PAE Solidifies Its Presence in Afghanistan with National Maintenance Strategy Contract
The longtime government services contractor moved up nine spots this year to #36 on the BGOV200, thanks in part to its work supporting the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
PAE is a heavy-hitter in government contracting, having worked globally as a key U.S. government partner since 1955. Today the company thrives, with $2.6 billion in annual revenue, 20,000 employees, and an operational presence in 70 countries.
In 2018, PAE further solidified its status as a contracting powerhouse after a realignment of its business and an expansion of its services in some of the world’s most challenging environments. Additionally, the 2018 acquisition of Macfadden allowed PAE to move into new customer markets, providing a natural extension of its work in Ebola remediation and strengthening PAE’s value to USAID.
But the more notable change in the company’s work in 2018 came with executing a National Maintenance Strategy (NMS) contract to support the U.S. Army’s mission in Afghanistan. The U.S. government awarded PAE this contract in May 2017, and the program achieved full operating capability in December 2017. This training contract aims to create a logistically self-reliant Afghan National Army and Police Force. PAE has been obligated $390 million since fiscal 2017 of an $815 million total value contract that is set to end in May 2022.
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To support a vehicle fleet of more than 100,000 equipment pieces, PAE partnered with Automotive Management Services to employ nearly 3,600 people from 21 countries, 88% of whom are Afghan nationals. Operating at 31 locations across Afghanistan and with periodic presence in all 34 provinces, PAE focuses on training soldiers and policemen through hands-on, performance-oriented education. More than one-third of the Afghan mechanics and logisticians have graduated from PAE courses, and a PAE pilot program is training the Afghan Army’s logistics school. The Afghan Army is completing more than half of all repairs, and the police force is on pace to complete 25% of all repairs in the coming year.
“[That is] no small accomplishment given that the Afghanistan National Defense Security Forces were entirely reliant on contract maintenance prior to the start of the NMS-GVS program,” says Dan Corbett, vice president of operations for international logistics and stability operations at PAE.
Through this contract, PAE is empowering Afghans to develop and stabilize their own security forces and, by extension, their region. Meanwhile, the contract is solidifying PAE’s base of service and level of expertise throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan.
“Our leadership team in Kabul has earned the trust, respect, and confidence of senior civilian and military officials,” says Corbett. In fact, according to Corbett, the Afghan deputy defense minister praised PAE’s vision of a capable Afghan National Army. He quotes the defense minister as saying, “PAE cares as much about the [Afghan National Army] as any of our soldiers in uniform.”
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