WEBVTT

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- This helmet belonged to a soldier whose life was saved

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while on patrol in Iraq.

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The Army will present this and many others like it

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to soldiers whose lives were saved

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because the equipment they were wearing

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or using worked the way it was supposed to.

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For them, it's a product that works and it should be.

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What they don't know, is that it takes a team

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of more than 10,000 professionals working around the globe

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to make sure military personnel are protected.

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Hello, my name is Lieutenant Colonel Jason Good

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and this is the story

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of the Defense Contract Management Agency.

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(classical music)

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- [Voiceover] So how do soldiers get their gear?

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For your typical infantryman, it's pretty simple.

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They check gear out from supply units.

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The supply units receive gear

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from military distribution centers.

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They work directly with service program offices

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to get products from the manufacturer.

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This is where DCMA comes in.

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DCMA is involved in every aspect of making sure equipment

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makes it from raw material to finished product.

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- I make sure that this,

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turns into this.

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- My job is to witness and track the production

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of equipment for our service men and women.

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- These products will ultimately be used by personnel

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around the world.

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So we have to ensure everything is done the right way.

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- We provide oversights for ground vehicles

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like the ones we have here, military tanks, aircraft,

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weapon systems, and even satellites for NASA.

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- We witness testing, accept products

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on behalf of the government, conduct risk assessments.

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- And provide insight to the military's program office

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to ensure the quality product makes it out the door.

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- Hi, I'm Major Brent Odom.

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I'm with PEO soldier.

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I understand the value that DCMA brings to the fight,

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because a plate that they inspected,

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along with effort from my soldiers, saved my life.

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In the end, DCMA ensures soldiers

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get the best equipment possible.

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- When a contract comes into the office,

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we analyze it, we conduct contract receipt and review.

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After that, we assign oversight based on expertise

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to enable DCMA's contract administration office

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to manage the contract effectively.

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We also want to make sure everything that gets done

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in the contract can be done and that our work

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does not overshoot the limitation of the agreement.

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At any time, DCMA is handling

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more than 340,000 active contracts.

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And that's at least 1.8 trillion dollars.

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To make that happen, we work closely

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with our industrial specialists to ensure the work is done

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in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

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- Industrial operations is about how things get done.

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At DCMA, we focus on processes and system optimization.

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In other words, we try to make contractors more efficient

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so things work better, are produced faster, and cost less.

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We do this through regular interaction

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with the production and management team

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at the contractor's site.

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- If we see areas where the company might be able

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to save money, we send it over

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to our cost and price analyst.

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- I look at the cost for the production process,

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material procurement, facilities, labor, and overhead.

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And it doesn't stop there.

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Once a contract is awarded,

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DCMA monitors the contract's cost control systems

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and practices to make sure costs

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are contained within the bounds of the contract.

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DCMA authorizes about 455 million dollars a day in payments.

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So making sure the contractor's operating efficiently

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is important.

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The fact is, every aspect of a government contract

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is reviewed, analyzed, and evaluated

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throughout the life of the contract,

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all to ensure the tax dollars are not being wasted.

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We all play a vital role in keeping our troops equipped

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and prepared.

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No one has to tell you how important that is.

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- Whether it's large programs such as military aircraft,

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ships, or ground vehicles,

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or smaller products like bullet-proof vests,

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night-vision goggles, or even weapons

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for our service members, DCMA is there

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making sure a quality product is delivered

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on time and at cost.

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We save taxpayer money

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and provide valuable insight to our customer,

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14 federal agencies, plus our NATO allies

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to make sure they can make the best decisions possible.

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At the end of the day, it's all about the end user,

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protecting our men and women in uniform,

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and enabling them to accomplish their mission.

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That's what DCMA does.

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(classical music)