By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer

The impact of the military on the local economy has been alternately debated, praised and, after the 1995 Navy base closing and the subsequent deliberations by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission, mourned. Yet the military continues to be a boon for Lowcountry firms, especially small businesses, with the Small Business Program operated by the Charleston Air Force 437th Contracting Squadron.

“We not only take care of our needs at the base, but we’re also charged with assisting everyone in the local area to find a niche in federal procurement,” said Donna Barber, a small business specialist with the 437th Air Wing Command.

The program is mandated by the Small Business Act and implemented through the Federal Acquisition Regulation, which ensures that “a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts or subcontracts for property and services for the government be placed with small business enterprises.”

In order to meet the requirements of the Small Business Act, several practices were put in place to encourage small businesses to work with the Air Force. One of those practices is the “cardholder” system, Barber said.

“We give out government purchasing cards, which have limited purchasing authority, to government clients to buy lots of things we use,” Barber explained.

After being approved for the system, the cardholders use the cards in the procurement process when specific items are requested by the purchasing office. For instance, a company with a $1,000 card will be limited to providing $1,000 worth of products or services for the Air Force.

There are more than 500 cardholders, comprised of both companies and individuals, working with the Charleston Air Force Base, and Barber said the system has streamlined the procurement process dramatically.

“This basically gives us 500 people helping us in purchasing instead of having to hire lots of purchasers,” Barber said. “Our office maintains the cards and keeps track of the funds.”

Most of the cards are authorized for $500 or less, although the cardholders may get approval to purchase more expensive items when the need arises.

“Most items in the marketplace are being bought through the cardholders,” Barber said.

The Charleston Air Force Base is one of 12 squadrons under the Air Mobility Command. Of the AMC’s $64 million budget last year, the second highest amount in history, about $20 million was spent locally among at least 150 small businesses, Barber said.

The goals for working with small business, as outlined in the Small Business Act, are to seek out companies that meet specifications of at least one of five categories:

• Overall small business.
• Woman-owned.
• Minority-owned.
• Service disabled (veterans).
• HUD-zone business (located in underutilized area where there are hopes of building up the economy).

The 437th was the only contracting squadron in the AMC to meet all five small business goals last year, Barber said.

The base occasionally hosts a “vendor day” to give potential vendors an opportunity to showcase their products and services and to learn how to do business with the Air Force. The contracting squadron also held an “industry day” recently for construction companies that wish to work on base facilities.

“Most of our construction work is done either by a prime contractor in the area or by outside contractors who use local subcontractors,” said Barber.

Any business has the opportunity to contact the office, said Lt. Col. Tara Morrison, who is in charge of the program.

“And even if we cannot use their services, we help match them to other government agencies they can work with,” she said.

Some of the products and services procured are for the war effort, Morrison said.

“Some subcontractors provide maintenance on our aircraft with things like erosion control to remove salt and debris or runway rubber removal and restriping,” she said. “Other companies produce (meals ready-to-eat), water, mobility bags, deployment gear, lots of things that are needed over there.”

The squadron holds a vendor meeting every third Thursday from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the Bank of America on Core Street in North Charleston.

“We hold it there since people can’t get on the base since 9/11,” Morrison said. “We work in correlation with the small business development center, which is ideal because they also counsel small businesses in the area.”

The Air Force also has a Web site, www.selltoairforce.org, which offers training and tools on federal procurement opportunities.

Morrison pointed to several awards as proof of the program’s success.

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