Fort Campbell Director named Army’s Top Civilian

Fort Campbell, KY – Leslie H. Carroll is the 2010 recipient of the Association of the U.S. Army’s Joseph Cribbins Army Civilian Award as its top Army civilian. Carroll, the director of contracting at the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Campbell KY, director of Contracting, will be honored during the AUSA annual meeting in Washington, D.C., this October.

Carroll leads a staff of more than 50 civilian and military contingency contracting officers providing mission-essential contractual support for Fort Campbell units including the 101st Airborne Division, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the 5th Special Forces Group, as well as the garrison and post tenants. In fiscal 2009, Carroll and her staff managed more than $216 million worth of contracts for Fort Campbell, which is an increase of 80 percent from fiscal 2002 and done with a manpower decrease of 38 percent.

Providing quality support to the Fort Campbell community of more than 31,000 Soldiers, family members and 8,000 civilians is nothing new to Carroll and her team. In 2009 the contracting directorate received the Department of Army’s Outstanding Installation Level Contracting Award, which was the fifth time in eight years since the program’s inception that the MICC-Fort Campbell staff has won this honor. The staff also was selected by U.S. Army Forces Command officials as the Installation Contracting Excellence Award winner for each of the 18 years the award was given.

“We are all part of one team, and I make sure we do what we need to do for this great Army,” Carroll said. “We take contracting very seriously to make the best decisions possibly that are cost effective and beneficial to our customers. I cannot thank God enough for the privilege to meet the needs of Soldiers, their families and the Fort Campbell community.”

Carroll began work as a contracting intern in 1974 at Redstone Arsenal, AL, and then was a contract administrator with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Department of Energy. Born and raised in Hopkinsville, KY, she then transferred to Fort Campbell as a contract specialist in 1980 and later became a procurement analyst. She became director of contracting in 1987 and was the first female GS-14 at Fort Campbell in 1988.

“Leslie’s professional achievements have all been based on taking care of Soldiers and have been recognized and affirmed by her selection as the Department of the Army’s best Installation Contracting Office for five of the nine years of the program’s existence,” said Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell, the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division. “Her management prowess and initiatives resulting in faster response times and millions of dollars in cost savings have benefitted Division readiness, improved installation infrastructure and enhanced the quality of life for Soldiers and family members, not just at Fort Campbell but also throughout the Army.”