DCMA - Defense Contract Management Agency

04/15/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/14/2025 22:39

DCMA Boeing St. Louis team participates in contract closeout panel

News | April 15, 2025

DCMA Boeing St. Louis team participates in contract closeout panel

By Tonya Johnson DCMA Central Region Public Affairs

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -

Defense Contract Management Agency Boeing St. Louis personnel participated in the National Contract Management Association St. Louis Gateway Chapter's Contract Closeout Panel discussion Feb. 26.

Approximately 40 people from DCMA, industry, and Boeing attended the event at the Boeing St. Louis facility. Three agency employees participated in the panel discussion: Damian Benigno, administrative contracting officer; Sara Metzger, procurement analyst; and Barbara Raymer, contract administrator.

According to NCMA's website, the organization, which was founded in 1959, aims to foster and strengthen connections among acquisition professionals in the public and private sector.

Benigno was asked last year by a fellow NCMA member who he previously worked with to close out Air Force contracts to consider participating in a panel discussion. According to Benigno, these events are used "to discuss current trends and issues with contracting professionals and promote meaningful dialogue and understanding."

Metzger agreed that these types of events help participants enhance their communication and share best practices.

"These types of events help bring industry and government professionals together to learn from each other's successes and challenges," said Metzger. "We are also able to exchange knowledge and best practices. I enjoy participating because it helps us work together toward our common goals and understand one another's point of view."

This was the first time each employee participated in a NCMA panel, but they agreed they would participate in future discussions, if invited.

The trio each brought a unique perspective to the closeout panel discussion. Raymer said that as a contract administrator, the event was a good way to learn the various perspectives of other acquisition professionals as well as how they do their jobs using relevant business processes.

Metzger said she enjoyed highlighting her "bird's-eye view perspective of contract closeout through the lens of policy and regulations."

Benigno said it was important to share the Department of Defense and DCMA perspective with the audience.

"I thought it was beneficial to share our knowledge and first-hand experiences as representatives of DOD contracting," said Benigno. "It was also eye-opening to hear about contract closeouts from the contractor's point of view. I was interested in the real-world issues they presented to us and felt helpful when I provided my perspective as well as potential courses of action for resolution. Learning about the challenges contractors face reinforced my focus on how we can best assist them."

During the event, the DCMA employees discussed optimizing contract management throughout the contract lifecycle to ease the contract closeout process.

According to Metzger, they discussed challenges encountered during closeout procedures such as property resolution and contract reconciliation. The group discussed Contract Receipt and Review and emphasized that on-going communication between the government personnel and contractors during the contract administration process is key for successful contract closeouts.

The team said it is important for DCMA personnel and contractors to keep track of contract modifications, maintain updated system database information, and complete all contract closeout checklist items.

"Our contract management office works daily to reduce backlogs by emphasizing strong communication skills and leveraging the relationship with the contractor to ensure we can identify challenges early on in the process," Metzger said. "We have also initiated a group of contract administrators who focus on overage contracts that require resolution and meet biweekly to take information back to their teams."

The DCMA team received positive feedback after the event. Participants appreciated the team for sharing contract closeout resources, their candor and goal to ensure that everyone knew they were working to support America's warfighters.

"We received immediate in-person positive feedback from the audience and organizers of the event as well as from subsequent e-mails days later," said Benigno. "I was also approached by two Boeing personnel after the event to discuss issues they were currently dealing with and sought guidance for, which I think is a benefit of forums such as these. We can establish working relationships where we can assist each other in the future."

In addition to a unique perspective, each panelist has a wealth of acquisition experience to share with their peers as well as contractors, which helps them excel at their jobs. Raymer worked in private industry for 36 years before joining DCMA. Metzger, who worked at DCMA Syracuse before joining DCMA Boeing St. Louis, was an administrative contracting officer and a contract administrator before becoming a procurement analyst.

"My background in both environments give me a unique point of view as to how closeout successes and challenges vary between large and small businesses," said Metzger. "I also previously worked in industry, so I have experienced closeout from a contractor's perspective."

Benigno joined the office as an active-duty Air Force officer in January 2014, and he retired in September 2018 after 20 years of service working in a variety of contracting positions, including his role as the contract administrator and then ACO for the F-15 production program. He continued in the program as a civilian ACO when he returned to the DCMA team in February 2019. He said the experience he has gained from DCMA is invaluable.

"I became familiar with closeouts through the eventual completion of contracts and delivery orders from my assigned workload," he said. "In addition to using the DD Form 1597 Contract Closeout Checklist and DD Form 1594 Contract Completion Statement to ensure proper closeouts, it was our CMO training, library of example closeout documents, and consultations with my fellow ACOs that contributed to my knowledge where I could confidently share my experiences with others."

In addition to participating in the panel discussion, the team also partners with others throughout the year to share lessons learned, including working with DCMA's Cost and Pricing Command and the Defense Contract Audit Agency. These types of trainings and meetings provide an opportunity for collaboration, guidance and updates about DOD databases and systems related to closeout checklist item procedures, including information related to patents and royalties, which are required for contract closeouts.

The team expressed gratitude to their commander, Navy Capt. Daniel Martin, for encouraging them and other DCMA Boeing St. Louis employees to maintain communication with contractors to ensure warfighters get what they need when they need it. The CMO is comprised of approximately 250 civilian and military personnel who deliver the F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet, T-7A Red Hawk and MQ-25 Stingray aircraft to military customers around the world, as well as thousands of weapons and parts for many DOD platforms.

"When Navy Capt. Martin assumed command of DCMA Boeing St. Louis last year, he highlighted our continuing partnership with Boeing and our role in helping them support the warfighter," Benigno explained. "Timely contract closeout is a part of that success as it's the last step after the contractor receives its final payment for fulfilling their obligations to the government. When proper closeouts occur, DCMA meets its annual metric goals and the contractor demonstrates that it is fully capable of performing them, which prevents a backlog of contracts and delivery orders lingering in MOCAS, also known as the Mechanization of Contract Administration Services system."

Benigno encouraged DCMA employees to participate in events like this because they can share their knowledge and learn useful information at the same time.

"I highly encourage DCMA personnel to participate in an NCMA panel or other similar forum if they're invited or presented with the opportunity to speak," he stated. "It definitely helped me think on the fly when audience members asked us questions about specific and unique issues they were facing. We gain knowledge and understanding by sharing our experiences and challenges with each other, which further contributes to our career and personal growth.

"After participating in the NCMA panel, I'm motivated to attend future panels in the local area regarding closeouts or other relevant contracting topics where I can share my experiences."

Jo Anne Hamilton Parks, the CMO's Contracts director, is proud of the DCMA panelists because of their collaboration skills and commitment to building and maintaining strong internal and external relationships.

"I think the panelists did a great job representing DCMA Boeing St. Louis," she said. "Our entire CMO team is committed to supporting the warfighter."