Military

Acquisition is the process by which the Army obtains the materiel and services required to accomplish its mission. It is an integral part of the overall theater logistics plan, and includes requirements generation flow, contract/purchase, inspection, acceptance and user receipt of delivery.

Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreements (ACSA) is a reimbursable, bilateral support program that allows logistics exchanges between United States (US) and foreign military forces. This program allows increased flexibility for the on-scene commander by providing a means to meet logistical shortfalls during emergencies. Some allied nations refer to ACSA agreements as mutual support agreements (MSA). Those nations with which we have ACSA agreements offer commanders another potential source of mission support to consider.

A contingency is an event that requires the deployment of military forces in response to natural disasters, terrorist or subversive activities, collapse of law and order, political instability, or military operations. Contingencies require plans for rapid response and special procedures to ensure the safety and readiness of personnel, installations and equipment. For contracting purposes, contingencies result from the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) declaring a particular mission or crisis a contingency, or when the President initiates select Reserve personnel call-ups specified in Public Law.

Contingency contracting is the process by which essential supplies and services needed to sustain deployed forces are obtained on behalf of the US Government. It includes emergency contracting in the continental United States (CONUS) or outside the continental United States (OCONUS) for those actions necessary to support mobilizing and deploying units. This manual addresses contingency contracting, commonly associated with Army contracting personnel procuring goods and services in support of deployed Army forces to supplement organic combat service support (CSS) capabilities.

Contracting is purchasing, renting, leasing or otherwise obtaining required goods and services from commercial sources. Contracting functions include preparing descriptions of required supplies and services, selection and soliciting sources, preparing and awarding contracts, and all aspects of contract administration. It does not include making grants or cooperative agreements.

The contracting officer is an official with the legal authority to enter into, administer and/or terminate contracts. A contracting officer is appointed in writing through a warrant (SF 1402) by a Head of Contracting Activity (HCA) or a Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting (PARC). Only duly warranted contracting officers, appointed in writing, or their designated representatives are authorized to obligate the US Government. Active and Reserve Component military personnel, as well as Department of the Army (DA) civilian personnel, serve as contracting officers supporting deployed Army forces.

A contracting officer's representative (COR) is an individual appointed in writing by a contracting officer to act as the eyes and ears of the contracting officer. This individual is not normally a member of the contracting organization, but most often comes from the requesting unit or activity. The contracting officer assigns the COR specific responsibilities, with limitations of authority, in writing. The COR represents the contracting officer only to the extent documented in the written appointment.

The HCA is a general officer, usually the senior commander in the theater, or a deputy designated by that commander, who provides overall guidance throughout the contingency. The HCA serves as the approving authority for contracting as stipulated in regulatory contracting guidance. The HCA appoints the PARC. All Army contracting authority in a theater flows from the HCA to the PARC.

Host nation support (HNS) results from agreements which are normally negotiated by US Government agencies such as the Departments of Defense (DOD), Transportation or Commerce to provide support to deployed forces from host nation resources. Support under these agreements may include billeting, food, water, fuel, transportation, and utilities. HNS encompasses pre-planned agreements, with support provided by the host nation available at the request of the ground force commander. Planners must consider, when opting to use HNS, that support provided by this means meets local, not necessarily US, standards. Utilization of HNS might increase requirements in one area while alleviating them in another. For example, HNS provision of potable water often means bulk water from a desalinization or purification facility, increasing the need for bulk water storage, transport and distribution capabilities.

The Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) is an Army program (managed by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics [DCSLOG]) for preplanned use of a civilian contractor during operations to augment the support capabilities of selected forces. It allows commanders to pre-plan for contracted support and include contingency clauses in existing contracts. LOGCAP includes both contracts planned by the theater commander-in-chief (CINC) and an umbrella contract managed by the US Army Materiel Command (USAMC). USAMC manages its LOGCAP Umbrella Contract under its LOGCAP program office to assist commanders' mission planning; it is this portion of the program with which commanders most often associate the term LOGCAP. While LOGCAP encompasses contracts supporting deployed Army forces, this manual discusses LOGCAP and contingency contracting separately to differentiate between pre-planned contractual instruments and the primarily local procurement of goods and services in the mission area by deployed Army contracting personnel.

Micropurchases are purchases of supplies and services valued at $2,500 or less, ($2,000 for minor construction), performed or authorized by a contracting officer. Micropurchases include procurements made by ordering officers, Government-wide Commercial Purchase Card (GCPC) holders, and imprest fund custodians in support of assigned missions.

The ordering officer is an individual appointed by the chief of the contracting office to purchase goods or services paid by a specific, limited fund. Neither property book officers or paying agents may be ordering officers.

The PARC, a special staff officer, is the Army Service Component Commander's (ASCC) or mission commander's senior Army acquisition advisor responsible for planning and managing all Army contracting functions within the theater. All Army contracting authority in a theater flows from the HCA to the Army's PARC. All Army contracting personnel within the theater, except those assigned to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the USAMC, operate under the procurement authority of the PARC. USACE and USAMC contracting personnel retain procurement authority from those commands, but operate under the functional control of the theater PARC while in theater, subject to that officer's contracting support plan. The PARC's functional control of contracting requires all contracting personnel from any Army agency or supporting command to coordinate their activities with the PARC, usually through the acquisition review board (ARB), and to follow the PARC's contracting support plan when procuring any goods or services within the theater. In a joint environment, the PARC may be the designated executive agency for theater contracting, with responsibility to coordinate all DOD contracting activities.

Simplified acquisition procedures are contractual actions, such as purchase orders up to $100K in peacetime and during exercises. This authority increases to $200K for contracts awarded and performed OCONUS during a contingency operation declared by the SECDEF, when authorized by law during select Presidential Reserve call-ups, and during humanitarian or peacekeeping operations, and imprest fund purchases.

The National Military Strategy provides advice from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) to the National Command Authorities (NCA) on the strategic direction of the Armed Forces. Currently, it endorses the fundamental objectives of promoting stability through regional cooperation and constructive interaction, and thwarting aggression through credible deterrence and robust warfighting capabilities. The overlapping and interrelated strategic concepts that allow the military to execute national military strategy are strategic agility, decisive force, overseas presence and force projection. Force projection has become the primary concept for employing military forces.

Force projection is the ability to rapidly alert, mobilize and deploy forces and to conduct joint, multinational and interagency operations worldwide from CONUS or forward-deployed locations. If necessary it means forced entry into a denied theater or creating and protecting forward operating bases. The ability to assemble and move to, through, and between a variety of environments, often while reconfiguring to meet specific mission requirements, is essential to offsetting an adversary's advantage in mass or geographical proximity. Global force projection provides our national leaders with the options they need to respond to potential crises.

Contracting support on the battlefield is a command responsibility. The chain of command at every level is involved in planning and providing contracting support. Starting with the NCA, which control the armed forces, the chain of command follows two distinct branches. The first branch runs from the President to the SECDEF to the combatant commanders for missions and forces assigned to their commands. The second branch runs from the NCA to the secretaries of the military departments, to the chiefs of the Services for execution of Service functions. Command and control (C2) of contracting support, which is addressed in detail in Chapter 2, follows these two branches. In the contracting arena, planning for and utilizing contracting as a support option follows the first (joint) branch, while the specific authority to accomplish the contracting function follows the second (Service) branch.

The commander of each combatant command (COCOM), more commonly known as the CINC, is responsible to the NCA for the command's preparedness and for executing and accomplishing missions. The secretaries of the military departments are responsible for organizing, training, equipping, and providing forces.

The CJCS communicates the directions of the NCA within the chain of command. Though he does not exercise military command over any combatant force, all communications between the NCA and the combatant commanders pass through the CJCS. Figure 1-1 displays the chain of command.

The President and SECDEF comprise the NCA. They alone have the constitutional authority to direct US armed forces into military action.

The military departments operate under the authority, direction, and control of the SECDEF. Through the Service chiefs, the secretaries of the military departments direct and control their forces that are not assigned to combatant commanders, and provide administrative (personnel and finance), legal, and logistical support to their own Service forces. Contracting authority originates at the military department level. In the Army, this authority resides in the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA[ALT]), who has authority to appoint a command or theater contracting executive or HCA.

The CINC, as the combatant command commander, is a strategic-level commander of a unified command, who provides strategic direction and operational focus to subordinate commands. CINCs serve as the vital link between national military strategy and theater strategy. They provide the strategic and operational direction required for major land, air, and maritime operations.

The theater C2 structure directly influences how contracting support is managed and controlled. A more detailed discussion on these influences and the operational environment is in Chapter 2.

A theater is a geographical area OCONUS for which a commander of a unified command is assigned military responsibility. The required level of international military cooperation or the degree of US military resources may influence how the Army conducts operations in each theater.

When the NCA authorizes combat operations, the CINC, with NCA and Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) approval, delineates a strategic theater of war that may encompass part or all of the original theater (Figure 1-2).

If the CINC determines that he should sub-divide his theater of war to contend with more than one major threat, he may designate subordinate theaters or areas of operations (AOs) for each major threat. The theaters of operation refer to those portions of an area of war necessary for military operations and for the administration of such operations for extended periods. An AO is that geographical area for which a specific unit commander is responsible.

The communications zone (COMMZ) extends from the rear of the combat zone (CZ) in the theater of operations to the CONUS base. Its size may vary depending on the size of the theater of operations, size of forces required for operations and sustainment, depth required, lines of communication (LOCs), enemy capability to interdict and disrupt sustainment operations, geography, and political boundaries. The COMMZ contains the LOCs. Within the theater logistics base, in the COMMZ, LOCs provide supply, maintenance, field services, transportation, combat health support (CHS), personnel support and evacuation and other services required for immediate support and sustainment of the field force. It will typically contain logistics facilities required to support the theater such as aerial ports and sea ports of debarkation (APODs/SPODs), marshaling areas, storage areas, movement control points, and logistics headquarters and units. Airfields and air bases, transitioning land forces, theater missile defense forces, the theater rear headquarters, and strategic reserves are present in the COMMZ. It is in the COMMZ that the majority of contracting support elements will be found.

The CZ is an area required by combat forces to conduct operations; it normally begins at the forward boundary designated by the commander and extends to the COMMZ boundary. It may be subdivided into forward and rear CZs. A CZ may contain one or more corps, which in turn may contain divisions in a number necessary to accomplish the mission. When considering the use of contract support, the CZ is an area that presents special problems because of the risks to non-combatants who furnish the supplies or services requested.

The ASCC task-organizes Army forces in the theater to maximize their capabilities. The Army's theater organization provides the means for executing the designs of operational war while facilitating joint operations.

The ASCC prepares, trains, equips, administers, and provides CSS to Army forces assigned to unified and specified commands, and supports the theater CINC by conducting Army operations to support his objectives. The ASCC commands and controls US Army forces in the theater, and is responsible to the unified commander for accomplishing peacetime missions and functions and for planning and preparing for war. When designated, the ASCC serves as the theater contracting executive or HCA and provides contracting support within the theater. PARCs and PARC staffs are part of the ASCC structure. The PARC plans Army contracting operations in-theater, including it as a contracting appendix to the logistics annex within the operations plan (OPLAN) or operations order (OPORD). OPLANs or OPORDs, for Joint operations, may delegate executive agency for all joint theater contracting to the ASCC.

Operations in Bosnia, Haiti, Somalia, and elsewhere clearly demonstrated the requirement for logistical infrastructure in places where none previously existed. Building the support structure occurs after considering mission, enemy, terrain, troops, time available, and civilian considerations (METT-TC); strategic lift; pre-positioned assets; HNS and other applicable agreements; contracting support; and other factors of the logistics preparation of the theater (LPT) process. Regardless of the scope of the mission, deployed forces require support while their logistics infrastructure deploys and establishes operations. Contingency contracting helps fill this void by acquiring goods and services available from the local economy.

The ASCC assembles and tailors force modules to support a force performing its operational mission. The initial support structure can provide only minimum essential support functions and capabilities. To do this, contracting force structures at theater and operational levels include an early entry module (EEM) to establish contracting operations with or before the insertion of ground forces. As the deployed force grows, the support structure expands to add necessary capabilities. Contingency contracting, HNS, and LOGCAP often provide needed support to deployed commanders as their logistics infrastructure deploys and establishes operations.

For limited operations, echelons above corps (EAC) support organizations are commanded either directly by the ASCC through the deputy commanding general for support, or through the EEM of the Theater Support Command (TSC). In larger, more mature operations, the complete TSC headquarters may deploy. The TSC is the senior Army logistics headquarters in-theater, and becomes the single point of contact (POC) for most CSS, including contracting support.

Theater contracting hierarchies mirror those for logistics command and control. For limited operations, the ASCC controls contracting operations through the PARC, located on the Army Service Component Command staff, or through the EEM of the TSC, which includes the Chief of the TSC's Contracting Directorate, who serves as the Theater Contracting Officer. For larger, more mature operations, the complete PARC section from the Army Service Component Command and the entire Theater Contracting Section from the TSC may deploy. The ASCC provides Army contracting planning, policy, oversight and management throughout the theater, while the TSC establishes the theater contracting office. The ASCC may establish initial theater contracting operations using the EEM from either the Army Service Component Command or the TSC, or both, as specified in the Army's theater contracting support plan drafted by the PARC.

The corps and echelons below corps are normally fully engaged with their tactical missions. If they are given operational-level support requirements, they must be augmented by operational-level CSS organizations to provide logistical capability to the force. The use of contracting support to provide the supplies and services needed is one method of augmentation. Contracting at corps and below parallels that at theater. Implementing the Army's theater contracting plan, the chief of the corps contracting center, located in the Corps Support Command (COSCOM), plans and manages all contingency contracting operations throughout the Corps area of responsibility in accordance with METT-TC. That officer publishes the corps contracting support plan, orchestrating the locations and functions of military contracting personnel located within the COSCOM and its subordinate units, and within divisions operating under corps control.

When designated Executive Agent for joint contracting, the ASCC and PARC expand planning and execution to integrate contracting personnel from other Services to support all US forces in theater, regardless of their Service component. This manual interprets executive agency as the authority of the Joint Force Commander (JFC), delegated to a lead Service, to plan and direct the efforts of all DOD contingency contracting within the mission area controlled by that JFC.

When tailoring a support force for a particular plan or crisis response, logisticians must consider that regardless of the size of the support force, support will move through the logistics system to produce the sustainment needed. The three levels of logistical support--strategic, operational, and tactical--correlate to the three levels of war. These three levels must blend together to create a seamless system of support. The continuation of a seamless system makes the demarcation line between the levels less visible as organizations and functions interweave within each one. Figure 1-3 depicts this system. Contracting plays a part in each level of logistical support.

Strategic logistics provides the linkage between the nation's economic base and its military forces. The strategic level is primarily the purview of the DOD, the Services, and non-DOD government agencies with the support of the private sector in our economy. The strategic logistician's focus is on requirements determination, personnel and materiel acquisition, supply support and maintenance, stockpiling, and strategic mobility to support the Army's objectives of mobilization, deployment, redeployment, and demobilization. Contracting at this level includes USAMC's procurement of weapons systems and spares.

Operational logistics is the linkage between the strategic and the tactical level. It encompasses support required to sustain joint/multinational campaigns and other military activities within an area of operations. DOD civilians, contractor personnel and equipment, and available host nation resources augment military units making up the organizational structure at this level. The primary focus of the operational logistician is on reception, positioning of facilities, materiel management, supply support and maintenance, movements management, and distribution. Contracting personnel might procure commercial support for APOD/SPOD operations, as an example of operational logistics support.

Tactical logistics is the synchronization of all CSS activities required to sustain soldiers and their weapon systems. Military units organic to the deployed tactical force make up the bulk of the logistics organization at this level. However, the organization may include some support from DOD civilians and contractors. The

focus of the tactical logistician is on the CSS functions of arming, fueling, fixing, moving, and sustaining the soldier and his equipment. At the tactical level, contracting personnel often procure bottled water, field sanitation or office equipment to supplement the military supply system in supporting deployed Army forces.

The Army's primary mission is to deter war and, if deterrence fails, to fight and win. Contracting plays a key role in the Army's ability to support this mission, and provides a responsive alternative to increasing the number of support forces necessary to perform the mission. During every phase of an operation, contracting support can be used to augment the support structure. Contracting personnel should arrive with or before the lead ground elements to establish contracting operations, and depart with or after the last ground elements to close out those operations. Contracting personnel establish their operations with or near the local vendor base to support deployed forces.

Contingency contracting personnel support mission planning and conduct contracting preparation of the theater. They identify potential unit support requirements, locate existing US contracting offices in or near the mission area from which they might derive support, and determine the location of the local vendor base, plus the availability and suitability of commercial goods and services for the commander. The PARC, and the senior contracting officer at each level of command, prepares a contracting support plan for each mission OPORD or OPLAN. Commanders include this plan as an appendix to their logistics annex in each plan. If possible, contracting personnel take part in site surveys, and establish contact, where possible, with US Embassy or existing DOD contracting personnel in or near the mission area.

Contingency contracting personnel maintain a rapid-deployment capability, with contracting support kits containing office supplies and equipment, automated data processing equipment (ADPE), regulations and a block of contract numbers required to establish a deployed contracting office. During this phase, contracting sections coordinate with their resource management office to obtain bulk funding and/or a resource management officer (RMO); finance to identify personnel and monetary requirements; legal for a contract lawyer to deploy; and the property book officer (PBO). Deploying units identify their ordering officers and paying agents so they may receive training by their installation Directorate of Contracting (DOC) (theater PARCs specify in their contracting support plan whether DOCs or the PARC appoints these personnel). The PARC's contracting support plan prescribes the framework for all Army contracting within the theater, with instructions addressing warrants, contract reporting, and identification of commodities or services reserved for theater control for procurement.

Contingency contracting personnel, with RMO, finance, legal and PBO personnel, deploy as part of the force's EEM. Commanders should ensure their contingency contracting personnel, with all required support, remain a high priority on their time-phased force and deployment data (TPFDD). Contingency contracting personnel establish their deployed contracting office as their first priority to best support arriving forces. They locate with, or as near as possible to, the local vendor base in accordance with theater/mission contracting support plan.

Contingency contracting personnel, teamed with RMO, Finance and legal personnel, work with HNS and/or LOGCAP to fill CSS voids during entry operations caused by CSS units physically moving to the mission area. Contracting personnel allow commanders to leverage support from the local economy, saving valuable aircraft and ship space for higher priority cargo. Typical contracted support during this phase includes items essential for force protection and early sustainment, such as bottled water, lumber, transportation and line-haul, potable ice, commercial feeding or ration supplements, laundry and shower services, fuel, trash removal, and portable latrines.

Contracting operations mature as the theater matures. Reliance on immediate, cash-and-carry buys decreases as the commander's CSS capabilities arrive and establish operations in theater. Contracting typically provides line-haul transportation, services and large supply procurements supporting materiel management center (MMC) commodity managers. Contracting supports the commanders' reception, staging, onward movement, and integration (RSO&I) mission by providing, as needed, construction materiel, leased equipment, office equipment/furniture, and quality of life/morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) items such as gym and sport equipment, televisions and VCRs.

Our reduced force structure mandates that US forces redeploy as quickly as possible to prepare for future missions. Similar to Entry Operations, contingency contracting personnel provide goods and services to free CSS units for redeployment. For example, providing commercial feeding allows Army food service personnel to reduce or cease operations. Commercial line-haul and personnel transport allows military truck companies to prepare for their next mission.

Contingency contracting personnel deploy with the first personnel, and redeploy as some of the last. When Army forces deploy, they require support immediately upon arrival in their area of operations, often while their organic CSS support is still enroute. While ground force units depart, contracting personnel provide goods and services to sustain and assist them. This support encompasses housing, feeding, stevedoring at the ports, washracks and steam cleaners to prepare vehicles for redeployment, and transportation of personnel and equipment. Contracting personnel remain in the mission area until they close out all contracts and all vendors receive final payment.

Contracting personnel submit required contracting reports, close and store all contract files, and prepare equipment and deployment kits for their next mission.

In the past, US forces deployed worldwide to perform tasks in support of national objectives. These contingencies involved the participation of military and other public, joint, or allied elements to assist in emergency situations caused by war, natural disaster, terrorist or subversive activities, collapse of law and order, or political instability. In addition to rescue and humanitarian relief missions, military contingencies include demonstrations of force, raids, and larger operations undertaken to protect US interests, lives, and property. Contingencies require planning, rapid response, flexible procedures, and integration of efforts.

The types of contingencies involved and the maturity of the operational environment influence the extent to which contracting support is utilized. The various types of contingencies are--

• Major theater war (MTW) is where hostilities are ongoing, imminent or likely and where there is a substantial commitment of military forces, such as during Operation DESERT STORM. During these operations, contracting usually supplements or is part of robust combat support (CS) and CSS infrastructures.
• Small-scale contingencies (SSC) involve fewer forces, and usually a more restricted time schedule, as with Operation JUST CAUSE (Panama). Contracting often supplements CS and CSS capabilities limited by location, strategic lift or manpower ceilings.
• Stability and/or support operations encompass a wide range of activities where military power is used for purposes other than large-scale combat operations. Arms control, combating terrorism, counterdrug operations, civil support operations, and domestic disaster/emergency relief are some examples of these operations, during which available CS and CSS infrastructures are usually limited or nonexistent. During these operations, deployed forces increasingly rely on commercial or host nation support.

The maturity of an operational environment also determines the extent of contracting support. In a mature environment a well-developed infrastructure exists from which the potential support can be obtained. A mature theater features a sophisticated distribution system that can rapidly respond to changing requirements and priorities, and sufficient vendors from which to obtain needed support. In a mature environment, vendors normally have previous experience in contracting with the US government. Western Europe, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait are examples of mature environments. An immature environment is an area with little or no built-up infrastructure, and few vendors, and of those that are available, few that have had experience contracting with the US. Somalia, Haiti, and Rwanda are recent examples of such environments. Recent operations placed contingency contracting officers in former communist nations such as Bosnia, Croatia, Hungary, and Macedonia, where the vendor base had little capitalistic business experience. These vendors often operate on a "cash and carry" basis.

Contracting is an integral part of supporting Army forces. It is a tool that units and the acquisition community use to obtain goods or services in support of their missions. Contracting support bridges gaps that occur as military logistics resources are being mobilized and may be necessary for the duration of the contingency. Contracting is valuable where no HNS agreements exist, or where HNS agreements do not provide for all the supplies or services required. If contractor support is required, the commander determines, based on G5 and US Embassy recommendations, if such support complies with HNS agreements before a commitment is made. Satisfying requirements by contracting for locally available resources improves response time and frees airlift and sealift assets for other priority needs. Contingency contracting support, along with LOGCAP and HNS, complements but doesn't replace existing military support systems, where these systems are available and operational.

Commanders centrally manage contracting in an operational area to achieve unity of effort and to prevent individual elements from competing for the same resources. A joint contracting office, staffed with contracting personnel from all Services operating in the theater, should be established for joint operations, with one Service designated to plan and lead the theaters contracting and finance functions. The highest level organization deployed below theater level can also establish a joint contracting office. If separate Services maintain parallel contracting organizations, joint supervision of cooperation and coordination among the Service elements helps preclude interservice competition for local supplies and services, to obtain more advantageous prices through consolidation of requirements, and more effectively utilize scarce personnel resources. The CINC assigns executive agency for all theater contracting to one Service in the OPLAN or OPORD.

Although management of a theater's contracting efforts is centralized, execution is decentralized. Contracting elements locate and operate in accordance with the theater's contracting support plan, located in the contracting appendix to the logistics annex to the OPLAN or OPORD. They function under the control of the executive agent for contracting for timely and effective response to the units and activities that they support, and for rapid access to the contractors that provide the supplies and services needed.

There are organizations across the military spectrum that exist to satisfy the contracting needs of military forces. They range from those which provide policy and program guidance and management at the highest level, to operational elements that work to obtain the supplies and services needed to support specific contingency situations. Figure 1-4 displays these echelons of contracting support, and identifies the organizations that exist at the various levels.

Contracting officers need validated requirements with certified funds to award a contract for commercial support of deployed Army forces. Each contracting action originates with a requirement, prepared by the unit or organization that needs support, for some particular supply or service, or minor construction. Once identified, the requirement may be satisfied by a variety of sources, with contracting being only one. The G4/S4 or support manager determines for the commander whether military logistics personnel can meet unit needs. Other staff sections do likewise for services under their supervision; for example, the staff engineer determines if available engineer assets can meet mission requirements for construction. The commander designates an official or ARB, to decide whether goods and services unavailable from organic sources can and should be provided by HNS, LOGCAP's umbrella contract, or by contingency contracting from the local economy (Figure 1-5).

The requirement's identification initiates a sequential, progressive cycle that begins with acquisition planning and ends with contract administration and closeout after the delivery of the supply or service.

While the acquisition process includes all of the actions that must be taken to obtain required goods or services, there is no single set of actions for each step in the process. Variables such as type of goods and services required; the size, type, complexity, and urgency of the requirement; and the applicable laws and regulations all influence the actions taken.

The term acquisition covers the entire cycle from need identification and funding through contract administration. The term contracting covers the portion of the acquisition cycle starting with a purchase request (as a culmination of the planning step) through contract close out.

Acquisition planning starts the acquisition process. Contingency contracting planning is a normal part of operational planning, the point at which certain commodities are identified as being the most likely candidates for contracting. Commanders must involve contracting personnel in mission planning as early as possible to ensure they receive effective support. When it has been determined that a requirement cannot be satisfied by the supply system or organic support, it is submitted through support channels for review and approval. Such requirements may be satisfied through HNS, LOGCAP, or contingency contracting support. The decision as to which source to use is made either by the ARB, or as predetermined through the acquisition planning process. If the requirement is to be satisfied through contracting, the request is sent through the Resource Management Officer to be funded, then to the contracting element for processing. The acquisition process is complete when the desired supply or service is satisfactorily delivered and the contract has been closed out. To streamline this process, the G4/S4 may designate certain commodities as pre-approved for local purchase in the logistics annex to the OPLAN or OPORD. The PARC specifies the dollar threshold of actions requiring ARB review in the contracting appendix.

The authority to contract for supplies and services originates with the Secretary of the Army, as illustrated in Figure 1-6, and is different from the authority to command. Contracting authority, while separate and distinct from command authority, supports the goals and objectives of the chain of command while avoiding conflicts of interest.

Statutory requirements, executive orders, and regulations strictly govern contracting operations. When considering the use of contracting support, commanders and staff planners must be aware of the framework within which contracting elements are permitted to operate. Planners must work closely with operational and contract lawyers at their supporting Staff Judge Advocate's office, and their contracting officers, to ensure their expectations of contingency contracting are executable, supportable, and within the limits of contract and fiscal law and policy.

Several assumptions govern the use of contingency contract support.

• The environment for contracting is worldwide. Principles of contingency contracting are applicable to all contingency missions with consideration for short-term as well as long-term notification of mobilization.
• Because of the urgent/high priority nature of most supplies and services requested, reduced lead times and expedited delivery requirements can be expected.
• Deployed contracting personnel will have authority to conduct business with foreign governments, commercial firms, and other forces in the theater where assigned or deployed.
• Only the PARC or the designated mission chief of contracting can delegate limited authority and responsibilities for purchasing to an ordering officer.
• Contingency operations above battalion size will be joint, multinational operations under the command and control of a CINC or joint force headquarters.
• The senior Army commander in the theater will activate an ARB to coordinate service acquisition activities and to integrate the acquisition flow with the overall theater support operation.
• In a joint or combined operation, the CINC establishes unified command and support structures and systems. One mechanism the CINC employs is the CINC's logistics procurement support board (CLPSB), similar to the ARB used by the Army, to provide overarching procurement policy and guidance, plus deconflict and coordinate Service/functional component requirements.
• Existing US DOD contracting offices and contracts in the area of operations will be utilized wherever possible.
• The senior contracting officer at each level of command will plan and manage contracting functions within that unit's area of operations.
• Most requirements received during the initial stages of a contingency will be cash transactions valued under the simplified acquisition threshold.
• Commanders will make provision for contract law advice for their contracting personnel. Most PARCs require legal review of all acquisitions valued over the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT). Legal review of procurements under the SAT should be conducted to the maximum extent possible in coordination with the supporting Staff Judge Advocate's office.

Several factors limit the commander's use of contracting support.

• HNS, contingency contracting, and LOGCAP supplement, not replace, the existing logistics systems.
• The lack of any US international agreements such as HNS, inter-service, status of forces, and other authoritative agreements in the theater of operations or specific provisions in applicable agreements may limit the contracting officer's ability to satisfy some requirements.
• Commanders must deploy contract law attorneys early to conduct legal review of procurements.
• United States public laws and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) and Army FAR Supplement (AFARS) are not revoked or suspended by contingencies unless specifically exempted. Acquisition personnel must therefore comply with federal law and applicable regulations in contingency contracting.
• Contracting, finance and resource management remain Service responsibilities.