Mary Skaggs

Mary Skaggs serves as a Contracting Officer at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC), where she plays a critical role in acquiring and sustaining the nation’s nuclear deterrent systems. Her portfolio encompasses complex, high-consequence procurements for nuclear weapons platforms, including gravity bombs, tail kits, telemetry units, and command and control infrastructure. She ensures compliance with stringent safety, reliability, and security standards while managing the full lifecycle of contracts—from solicitation through award and performance oversight—to support the modernization and sustainment of legacy and next-generation nuclear systems under the B61-13 program and other classified initiatives. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Ms. Skaggs maintains longstanding partnerships with defense prime contractors and specialized systems integrators with proven expertise in nuclear weapons engineering, radiation-hardened electronics, and secure logistics. Her procurement approach emphasizes technical rigor, risk mitigation, and supply chain integrity, often requiring vendors to hold top-secret clearances and comply with Department of Defense nuclear surety requirements. She works closely with engineering and program management teams to align contracting strategies with technical milestones and operational readiness goals. Ms. Skaggs’ contracting activity is entirely non-set-aside, reflecting the national security sensitivity and specialized nature of AFNWC missions. Her office does not utilize socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, as the technical demands and security constraints of nuclear weapons acquisitions typically require large-scale, cleared industrial capabilities beyond the scope of small business participation. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS categories related to defense aerospace systems, nuclear weapons engineering, and advanced electronics manufacturing. She routinely procures highly specialized components including arming, fusing, and firing systems; radiation-tolerant avionics; and secure data links, requiring deep domain expertise in nuclear weapons design, safety protocols, and weapons system integration.