FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- A 92nd Contracting Squadron civilian here recently won a yearly Air Mobility Command Outstanding Civilian Category 1 of the Year award for 2019.
“I owe a lot to my managers and colleagues for the opportunity I have been handed and the training I have received,” said Kyle Smith 92nd CONS processing agent. “I come into work in the morning and I work as hard as I can for as long as I can and that’s just who I am as an individual. I didn’t do the things I did for the recognition, I did them because I felt like they were the right things to do.”
Smith started working in the 92nd CONS in July, 2017, and is responsible for soliciting, evaluating, and negotiating, to get Fairchild the best service and commodity contracts.
“I did four years in the Marine Corps, then I did five years working for a local insurance agency specializing in ‘Commercial Lines’ or insurance for business,” Smith said. “Working for the insurance company was pretty similar to what I’m doing now, but working on the civilian side made me miss the structure and comradery of being on active duty.”
Coming back to work on a military installation motivated Smith to work hard with his colleagues, now Airmen, to accomplish the mission set.
“He is essential to the success our team has,” said Tech Sgt. Jessica Boyles 92nd CONS small purchases team lead. “He is the push to get the team going in the right direction. It’s just his motivation and his drive to just get everything on track; to make sure that our mission partners have what they need to do their job.”
Contracting’s purpose is to buy supplies and services for the government, from the commercial marketplace, providing mission partners to Fairchild.
“Our job is one that usually goes unrecognized,” Smith said. “You won’t see contracting on the flight line turning a wrench, you won’t see us at the medical group drawing blood and we won’t be in the fire truck on the way to a call, but we are getting the supplies to the people who do those jobs.”
A couple of Smith’s contributions to the base include challenging a 15 year sole source contract giving the base an annual average savings of 5,000 dollars and procuring the install for the 92nd Logistics Readiness Squadron’s new gas mask washer, allowing LRS to increase mask cleaning efficiency by 94 percent.
“I am quite thankful for where I am at right now,” Smith said. “I like working hard and getting things done and I really enjoy being a part of something bigger than myself. I like people to realize their potential and move forward, and seeing that I have an impact on the mission adds to my motivation to get the job done.”
The Air Mobility Command encompasses 10 installations and Smith is the only winner for this award from Fairchild.
“I came in and I didn’t have any direct contracting experience but I’ve been given the opportunity to explore and read into policy and figure it out,” Smith said. “Everybody here is very open to you asking questions and if there’s a way I figured out how to do something that makes life just a little bit easier I try and show that to other people.”
To win an award at the command level speaks volumes of work ethic, team drive and dedication to enabling and supporting the mission to build a modern mobility Air Force.