Desiree Thomas

Desiree Thomas serves as a key procurement lead within the FA2518 USSF SPOC/SAIO, a specialized unit under the Department of the Air Force dedicated to advancing space domain capabilities. She manages the acquisition of high-priority engineering, telecommunications, and research services critical to sustaining and modernizing space-based surveillance, satellite communications, and electromagnetic warfare systems. Her work directly supports the agency’s mission to ensure operational superiority in contested space environments by securing technically sophisticated solutions that enhance space domain awareness and resilient satellite architectures. She routinely handles complex, mission-critical contracts requiring stringent compliance with national security protocols and rapid deployment timelines. Thomas maintains consistent, long-term partnerships with leading defense and aerospace contractors including Keystone Mission Solutions Corp, Riverside Research Institute, and Bowhead Information Technology Service LLC. These vendors are frequently selected for their proven expertise in space systems engineering, signal intelligence, and secure communications infrastructure. Her contracting approach emphasizes technical excellence, past performance, and mission alignment over cost alone, fostering collaborative relationships with vendors capable of delivering rapid innovation in classified and sensitive operational environments. Thomas’s procurement portfolio is entirely open to full and open competition, with no set-asides designated for 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, or other socioeconomic categories. This reflects a strategic prioritization of mission-critical capability over socioeconomic preferences, ensuring access to the most technically qualified providers in a highly specialized domain where expertise is scarce and requirements are mission-essential. Her primary procurement focus is exclusively under NAICS 611430—Professional and Management Development Training—indicating a strong emphasis on workforce development, technical certification, and specialized training programs for space operations personnel. She procures advanced curricula, simulation-based training systems, and cyber-physical workforce readiness initiatives tailored to the evolving demands of space warfare and satellite command systems.