Army Col. Kenneth Darnall, the Defense Contract Management Agency Central Region commander, oversaw the establishment standup ceremony of DCMA Land Systems here June 5.
DCMA Detroit was disestablished during the ceremony with the casing of the colors and became part of DCMA Land Systems. Approximately 60 people attended the live-digital hybrid event in person, which was held at the Detroit Arsenal.
“The contributions of DCMA Detroit have directly impacted the readiness and effectiveness of our military, and we express our gratitude,” said Darnall.
The commander praised the team for their innovation and rigorous standards used in acquisition insight and contract oversight of the military’s advanced combat vehicles.
“As we standup DCMA Land Systems, we will better anticipate the challenges of tomorrow,” said Darnall. “Our mission remains clear, which is to continue to provide the best equipment on time at the best value to the American taxpayer. To the men and women of DCMA Detroit, your hard work, dedication, and professionalism have set a high standard,” said Darnall. “You have built a legacy that has inspired generations of DCMA professionals.”
The Army’s M10 Booker combat vehicle is one of the programs DCMA Land Systems’ employees support through contract oversight. The Booker is a modernized combat vehicle that can go 40 miles per hour and maintains an enhanced thermal viewer, large caliber cannon, and a lightweight hull and turret.
In addition to DCMA Detroit employees, which includes team members from its streamlined contract management office DCMA BAE York, Pennsylvania, and from the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and Anniston, Alabama, in-plant groups, some employees from DCMA Chicago, DCMA Dallas, and DCMA Huntsville, Alabama, who work on certain military vehicle contracts, transferred to the new CMO.
Approximately 180 DCMA employees joined the new CMO, which is a result of DCMA Vision, the agency’s strategic plan that realigns and consolidates CMOs to a single weapon system platform to better serve customers.
DCMA senior leaders, including Cory Rosenberger, chief of staff, attended as well as partners and customers from the Detroit Arsenal, who represented the Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command.
DCMA Detroit was one of the original 11 Defense Contract Administration Services Regions started in 1965. The organization underwent several changes before restructuring to be known as DCMA Detroit in 2001. DCMA Land Systems was officially activated under General Order No. FY24-16 June 2.
Amy Kozlowski, DCMA Detroit’s former director, became the new director of DCMA Land Systems.
“Amy is the right leader at the right time,” said Darnall. “DCMA Detroit set a benchmark in contract administration. You should have a sense of pride in what you accomplished as a group. We are simply not changing the name of the CMO. DCMA Land Systems builds upon DCMA Detroit’s capabilities that are needed and necessary for our nation’s defense. DCMA Detroit’s legacy will live on as you meet the new challenges. This ceremony acts a conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of another.”
During the ceremony, Kozlowski praised her team for their patience and dedication to making the transition smooth and thanked DCMA senior leaders for their guidance and assistance along the way.
“We started this journey from DCMA Detroit to DCMA Land Systems nearly a year ago, and it took a tremendous team of dedicated professionals exercising critical thinking and reaching out not only across CMOs in DCMA, but also across stakeholders, to get us to this day and to ensure we are aligned properly for standup,” she said.
Kozlowski had been the director of DCMA Detroit for two years before the transition. She said she quickly learned a lot from the team and hoped the group would remain close after the transition.
“DCMA Detroit was a family,” she said. “I have never been in an organization with such a strong showing of support from their retirees and team members as I have witnessed in DCMA Detroit. That is a testament to how close knit the team is. In this realignment, please do not forget that comradery that made DCMA Detroit great or the rich history…but also embrace the new opportunities ahead with that same commitment.
“As individuals and teams, I believe we are at a time and place where we are supposed to make a positive impact, and that couldn’t be more true of this DCMA Land Systems command standup,” she continued. “This team is aligning to our multi-service stakeholders in a way like never before to enable greater collaboration on risk and priorities. We will provide the program managers and program executive offices with a single point in-road to DCMA for an end-to-end view of the platform and program risks without the distraction of simultaneously managing thousands of other non-related contracts.”
DCMA Land Systems team members are located in seven plants as well as an additional seven DD250 locations across six states. A DD250 is a Department of Defense form that quality personnel sign after inspecting a vehicle and is the government officially accepting the vehicle from the contractor.
The team will manage a new portfolio of more than 1,000 contracts valued at $62 billion. The team will continue to work with the Army Contracting Command and the Marine Corps Systems Command as well as four PEOs. The team will also provide oversight on 13 reporting major programs, including the M1 Abrams tank, Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the Stryker Combat Vehicle, and six non-reporting non-major programs.
“Today is bittersweet as we disestablish DCMA Detroit, an organization with an almost 60-year rich history and culture, and we say farewell to some of our team members who will transition to DCMA Ohio River Valley,” said Kozlowski.
“But DCMA couldn’t be making this change at a more meaningful time," she added. "This is coming at a critical time for the military services’ ground programs. We celebrate the rich history of DCMA Detroit and build from it with a renewed and dedicated focus on our PEO and buying command objectives and opportunities ahead for DCMA Land Systems. There is no better time for this realignment.”
