I am a contract specialist currently assigned to NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Puget Sound in Bremerton, Washington. With this article, I intend to provide an inside look into to the Supply Corp’s Navy Acquisition Contracting Officer (NACO) Internship program. A NACO internship is a comprehensive on-the-job experience that offers firsthand insight into contracting processes within multiple areas of the Supply Corps. The program also involves tailored coursework created through Defense Acquisition University’s (DAU) “Back to Basics” Contracting Certification Program.
Officers must be within the ranks of O-1 to O-3 to be eligible to apply for a NACO internship. For those with the rank of O-3 consideration into the internship programs must not impede on an applicant’s opportunity to start a second operational tour prior to zoning for O-4. For NACO internships specifically a minimum of 24 business related credit hours must be included in the applicant’s college transcript. All interns must complete a minimum tour of 24 months and are required to agree to an additional tour of 12 months or greater. Upon completion of the Contracting Professional Certification, NACO interns will receive the ‘ACA’ contracting Additional Qualification Code (AQD), and the 1306S subspecialty code once their tour is complete.
One of the advantages of the NACO internship is all DAU contracting courses are now online. This eliminates the need for travel and allows a lot more flexibility for a NACO intern in terms of course selection. For those who struggle with distance learning, the digital interface may be a bit of an adjustment. However, DAU has wonderful instructors that will guide and teach students at the same level if not better than what a student would experience in a physical classroom.
Another great experience offered through the NACO internship is a three-week course, Navy Understanding Industry Core held at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. This course is designed to deliver a condensed business curriculum to amplify interns’ awareness of business issues such as decision making and business management techniques from a corporate/commercial perspective. The course helps interns bridge the gap of understanding between government and corporate operations.
There are various communities of interest that offer NACO internships. A NAVUP FLC Puget Sound, our Contracting Department (Code 200) primarily focuses on awarding commercial firm-fixed-price, service, and supply contracts under Unusual and Compelling Urgency and Sole Source or Urgent Competitive Services on behalf of various U.S. Navy vessels. NAVSUP FLC Puget Sound supports the Military Sealift Command, Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center Sasebo and Yokosuka, and the Navy Northwest Region. The job involves cradle-to-grave functions (pre-award, award, and post-award): conducting market research, developing acquisition plans, identifying small business concerns, or preparing DD Form 2579s (Small Business Coordination Record) as necessary, synopsizing, and posting solicitations via SAM.gov, conducting price analysis, awarding contracts, and administering contracts and executing modifications as necessary. Post-award experience includes contract closeouts, modifications, cancellations, and requests for equitable adjustments. Interns are quickly immersed in the world of contracting upon arrival and while it may seem like a lot of information to learn, the DAU program has been specifically designed for interns to retain information in a structured, tiered system that does not overwhelm the intern.
My favorite part of the NACO internship is that every day is an opportunity to learn and sharpen one’s contracting skills. My civilian counterparts have played a major role in helping me bridge the gap between the information and application. The knowledge and experience they possess is remarkable and it demonstrates how so many different people and elements come together to support our Navy.
Lt. Noruwa Obanor, a NACO Intern with NAVSEA, notes that he shares the same sentiments.
“My favorite part about being a NACO intern is working with the GSs. I value their insight and am interested in learning contracting from both a customer and contractor perspective,” he said.
Obanor’s shipboard experience allows for productive conversations between he and the civilian contract specialists in his workplace. Over at NAVSEA LTJG Obanor works in the SEA 0262 Branch with Undersea Systems, primarily ISIS (Integrated Submarine Imaging Systems). His man role is to assist in procuring and modifying contracts in support of littoral operations, visual intelligence gathering, and effective employment of surveillance and weapons systems.
He notes that initially, he found that grasping all the terminology was the most challenging aspect of the program, he was quickly able to overcome that from the help of his team and the DAU courses.
The NACO internship is a great opportunity and all those who are interested should greatly consider applying. Interns can gain incredible insight from both civilians and military members and truly see the value contracting has not only in terms of a Supply Corps career, but more importantly, seeing how contracting has a direct and critical impact on the Navy’s mission.
