Military Sealift Command Public Affairs
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September 16, 2009

Military Sealift Command wins U.S. Navy small business award

Military Sealift Command's small business program was formally recognized for its excellence in a ceremony at the Pentagon today where Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work presented the Secretary's Award for the Department of the Navy's Outstanding Small Business Program in fiscal year 2007 to MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly, Jr., and MSC Associate Director of Small Business Bradley D. Taylor.

This is the first time MSC has received the award, which was created in 2002 to recognize a command's success in meeting its small business program targets and the implementation of its Small Business Improvement Plan.

MSC awards approximately $400 million of its $3 billion annual budget to small U.S. businesses. These firms fulfill MSC's critical requirements, such as ship repair, vessel-operating contracts and charters, harbor tugs, port services, engineering and information technology services, and layberths.

"MSC is very supportive of small businesses and is committed to supporting the Navy's small business program," said Taylor. "We are proud of what we have accomplished and excited about the direction we are headed in."

While this award recognizes performance in fiscal year 2007, MSC's small business program continues to excel. In fiscal year 2009, the command beat its total previous year small business goals by 35 percent, including a 162 percent performance increase in service-disabled-veteran-owned small business firms and a 414 percent increase to small businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones - urban or rural communities that attract few businesses.

"In a time of diminishing budgets, it's about doing more with less," said Taylor. "Small businesses help us do that. They promote the advancement of technology, service and competition."

Deputy Small Business Program Manager Sandra Tyree of Military Sealift Fleet Support Command, MSC's subordinate command, agrees. "Putting money aside, we should always be mindful that small businesses are vital to maintaining the strength of our nation and our naval forces," said Tyree. "For this reason alone, we must do all we can to maximize small business participation if our warfighters are to succeed."

Small businesses, which comprise 99.7 percent of U.S. businesses and employ about half of all private sector employees, are "vital to our country because of the sheer number of them," said Taylor.

All Navy contracting commands are considered for this annual award and are judged based on a comparison with their previous year achievements. Judging criteria includes a performance evaluation of the quality and quantity of actions taken to increase small-business participation, training and outreach initiatives and the command's progress in implementing the Department of the Navy's Small Business Improvement Plan.

MSC operates approximately 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners.

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