DCMA South stands up, replaces Dallas, Huntsville offices

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -

Army Col. Kenneth Darnall, the Defense Contract Management Agency Central Region commander, oversaw the establishment standup ceremony of DCMA South June 21.

The event was held at Redstone Arsenal here, and agency representatives and personnel from the tenant Redstone organizations attended the live-digital hybrid event in person. DCMA senior leaders, including Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Masiello, the agency's director, participated via Microsoft Teams.

DCMA Huntsville was disestablished during the ceremony with the casing of the colors and joined DCMA South. Army Col. Ryan Ocampo, DCMA Huntsville's commander, became the new commander of DCMA South.

DCMA Dallas was disestablished during a prior ceremony in Texas with the casing of the colors June 12.

"DCMA South is comprised of DCMA Huntsville and DCMA Dallas, which were two large contract management offices that came together," said Darnall. "Our DCMA director, Lt. Gen. Masiello, supports us and is pleased with the progress of our region's consolidation as we execute DCMA Vision."

DCMA South is the third CMO reorganization for the Central Region. The first reorganization was the establishment of DCMA Land Systems, which replaced DCMA Detroit, and held its standup ceremony June 5. DCMA Ohio River Valley, which replaced DCMA Dayton, stood up June 6. All the reorganizations are a result of DCMA Vision, which is the agency's strategic plan that realigns and consolidates CMOs to better serve customers. The Central Region is the last region to start the consolidation and reorganization process under DCMA Vision.

DCMA South was officially activated under DCMA General Order FY24-17. It has two streamlined commands under it. DCMA Red River is led by Charles Anderson, acting director, and Jason Kadow, acting deputy director. DCMA Tennessee River Valley is led by Army Maj. Daniel Newell, acting commander who will be promoted to lieutenant colonel in August, and Chris Boily, acting deputy commander.

Darnall said he appreciated the collaboration between both offices as they became one organization. He wanted the workforce from both CMOs to be proud of what they accomplished and to see the new organization as a way to continue to support warfighters while streamlining the warfighter support process.

"We want to take what worked at DCMA Dallas and DCMA Huntsville and use those effective processes at DCMA South," said Darnall. "This reorganization has brought a lot of collaboration, which is necessary, as we work toward standardization and build an organization that will become a part of the supply chain construct."

Darnall thanked leaders from both CMOs, including Ocampo, who Darnall said was "the right person for the job."

"It's important that we have the right people in these positions," he said. "Col. Ocampo has been commander of DCMA Huntsville for a year, and we have him for two more years. He will guide the new organization well."

Ocampo said he was honored to lead DCMA South.

"During pivotal conflicts around the world, DCMA Huntsville and DCMA Dallas worked to ensure the readiness and effectiveness of our armed forces to defend our nation's freedom," Ocampo said. "The future of DCMA South starts today as we take an agile approach to provide contractor oversight. I look forward to leading this remarkable organization."

DCMA South has more than 370 team members who will provide contract administration services to over 15,400 government contracts valued at $128 billion. The employees and contractors are mainly located in the southern continental United States with production and services in Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. DCMA South covers 587,000 square miles or 15% of the contiguous United States.

DCMA Dallas was originally known as the Defense Contract Administrative Services Region Dallas and was a part of the Defense Supply Agency, which later became the Defense Logistics Agency. DCASR Dallas was later named the Defense Contract Management Command Dallas. When DCMA formed as a separate agency in 2000, DCMC Dallas became DCMA Dallas.

Anderson, the former deputy director at Dallas, said the CMO accomplished a lot over the years.

"In its time as DCMA Dallas, it accomplished remarkable successes, including the inspection of 37 million COVID-19 test kits for rapid distribution to U.S. citizens during the global pandemic to help ensure the safe continuance of U.S. personal and commerce operations," he said. "We also reduced our facility footprint by 65% and saved the agency $1 million in annual facility costs. We pioneered the way and became the agency's model for large-scale facility footprint reductions."

DCMA Dallas provided contract management services and administration to more than 12,500 contracts valued at over $34.14 billion throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Personnel provided oversight for over 1,200 contractors.

DCMA Huntsville was established in 2000 as the DCMA Huntsville Contract Management Office following its separation from DLA. It is located in North Alabama near Redstone Arsenal, and employees have been involved with providing acquisition oversight on numerous platforms, including the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, Integrated Battle Command System, Ground-based Midcourse Defense System, Stryker, and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle - in addition to numerous sustainment contracts.

Before being disestablished, DCMA Huntsville managed and administered over 5,000 Department of Defense contracts, valued at more than $141.91 billion. The employees also provided oversight and support on additional contracts for other federal agencies, including NASA and the Department of Homeland Security.

Ocampo encouraged the new DCMA South workforce to continue to work hard to support the agency's customers.

"DCMA South will remain robust and pursue all avenues to maintain mission readiness and meet our customer's requirements," he said. "As we move forward together, let's remember our shared mission and commitment to excellence. We want to embrace opportunities and challenges. I look forward to accomplishing major milestones with all of you as defined by our mission and purpose."

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