Marlene Ridgell

Marlene Ridgell serves as a key procurement professional within the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, supporting the U.S. Navy’s mission to advance ordnance systems, explosives, and precision instrumentation. She manages a diverse portfolio of acquisitions focused on engineering services, specialized manufacturing, and technical testing critical to weapon system sustainment and modernization. Her work ensures the timely delivery of mission-critical capabilities through compliant, performance-based contracting practices aligned with Department of the Navy priorities. She routinely handles complex contracts involving technical specifications for explosives handling systems, machine shop fabrication, and electronic control instrumentation. Ridgell maintains established relationships with a core group of contractors including TOTAL CONCEPTS OF DESIGN INC, Boh Environmental, L.L.C., CHUCKING MACHINE PRODUCTS, INC., CANADIAN COMMERCIAL CORP, and DEVAL LIFE CYCLE SUPPORT LLC. These partnerships reflect a preference for specialized vendors with proven expertise in ordnance lifecycle support, environmental compliance, precision machining, and defense logistics. Her contracting patterns emphasize long-term technical collaboration over transactional procurement, fostering vendor engagement through clear performance metrics and iterative requirements development. Her procurement strategy prioritizes open competition, with approximately 80.6% of awards issued without set-asides. However, she consistently integrates small business participation, allocating nearly 17% of awards to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5 and approximately 2.8% to 8(a) competed contracts. This balanced approach supports socioeconomic goals while maintaining technical rigor and supply chain resilience. Her primary NAICS focus includes 511210 (Software Publishers) for ordnance control systems, 332710 (Machine Shops) for precision component fabrication, and 325920 (Explosives Manufacturing) for specialized propellant and detonation systems. She also procures 334111 and 334519 category items, reflecting deep technical expertise in electronic instrumentation and automated control devices critical to naval ordnance safety and performance.