Col. Lisbon Williams Joins Team Orlando as Head of ACC-Orlando

By Shane Klestinski, Associate Editor

 

Army Col. Lisbon Williams began a new chapter in his career last summer when he received his promotion to colonel and became the new director of the U.S. Army Contracting Command-Orlando (ACC-Orlando) in an assumption of director ceremony, July 31.

 

Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, Williams grew up familiar with military life from an early age due to his father’s service in the Army. Williams said he was always interested in pursuing the military, and he took a “keen interest” during his father’s time with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

 

“I always thought it was really cool seeing him jumping out of airplanes, and I thought, ‘I can’t wait to do that myself,’” Williams said. “That interest kind of faded once I got older and became a rebellious teenager, but it got ‘resparked’ once I got to college and a friend introduced me to an ROTC instructor.”

 

Although Williams was focusing more on a football scholarship at the time, he eventually took a military science class. He received an ROTC scholarship the following year, and “I’ve been in ever since.” Williams said he enjoyed his ROTC program, and the cadre made the material interesting. His military career began in 2002 when he graduated with a bachelor’s in English from Hampton University and received his commission as an Army second lieutenant.

 

“I wasn’t planning on serving a full 20 years, but once I got into the service, I was having fun and I lost track of time,” Williams said. “The next thing you know, I’d been in almost 10 years. That’s when I realized I was in no rush to get out because I was enjoying my service.”

 

He initially branched into infantry (though he later transitioned into adjutant general) and reported to his first duty assignment at Fort Liberty (then Fort Bragg), North Carolina, in 2003 as a rifle platoon leader in 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Williams went on to serve a three-year stint as battalion adjutant for 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

 

During the Global War on Terror, Williams deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, for Operation Iraqi Freedom I later in 2003. He went to Afghanistan to serve in Kandahar in 2006 and again in Bagram in 2008, for Operation Enduring Freedom-VI and VIII, respectively.

 

“When I first came in, we were constantly going back and forth to Iraq and Afghanistan, pretty much on rhythm, every other year to deploy,” Williams said. “We spent most of our time getting ready for that or coming back from that.”

 

In 2009, Williams became executive officer at the Miami Military Entrance Processing Station for a year, and then he spent 31 months as a team leader for the 678th Contingency Contracting Team. Starting in 2012, he spent nine months deployed to Soto Cano Airbase, Honduras, as the chief of contracting for Joint Task Force – Bravo.

 

Williams’ next assignment took him to Maryland, where he worked for over three years as the administrative contracting officer for the Defense Contract Management Agency Baltimore. During which, he returned to the Middle East in 2018 to serve in Kuwait with Special Operations Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve as chief of the Operational Contract Support Integration Cell. Subsequently, Williams was stationed overseas in January 2019.

 

This time, Williams’ duty outside of the continental U.S. took him to the U.K., where he embedded in the British Ministry of Defense in London for 15 months as the International Technology Center director. In London, he was the principal Army Science and Technology/Acquisition representative for 10 countries in Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia, and Williams specifically named this position as one of two previous jobs that have most prepared him to command ACC-Orlando. In that role, Williams focused on identifying, evaluating and communicating emerging tech and innovative research that provided warfighters with overmatch capabilities.

 

“That was the first position I had in the Acquisition Corps where I really had up-close-and-personal relationships with industry,” Williams said. “That’s exactly what we strive to do here at ACC-Orlando. [Specifically,] establish and maintain diverse relationships with industry to make sure we get a good product for the warfighter, but also work together as a team to ensure everything the warfighter needs is taken care of in an efficient manner that is a ‘win-win’ for government and industry.”

 

As his career has progressed, Williams has completed a variety of military training and education packages, including the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Adjutant General Captain’s Career Course, the Army Acquisition Basic Course, and studies at the Command and General Staff College. He earned his Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level III certification in contracting, as well as his DAWIA Level I certification in program management. William has also continued his civilian education over the years, earning a master’s in human resources management from Webster University in 2008, and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University in 2015.

 

More recently, he worked for three years as commander/director at the Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, where he provided contracting support to the installation, its tenant units/activities, and the Joint Readiness Training Center. Williams also credits his time in this position that has been one of the most influential in developing and preparing him for his current role.

 

“In Orlando, our primary focus is simulation and training, and that job [at MICC] got me into the mind frame of what the warfighters need, and the need for support in their mission,” Williams said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing and providing for here at ACC-Orlando. MICC gave me some really good ‘inside baseball’ insight on what our customers require.”

 

In his new post with ACC-Orlando, a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Contracting Command and the U.S. Army Materiel Command, Williams is responsible for more than 170 contracting professionals who execute a multibillion-dollar portfolio that supports the Army’s Training Support System portfolio. ACC-Orlando provides tailored contracting solutions and business advice for a diverse customer base, such as Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, Army Futures Command, Program Executive Office for Aviation, the National Guard Bureau, and the Security Assistance Training Management Office. Williams noted that he is especially looking forward to getting to know everyone on the ACC-Orlando team as time goes by.

 

“We’ve got some outstanding professionals within the organization,” Williams said. “It’s a great family-team atmosphere we have, and it’s a much larger team than I’ve led in the past, so I’m making a concerted effort to get to know everyone within the organization on a person level, understand what their challenges are and see how I can help, professionally and personally.”

 

He emphasized that he is also enthusiastic about getting to know all the stake-holders, meeting major customers and industry partners as well.

 

“When I took over back in July, I said that between ACC-Orlando, PEO STRI, and several customers in industry, we’re the linchpin between requirement and capability for the warfighter,” Williams said. “Making sure that I have good relationships with everyone within my organization and outside [of it] is one of my big focuses. We can do anything from there.”

 

Coming from a combat training center (CTC) background, he recognizes the important, “no fail” aspect of the contracts that support those CTC missions, he emphasized the importance of those CTC assets in positioning soldiers to maintain their prepared status and readiness. Williams is also looking forward to advancing other projects, such as increasing efficiency with artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as next-gen developments.

 

“The next-gen constructive projects coming out of PEO STRI are a big focus for the chief of staff of the Army,” Williams said. “It’s a great capability that’s definitely needed to support future operations and multidomain operations, so I’m looking forward to seeing that through. That’s a very hot topic for Army senior leadership, and I’m glad to be a part of helping push that across the finish line.”