Cheryl D. Ruffin

Cheryl D. Ruffin serves as a key procurement lead within the W6QK Acc-rsa office of the Department of the Army, where she manages the acquisition of mission-critical aerospace and missile defense systems. Her responsibilities center on securing advanced relay and industrial control systems that underpin the reliability and performance of U.S. Army aviation platforms, including the UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters. She oversees the full lifecycle of contracts—from requirements validation through award and performance monitoring—ensuring alignment with Army modernization goals for avionics, sensor integration, and propulsion control technologies. Her work directly supports the sustainment and enhancement of aerial combat and air defense capabilities across the force. Ruffin maintains strategic partnerships with a broad network of industrial control and aerospace subcontractors, particularly those specializing in ruggedized electronics, programmable logic controllers, and mission-critical firmware. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with firms possessing specialized expertise in military-grade relay systems, electromagnetic compatibility, and real-time control architectures. Her contracting approach emphasizes technical precision, supply chain resilience, and compliance with military standards such as MIL-STD-810 and DO-160. Ruffin demonstrates an unwavering commitment to small business participation, directing 100% of her acquisitions toward small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. She prioritizes contracting with small disadvantaged businesses, HUBZone firms, and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses that bring niche capabilities in industrial automation and defense-grade control systems. This approach not only fosters innovation but also strengthens the Army’s industrial base by cultivating specialized small business partners with proven technical agility. Her primary focus lies in NAICS 335314—Relay and Industrial Control Manufacturing—where she procures custom-engineered control panels, signal conditioning units, and embedded control modules essential for aircraft avionics and missile guidance systems. Her technical expertise spans electromechanical switching, fault-tolerant circuit design, and secure data bus integration, ensuring that all acquired systems meet the rigorous demands of battlefield environments.