Service-disabled veterans key to meeting military missions

  • Published
  • By Annette Crawford
  • Air Force Small Business Center of Excellence
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  Three Air Force winners were among 19 organizations and individuals honored at the first Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Awards Ceremony Nov. 5 at the Pentagon.

The group of entrepreneurs and department acquisition officials earned praise from Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England for their support of Presidential Order 13360, which calls for the department to increase contracts and subcontracts for service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses.

"Their performance has been superb and their companies continue to grow," Mr. England said. The disabled veterans who run small companies "have conquered not just the risky business world, but they did it despite the added burden of their service-related disabilities."

The Air Force contractors who were awarded in the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business category were M1 Support Services of Denton, Texas, and Quality Support, Inc., of Landover, Md. Reggie Selby, an Air Force civilian employee at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., won in the "Golden Talon" award category.

"It's really an honor to be recognized as a service-disabled company because the program is so new," said Kathleen Hildreth of M1 Support Services. Her company was nominated for their support of consolidated aircraft maintenance for Air Combat Command.

The former U.S. Army maintenance officer and maintenance test pilot has 20 years experience in government and professional services. She believes her recipe for success is simple.

"We try not to act like a small business," she said. "We try to give (our customers) the same kind of service and the same kind of reassurance that the mission is going to be accomplished as if they were awarding it to a large company."

Wayne Gatewood, president and chief executive officer of Quality Support, Inc., is a Vietnam veteran and retired Marine.

"Winning this award means a lot because it not so much recognizes me as a person, but the spirit that allows our company to do what it does for our customers in the Department of Defense, and what I do personally for our veterans' community," he said.

Mr. Gatewood's company was instrumental in the Air Force's 60th anniversary commemoration and the execution of the 2007 Air Force Global Air Chiefs Conference.

Mr. Selby is a small business specialist with the 21st Space Wing at Peterson AFB. He said enlisting small companies owned by service-disabled veterans to work with DOD is good business and the right thing to do.

"Those are the companies that are owned by the members of our society that really put their lives on the line and some have suffered the consequences of that," Mr. Selby said. "My goal is to support the program to the utmost of my ability."

Mr. Selby was recognized for his innovative strategy during the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command advisory and assistance services acquisition. His work resulted in the award of a five-year $800 million contract for Homeland Security requirements to a service-disabled veteran owned small business.

Ronald A. Poussard, director of the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Small Business Programs, said he was proud of the award winners because of what they were doing in support of the warfighter and the Air Force mission.

"That's what it's all about. It's not just about receiving the contracts. We are reaching beyond goals to move forward with capable companies, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, to be able to achieve key missions around the Air Force," Mr. Poussard said.

"Service-disabled veteran-owned businesses are critical to meeting the mission," he said. "There are no other categories of individuals or companies that really understand what the Department of Defense does and what it needs, and who can bring not only that sense of mission, but the dedication and the innovation that small businesses bring to the fight."

(Gerry J. Gilmore of American Forces Press Service contributed to this article.)

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