JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – It’s Mission Monday. Meet Gary Lee Fowler, an acquisition program manager in the Air Force Installation Contracting Center’s 763rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
He’s responsible for developing, establishing, implementing and controlling contractual, financial and technical aspects of a project or program through designated phases of the acquisition cycle.
“My team is the lead for Category Management 7 (Transportation and Logistics), enterprise solutions and Air Mobility Command portfolio management for DAF acquisition programs,” Fowler said.
We asked the Spartanburg, South Carolina, native to tell us about himself and his work for the Department of the Air Force.
What do you love about your job?
Leading teams and collaborating with co-workers and mission partners in a variety of projects. Every day presents me with different challenges that allows me to develop my organizational and problem-solving skills.
When it comes to your job, what keeps you motivated?
The biggest motivation for me is supporting warfighters to ensure they have the resources they need to accomplish the mission and mentoring co-workers to help them be the best versions of themselves.
Why are you and your team important to the Air Force and Space Force enterprise and your customers?
We develop innovative management techniques, acquisition tracking and program forecasting for AMC portfolio, enterprise contracts and Category Management 7 requirements for the DAF. We plan, develop and execute acquisitions leveraging enhanced business intelligence to control spend, eliminate redundancies and achieve cost and process efficiencies for AFICC acquisitions solutions in support of mission-partner requirements.
Describe a project or event you and your team worked on recently that gave you a great sense of accomplishment:
My team awarded a 10-year contract in Fiscal Year 2023 for official mail centers and postal support services across 39 continental U.S. installations. The contract was the result of the partnership between the 763rd ESS at Scott AFB and AFIMSC’s Installation Support Directorate in San Antonio. The initiative saves time and money, establishes consistency of service and supports the employment of underserved communities.
How does what you do support AFIMSC’s strategic priorities?
We provide timely, credible and actionable business data supporting the Air Force Transportation and Logistics Services Category Management, enterprise solutions and mission efforts to enable data-driven decisions that improve the strategic management of cost, increase mission effectiveness and solve mission challenges. We also identify opportunities to use standardization to increase process efficiency, and to design and implement innovative acquisition solutions that leverage Air Force buying power in transportation and logistics spend.
Is there anything else you’d like to add which might help people understand the importance of what you do for the Department of the Air Force?
As a project manager, I’m accountable with the responsibility for the execution and management of cost, schedule, risk and performance of the acquisition program throughout the acquisition cycle. My primary job is to lead a multi-functional team and deliver timely, effective, efficient and affordable DAF acquisition solutions to our mission partners in support of strategic objectives.