HAZELWOOD, Mo. –
My DCMA showcases the Defense Contract Management Agency’s experienced and dedicated workforce and highlights what being part of the national defense team means to them. Today, Sara Metzger shares her story.
My name is Sara Metzger, and this is “My DCMA.”
I am a procurement analyst at DCMA Fixed Wing St. Louis. My job duties include providing data analysis and performance metrics to leadership and reviewing and analyzing changes to the contract management office’s workload and progress toward our annual metric goals. I provide formal and informal training to contracting personnel on a variety of topics such as the agency’s Contract Administration Management System, known as CAMS, policies and issuances, and best practices in contract management. I also review our data to ensure we are compliant for audits and work to streamline local processes. I enjoy the procurement analyst position because I can support all the programs here by leveraging the agency’s tools and looking at the contracting group’s needs from a more strategic level.
I have been a part of the DCMA team for six years. In 2022, I transitioned to the DCMA Fixed Wing St. Louis team after working at DCMA Syracuse in New York for three years. I previously served as a contract administrator and administrative contracting officer before transitioning to a procurement analyst.
I enjoy working at DCMA because it has given me the opportunity to grow my career skills and expand my knowledge through a variety of roles in both a co-located contractor facility office and a geographic location. At DCMA Syracuse, I collaborated with small and large businesses and routinely conducted surveillance visits with my quality assurance and industrial specialist counterparts. Currently at DCMA Fixed Wing St. Louis, I’ve had the privilege of supporting major acquisition programs including the F-15 Eagle and MQ-25 Stingray. These experiences have deepened my understanding of the critical supply and service contracts that DCMA administers in support of the warfighter.
I appreciate being a part of an organization in which employees are encouraged to learn and grow. I recently completed my Acquisition Law and Policy Credential from the Defense Acquisition University. I have enjoyed leading and contributing to integrated process teams that have created positive outcomes. I co-led an IPT to address a finding from the Defense Organizational Climate Survey, also known as DEOCS, on generational leadership differences, which resulted in leadership training for teams, along with a revised employee resources website. I also participated in an IPT to align the 1102 contracting job series day-to-day workload to new revisions in the local contract administrator’s Department of Defense Performance Management and Appraisal Program, also known as DPMAP.
One of the great things about working at my location is the group of coworkers I have and their unwavering dedication to the mission. Our team of professionals collaborate internally and externally every day to ensure that we are fulfilling DCMA’s mission. It is a privilege to learn from their expertise and different backgrounds.
DCMA is important because we ensure America’s warfighters receive their essential systems and supplies to remain agile and effective. Each day, we cultivate strong partnerships with contractors to drive successful outcomes for the end user. We are truly the Department of Defense’s trusted on-the-ground presence.
Since I joined the agency, the organization has undergone significant changes, with the most notable being the on-going DCMA Vision changes. Additionally, there have been smaller adjustments, such as policy updates and improved organizational infrastructure, that have greatly enhanced our day-to-day operations.
One of my goals for the remainder of 2025 is to continue to provide support to the contracting teams at the CMO as we align into the Fixed Wing structure under the DCMA Systems Command in fiscal year 2026. In addition, I want to continue to identify data-driven processes, with the goal of increasing efficiency and sustaining high-level compliance.
My future career goals include pursuing professional development opportunities within the agency, expanding my subject-matter expertise, and continuing to lead from within my role by setting a positive example and sharing my knowledge. I genuinely love helping others solve problems and thinking outside the box for a solution.
In my free time, I enjoy reading, running and cooking. I love supporting my two sons in their various sports and activities. I am a soccer, baseball and basketball mom. I also volunteer at their school and serve as vice president of the parent-teacher organization.
Something unique about me is that I try to read one book a week. I enjoy reading a mixture of genres, from historical nonfiction and memoirs to beach reads and thrillers.