CONS: behind the scenes work keeps Wing running Published Sept. 22, 2011 By Mr. James Dougherty 52nd Contracting Squadron SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Airman Nic Grassl, 52nd Contracting Squadron contracting specialist equates contracting to the motion picture, The Matrix, saying, "It is all around you, and you may not even realize it." This time of year is especially important for contracting because the Sept. 30 is the end of the U.S. government fiscal year. This means all FY 2011 appropriations, the money set aside by Congress to be spent on operations and maintenance costs for FY 2011, must be spent by 11:59 p.m. Sept. 30 or the money will be returned to the U.S. Treasury. Most of the materials, equipment and services people use in the course of their work day were purchased by the men and women of the 52nd Contracting Squadron. Contracting service members are your business professionals, negotiation experts, and cost and price advisers who are ready to provide the supplies and services people need to ensure Spangdahlem AB accomplishes its mission. Contracting supports all the units here, several geographically separated units and NATO. It's important to note that warranted contacting officers are the only people authorized by U.S. law to obligate the U.S. government for the purchase of goods and services, the only exception is the government purchase card use. Contracting officers are supported internally by a team of buyers, contract administrators, systems administrators and procurement analysts. The contracting team is a very diverse group of highly trained officers and enlisted service members, and local national and U.S. civilian employees. All contracting professionals attend hundreds of hours of training. This vast amount of education and training enables the 52nd CONS team to deploy around the world in support of various missions while also supporting the contracting needs of Spangdahlem AB units. The dollar amount and complexity of a particular requirement will determine the time and support required to complete the acquisition. In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, with few exceptions, all requirements must be competed between several contractors in order to obtain the best value for tax payers' money. It's very important the specific characteristics of your requirement be identified so it can be effectively advertised and purchased. Depending upon the estimated dollar amount and type of purchase, the purchase will take as little as a few hours, a few days or several months. In most cases, a purchase under $3,000 can be purchased with a GPC in a very short amount of time. The $3,000 GPC limit may be extended for purchases of up to $25,000 by calling the 52nd CONS GPC Office at DSN 452-9494 to get special authorization. Purchases not using the GPC should be submitted to the 52nd CONS using a purchase request. If you need to find the buyers and the contracting officers assigned to support a specific work center, call DSN 452-9046. Unit resource advisors can also help with requesting the appropriate funds and drafting the purchase request. Currently, the CONS is in the process of developing a customer education program that will allow anyone to learn about contracting, its policies and procedures, and local requirements. The intent will be to ensure continuity as service members transition in and out each year. This program will also help CONS manage the workload throughout the year, especially at the end of the fiscal year. Important changes affecting the 52nd Fighter Wing include new Defense Department and Air Force quality assurance guidelines. The people involved with the quality assurance program are the eyes and ears of the 52nd CONS who ensure the Air Force gets what it pays for. All existing service contracts will transition from having quality assurance people to contracting officer's representatives by Oct. 1, 2012. Any new service contracts issued after April 21, 2011, will already include the new guidelines. Additional training will be available through the Defense Acquisition University.