MacDill contracting officer wins Air Force level award

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tori Schultz
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Tech. Sgt. Thomas Armstead, 6th Contracting Squadron contracting officer, won the Staff Sgt. Ronald L. King Outstanding Contingency Contracting Officer Award for his efforts while deployed.

The award is named in honor of Staff Sgt. Ronald L. King, who lost his life in a terrorist truck bomb attack of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia on June 25, 1996, while on a contingency contracting assignment. 

Armstead has been in the Air Force for 12 years and started out as a tactical aircraft maintainer before cross-training into contracting in 2010.

While deployed, Armstead was the contracting officer at Camp Phoenix, Kabul, Afghanistan, where he had the authority to bind the government in a contract and responsibility of wisely spending the taxpayers' dollars.

"This responsibility is not taken lightly," said 1st Lt. Eric Owens, 6th CONS officer in-charge of specialized flight. "While deployed the responsibility is greater and the pace is faster. When you work alongside so many outstanding professionals it is truly humbling to be recognized as a top performer."

So far, Armstead managed 43 construction contracts that are valued at $42 million, which support over 50,000 U.S., Coalition, and Afghan forces across half of Afghanistan's land mass. He was also in charge of $434,000 intelligence server building upgrade, which was key link in Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense, and a $40 million intelligence program bolstering security for the entire country.

Furthermore, Armstead was involved in Operation Outreach. He earned the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal building fire bricks as a heat source providing over 1,000 Afghan families with a way to warm their houses during the winter months, and performed 31 missions outside the wire as a convoy commander ensuring the safety of personnel with zero incidents.

"Tech. Sgt. Armstead is a dependable and trustworthy NCO that I can always count on to get the job done," said Owens. "He is also working on putting together a package to earn a commission through Officer Training School."