CARSON, Calif. –
On Jan. 22, the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Carson office reopened its ancillary office in Long Beach, Calif., after more than two years of waiting.
The opening of the newly renovated office, which Boeing Aerospace Defense Corp. closed for remodeling in 2017, once again places more than two dozen DCMA employees close to the prime contractor.
“The return of C-17 contract management team to Long Beach represents the long-standing and continuing mission of administering contracts on behalf of our Department of Defense customers,” said Air Force Col. Ceir Coral, commander of DCMA Carson. While away from Long Beach, DCMA personnel assigned to the C-17 Globemaster III contract management team temporarily relocated their offices to DCMA Carson’s building and to its Huntington Beach, California, office space. “Our Boeing partners worked hand-in-hand with my Huntington Beach team, led by Maj. David Wilson, to make the transition a success,” said Coral. Air Force Maj. David Wilson is the program integrator and earned-value management team chief at DCMA Carson’s Huntington Beach office.
For personnel in Long Beach, the move back represents significant geographic and personnel benefits. Boeing’s proximity to the functional teams like contracting and quality assurance helps eliminate the need to commute for important business discussions, inspections and determinations.
Such actions align with the Department of Defense’s strategic goals to reduce excess property and infrastructure.
DCMA Carson is different from other contract management offices in DCMA because it is a hybrid contract management office. Coral oversees ‘in-plant’ offices, which include DCMA personnel being located inside a contractor’s facility, and "geographical" offices, which are offices that handle a variety of contracts from many different widely-dispersed contractors. These smaller geographical offices may also perform work for many different contracts under one prime contractor like Boeing.