WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio –
Emily Pecic’s dream of becoming an Air Force fighter pilot ended in college after a spinal injury during ROTC training.
Her desire to serve her country never wavered, however, and two decades later Pecic deployed to Kuwait as a member of Defense Contract Management Agency’s Contingency Response Force, known as CRF.
Pecic, a contract administrator for DCMA Central Ohio River Valley, joined the agency in 2023. She deployed with the CRF in 2024, ending a 21-year journey that was defined by determination.
“After high school, I enrolled in Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Detachment 380 at Michigan State University,” she said. “However, my second year in the program, I injured my cervical spine during physical training, requiring surgery, and was medically disqualified. After many years of submitting waivers with the Air Force and then Army, I received a final notice from the Army stating they appreciated how patriotic I was, but there were no waivers for my condition. The only way I would ever be able to serve my country was as a civilian.”
Pecic earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a concentration in forensics, and graduated law school receiving a Juris Doctorate. For the next 15 years, she worked for the Social Security Administration, Office of Hearing and Appeals for Disability Claims.
“After years as a military spouse and raising our two children until they were old enough for my career change, I applied for a contract administrator position with the CRF program through DCMA,” Pecic said. “I made the decision to change my career path to fulfill a goal that was put on hold many years ago.”
After joining the CRF program, Pecic began the preparation process for a deployment to Kuwait. She received the required training through the agency’s Combat Support Center, which is responsible for ensuring personnel are prepared prior to traveling to their designated location.
“Preparing for deployment is time consuming,” she said. “On the professional side, there’s various training that must be completed, medical testing to prove you’re physically and mentally capable for deployment environments, and back-to-basics certification training. I did all my classes back-to-back, enabling me to complete it all within my first year of employment.”
Pecic understood her overseas assignment would result in separation from her husband, whom she had supported as a military spouse during his deployments.
“Professional preparation was very easy for me, but my personal preparation was what I had to really make a priority,” she said. “As a military wife, for years it was me at home while my husband deployed, handling everything and being a single parent. I know firsthand how difficult it is, and how much people at home sacrifice for those deploying to do their job and remain safe. I had to switch mindsets, remembering that I needed to worry about myself in theater, that home will be just fine, and my job and focus were in Kuwait with the mission and my battle buddies.”
Pecic deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from November 2024 to June 2025. She was attached to the 408th Contracting Support Brigade and worked on pre-award contracts, creating solicitations, modifications, issuances of contracts, and memorandums for record, while communicating with contractors daily.
Pecic found Camp Arifjan to be an ideal location for her first deployment, making the most of her surroundings and events offered on the base.
“Camp Arifjan eased me into deployment life, offering many activities to participate in when I wasn’t working," she said. "It gave me an opportunity to meet so many people from around the world. After work I participated in bingo, 5k races, saw movies, played darts and pool, and never missed a meal. The contracted employees on base were always smiling, personally remembering who each of us were.”
There were challenges to navigate, including June’s regional conflict.
“We experienced sleepless nights, with constant bunker runs, zones shutting down, limiting access to food which resulted in eating Meals, Ready-to-Eat. Eventually we were all evacuated, grabbing enough stuff for 72 hours, and working out of an undisclosed area with limited equipment and access,” Pecic said. “We remained successful, fulfilling milestones, supporting the missions, and becoming a closer family than we were before, bonding through a time that was unpredictable, and at times, unnerving.”
Aspects of Pecic’s workload also proved challenging, which she was able to successfully overcome with her DCMA background and experience.
“Back home, I complete post-award workloads, and this deployment I was assigned pre-award workloads. It’s easy to forget that I was dropped in a fast-paced contingency environment,” she explained. “There’s no lengthy training; I was given resources to review; I worked with new programs that I’d never heard of before — it’s sink or swim mode. Luckily, I swam like a champ and went headfirst into my DCMA training. There is no greater experience than hands on, in the middle of it all.”
DCMA serves an important role in-theater, Pecic said, by offering expertise, dedication to supporting the mission and warfighters, and the unwavering ability to switch gears to focus on unpredictable challenges.
“I grew more than any word could describe from this deployment, realizing that in a flight or fight time, I fight," she said." I learned that wearing a Department of Defense civilian patch and not a military uniform, is important and fulfilling. I also learned my family and home front are perfectly fine without me, which is humbling. I realized that I could adapt to high-pace changes, like I thought I would when I first applied for this position.”
Pecic looks forward to fulfilling her four-year commitment with the CRF program and having the opportunity to experience future deployments at new locations, while continuing her personal and professional growth.
“I learned a long time ago not to make future plans, live each day as it comes and tackle each issue as it lands in my lap,” she said.
This is a motto Pecic will continue to live by as long as she’s able, with no end in sight.