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News | Aug. 23, 2021

My DCMA: Symantha Loflin, EVMS analyst

By LaTonya Johnson DCMA Public Affairs

My DCMA showcases the Defense Contract Management Agency’s experienced and diverse workforce and highlights what being a part of the national defense team means to them. Today, Symantha Loflin shares her story.

My name is Symantha Loflin, and this is “My DCMA.” I have 20 years of experience as an acquisition program management professional and a Defense Acquisition Corps member.

I have been a part of the DCMA team for 10 years. I am an Earned Value Management System analyst based at DCMA Dallas here. I currently focus on auditing as a functional specialist in the DCMA Portfolio Management and Business Integration Directorate, also known as PMBI.

In my position, I review and assess risks, plan review events, and execute surveillance and compliance procedures. I document material weaknesses that do not support certain EVMS’s Contractor Business System clauses. A lot of my work focuses on the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Statutes 252.234-7002 and 252.242-7005, which are the EVMS and Contractor Business Systems clauses. My review is to ensure that the contractor’s internal controls and business management practices comply with the 32 guidelines.

I like working at DCMA because of the educational and career developmental opportunities. In 2018, I was selected to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. I graduated in September 2020 with a Master of Science degree in program management. While I was in school, I learned more about problem-solving through systems engineering methodologies, strategic communications, risk requirements analysis, logistics and industrial base planning. I also acquired more knowledge on quality assurance risk management and federal regulations, contracting, and program management policies within the Department of Defense.

In addition to obtaining my master’s degree, I have participated in a rotational assignment while working at DCMA. I recently participated in a developmental assignment as a program manager on the COVID-19 Task Force for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. I received the Joint Meritorious Unit Award in June, which was awarded to me by the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

While serving on the COVID-19 Task Force, I assessed and documented contract risk on behalf of DoD and in coordination with the Air Force and the Department of Health and Human Services, in support of the defense industrial base expansion initiative. This assignment allowed me to hone my critical-thinking skills to do my job even better to support our nation’s warfighters.

DCMA is important to America’s warfighters because the agency’s oversight role is the first line of defense against fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayers’ dollars. Our agency employees ensure that a contractor’s business system is compliant through a thorough review of checks and balances. This measure is critical because it can also impact warfighters’ readiness.

I want to leverage the acquisition best practices I have gained from my program management experience and education to continue to support our warfighters. I want to pay it forward by using my acquisition knowledge to support the agency’s strategic goals to ensure the DCMA mission continues.

In my spare time, my hobbies include teaching swimming classes and showing whippets at the American Kennel Club dog shows.