cardholders across the 23d Wing and Base Defense Group, ensuring they are trained and able to make authorized purchases that support their organizations.
Clark said that experience becomes especially valuable as requirements increase during the end-of-fiscal-year push. With a heavier workload and shorter turnaround times, the team relies on its ability to adapt while navigating the regulations governing government purchases.
“A lot of (our) continuity and experience, what we do is we help mentor the younger Airmen,” Clark said. “When they come on board, we help them learn their craft, learn contracting, so they can succeed.”
The purchase card program also illustrates the financial scale of 23d CONS’ support. Clark said the program processed more than $20.8 million in purchases during the current fiscal year, exceeding the previous year's $17.5 million. The program also returned approximately $94,000 in rebates to the wing during the current fiscal year, money that can be redistributed to support mission requirements.
For Clark, the numbers represent more than financial transactions. Each purchase gives mission partners another way to obtain what they need while ensuring purchases follow federal regulations and Air Force policies. She described contracting as a backbone of Moody’s mission, providing the purchasing support needed to turn requirements into resources.
That connection between a requirement and a resource is central to the squadron’s role in the larger mission.
“23d CONS matters to the mission because we help turn the needs of our Airmen into reality,” Boswell said. “Whether it is equipment, training, maintenance, supplies, or services, contracting helps provide the resources our squadrons need to stay ready and accomplish the mission.”
The squadron captures that responsibility in its motto: “You got it, we bought it.”
For the Airmen who receive the equipment, work in renovated facilities or rely on contracted services, the process may happen out of sight. But across Moody, those requirements become resources that enable Airmen to train, deploy and execute the mission.
As the fiscal year closes, 23d CONS continues preparing requirements, coordinating with mission partners and positioning the wing to put available funding to work, ensuring Moody’s Airmen have the resources they need to answer the call.
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