Arlington Heights, Ill. –
Defense Contract Management Agency welcomed a new commander for its Central Regional Command during a change of command ceremony July 19 held here.
During the ceremony, Army Col. Jeffery Phillips relinquished command to Army Col. Paul Mazure. The new commander was selected for his position after completing a successful tour as DCMA Chicago’s commanding officer — his second command position within the agency.
As he enters his third leadership role with the agency, Mazure’s career features a diverse history both within the acquisition community and the Army’s operational forces. These assignments include: infantry platoon leader; support platoon leader; Headquarters and Headquarters Company executive officer; Division G3 operations officer; and company commander within the 3rd and 25th Infantry Division. He also served 30 months as the Metro North Indianapolis Recruiting Company commander, 3rd Recruiting Brigade, Indianapolis, Indiana.
In 2003, Mazure joined the Army Acquisition Corps. He is Acquisition Level III in program management and contracting. His Acquisition Corps assignments include: assistant Training and Doctrine Command capabilities manager officer at Fort Benning, Georgia; assistant product manager for cargo aerial delivery at Natick, Massachusetts; Department of the Army system manager, Pentagon, Washington D.C.; DCMA St. Petersburg commander, Florida; and executive officer to the deputy assistant of the Army for Procurement, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
The agency director, Navy Vice Adm. David Lewis, championed both the incoming and outgoing leaders as he addressed the crowd.
Phillips leaves his post with large boots to fill. Throughout his yearlong Central Region lead role, he used his years of acquisition experience to navigate the leadership responsibilities of 10 contract management offices, and their tertiary commands, which provide acquisition insight to the Defense Department in support of $674 billion in contracts across a region that includes 23 states.
The Greenville, Tennessee, native was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Military Police Corps through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. In 2001 after numerous military police assignments, he transitioned to the Army Acquisition Corps.
Phillips’ previous acquisition assignments include test and evaluation and multiple contracting positions. He served as an instrumentation officer for the Army’s Operational Test Command at Fort Hood, Texas. His contracting assignments include as the contingency contracting officer for 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, and team leader for the 614th Contingency Contracting Team, Fort Benning, Georgia. During this time, Phillips deployed to Iraq and served as the Regional Contracting Center — Taji, chief of contracting in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Next, he served as the senior team leader for the 638th Contingency Contracting Team at Fort Riley, Kansas. In 2011, Phillips assumed command of the 904th Contingency Contracting Battalion and served as the installation’s director of contracting at Fort Knox, Kentucky. During this assignment, he deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, where he served as the deputy and then director of the Contracting Enabler Cell, Combined Security Transition Command.