Latoya Michel

Latoya Michel serves as a key procurement professional within the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, supporting the Department of the Navy’s mission to develop and sustain advanced aviation training systems. She manages acquisitions for engineering services critical to the design, integration, and modernization of immersive simulation environments, tactical flight trainers, and mission-critical avionics infrastructure. Her work directly enables pilot and aircrew readiness through the procurement of high-fidelity training solutions aligned with naval aviation doctrine and emerging operational requirements. Michel’s portfolio is exclusively focused on engineering services, ensuring technical rigor and systems interoperability across live, virtual, and constructive training domains. Her primary contractor relationships are centered on STRACON SERVICES GROUP, LLC and FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL INC, both of which provide specialized simulation development, curriculum integration, and aviation training system sustainment. These partnerships reflect a preference for established industry leaders with proven expertise in military aviation training technologies, while maintaining flexibility for niche engineering support. Michel’s contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, systems engineering rigor, and lifecycle support, ensuring that delivered solutions meet the Navy’s evolving operational and technological standards. Michel demonstrates a strong commitment to small business participation, with approximately two-thirds of her acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This reflects a deliberate strategy to foster innovation and capacity within the defense engineering ecosystem, leveraging small businesses for specialized engineering tasks while maintaining reliance on larger firms for integrated system delivery. Her socioeconomic contracting patterns prioritize broad small business inclusion without reliance on specific programs like 8(a) or HUBZone, indicating a focus on capability over certification. Her procurement activity is entirely concentrated under NAICS 541330 (Engineering Services), underscoring her specialization in systems engineering, simulation architecture, and training system integration. She procures advanced software-defined training platforms, real-time data analytics tools, and human-in-the-loop simulation hardware, all aligned with naval aviation’s need for adaptive, scalable, and mission-relevant training infrastructure.