Capt Melissa De Sousa

Capt Melissa De Sousa serves as a key contracting professional within the FA5215 766 Ess Pkp, a critical unit under the Department of the Air Force responsible for sustaining airpower readiness through technical and logistical support. She manages the acquisition of specialized industrial machinery and related systems essential to maintaining operational infrastructure at Air Force installations. Her portfolio centers on procuring mission-critical equipment that supports base sustainment, communications resilience, and facility modernization, ensuring alignment with Air Force readiness objectives. Capt De Sousa exercises full lifecycle contract management, from market research and solicitation through award and performance oversight, with a focus on high-reliability, defense-grade industrial systems. Her primary contractor relationship is with ARCTEC ALASKA JV, a trusted partner delivering specialized industrial machinery solutions tailored to austere and high-demand operational environments. While ARCTEC ALASKA JV is the dominant vendor, her contracting activity reflects a deliberate preference for limited, high-performing vendor pools, indicating a strategic focus on proven technical capability over broad competition. This pattern suggests a reliance on established, vetted contractors with demonstrated expertise in defense-constrained logistics and ruggedized equipment delivery. Capt De Sousa maintains a 100% Total Small Business Set-Aside policy across all her acquisitions, fully aligning with FAR 19.5 and reflecting an unwavering commitment to socioeconomic contracting goals. Every procurement is structured to maximize opportunities for small businesses, ensuring compliance with Department of the Air Force mandates to foster innovation and resilience through diverse vendor participation. Her procurement activity is exclusively focused on NAICS 333248, All Other Industrial Machinery Manufacturing, indicating deep specialization in custom-engineered, non-standard industrial systems—such as maintenance platforms, power distribution units, and specialized fabrication equipment—critical to sustaining airfield and base infrastructure. This technical domain requires intimate knowledge of military specifications, durability standards, and integration requirements for expeditionary and fixed-site operations.