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Valeria Mosqueira, assistant commander for Contracts at Marine Corps Systems Command, speaks to Shawn Reinwald, director of Marine Corps Programs at Cypress International, during the quarterly Industry Interface Council meeting Aug. 6 in Dumfries, Va. Marine Corps Systems Command hosted the event to discuss ways to improve communication between the command, PEO LS and industry partners.

Photo by Monique Randolph U.S. Marine Corps

MCSC hosts meeting with industry partners

9 Aug 2013 | Monique Randolph, MCSC Corporate Communications Marine Corps Systems Command

Representatives from businesses large and small met with members of Marine Corps Systems Command and Program Executive Officer Land Systems to discuss ways to improve communication between the command, PEO LS and industry partners Aug. 6 in Dumfries, Va.

“Communication between industry and government is essential, and we welcome ideas on how we can better communicate,” said Valeria Mosqueira, assistant commander for Contracts at MCSC, during the command’s quarterly Industry Interface Council meeting. “The culture is changing, and we need to do a better job of talking to industry. In fact, we are encouraged to talk with industry in order to get the best products for Marines.”

The Industry Interface Council was established in 2003 with the goal of enhancing the command’s effectiveness, and gleaning ideas and feedback from industry leaders about improving communication. What began as a meeting with about 10 industry representatives has since grown to more than 30 businesses that provide various products and services in support of MCSC and PEO LS program offices.

The Aug. 6 meeting focused on contracting in today’s fiscal environment, the PEO LS Advanced Technology Investment Plan and MCSC Acquisition Center for Support Services processes.

“Our first priority is the warfighter [who is] forward deployed, but I also have a responsibility to consider the interests of the taxpayer,” Mosqueira said. “We’re squeezing every ounce of value out of every dollar, we’re maximizing competition, and our program managers are held accountable for knowing where every dollar is spent.”

Mosqueira said the command will also look for more opportunities with small businesses.

“Our budget is going down and the amount of money we have to spread around is going down, but the goals and dollar amount we have to spend with small businesses has not gone down,” she said.

Several business opportunities exist within PEO LS as well, said Michael Halloran, director of Science and Technology. PEO LS recently published the “Advanced Technology Investment Plan,” a downloadable document that provides a list of focus areas, from power and energy to vehicle armor, that can help industry decide where investment opportunities lie and what the technology needs are within PEO LS programs.   

“[In this current austere environment], it will be difficult for the Marine Corps to maintain and sustain the existing force,” Halloran said to the industry representatives. “If I were sitting on your side of the table, that’s where I would focus my investments.”

Improving communication with external and internal stakeholders—from industry partners to the command’s own contracting officer representatives, or CORs—is a major push for MCSC’s Acquisition Center for Support Services, said Paul Ortiz, director of ACSS.

Ensuring both large and small business partners understand their roles and responsibilities, the responsibilities of the command’s contracting officials, and the implementation of appropriate policies and regulations that govern services support contracting will help ACSS maintain quality and provide quick, responsive support for professional services, Ortiz said.

“[Professional services] is getting to be an extremely important area for a lot of different reasons,” Ortiz said. “So, we want to make sure we provide professional services as quickly as possible, but we also have to make sure we do it correctly.

“Communication is a challenge; some members of Marine Corps Systems Command aren’t sure what they can or should say [to industry],” he said. “When we see doors closed, it’s unfortunate. We don’t want to see that. But we know it happens, and it’s been an issue. We’ll do what we can to improve our communication with vendors.”


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