ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Defense Contract Management Agency activated its latest contracting office here during the Aircraft Integrated Maintenance Operations performance review April 4. The activation ceremony marks the first time the agency consolidated multiple contracting offices from the East, Central and West regions under one primary office.

Navy Capt. Jerry King, who serves as DCMA Missiles’ first commander, explained the current challenges facing the missile production industry. He said the industry still faces lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and high demand driven by world-wide challenges. “This new alignment will better provide collaboration, better advice to our customers while identifying larger challenges from across the industry base,” said King.

In his remarks as the presiding officer for the ceremony, Air Force Col. Michael Kennebrae, commander of DCMA’s Western Regional Command, thanked the employees who coordinated efforts to formally establish DCMA Missiles and took a moment to thank those who were regularly collaborating to problem solve for various customers nationwide.

“Prior to DCMA Vision even being introduced (missiles contracting office leaders) were already meeting across region lines to take care of the missiles issues that were coming up. They were meeting regularly and were having these discussions and communications that really set the standard for the command,” said Kennebrae. “They found that those early relationships created the strong leadership, then solid foundation this unit will enjoy in the future.”

DCMA Vision is the agency’s strategic plan, which among other goals, includes realignment and restructuring workloads into portfolios, “to improve warfighter capabilities by influencing timely delivery of quality and affordable products.”

The establishment of DCMA Missiles is also meant to help the agency keep pace with the Defense Department’s acquisition goals of fostering a resilient and robust industrial base.

“I get asked frequently about many of the programs of which you are going to support,” said Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello, the DCMA director and the ceremony’s keynote speaker. “It’s more than one contract, it’s more than one customer, or stakeholder, and it certainly is a lot of different variations, but all in a similar vein and purpose. So as we stand this up, this one makes complete sense to me, and I’m pretty sure that we have the right leader.”

Masiello approved the general order that directed the establishment of DCMA Missiles, which will be headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and aligned it to Western Regional Command.

The order also realigned missile specific portfolio offices from DCMA Pittsburgh under the new command and disestablished the commands at DCMA Raytheon Tucson, DCMA Lockheed Martin Orlando and DCMA Lockheed Martin Dallas.