Melanie Palmas

Melanie Palmas serves as the primary contracting representative for W6QM MICC-FDO Fort Sam Houston, a key installation support unit under the Department of the Army. In this role, she manages the acquisition of mission-critical facilities support services and infrastructure sustainment contracts essential to maintaining operational readiness across Army garrisons. Her procurement portfolio centers on ensuring continuous base operations through the acquisition of dining services, facility maintenance, and construction-related solutions aligned with Army installation modernization priorities. She exercises full contracting authority under FAR Part 19 and oversees the full lifecycle of solicitations, evaluations, and award actions for both competitive and set-aside procurements. Palmas maintains a consistent working relationship with VETPRIDE SERVICES, INC., a recurring contractor awarded across multiple facilities support and roofing projects. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for established small business partners with proven performance on military installations, fostering long-term vendor collaboration grounded in compliance, quality assurance, and mission alignment. She actively engages contractors through pre-solicitation outreach and post-award performance monitoring to ensure adherence to technical specifications and delivery timelines. Her procurement strategy demonstrates a strong commitment to socioeconomic programs, with nearly 86% of her awards designated for 8(a) competed and HUBZone set-asides, reflecting a deliberate focus on empowering disadvantaged and geographically underserved small businesses. A smaller but consistent portion of awards are allocated under total small business set-asides per FAR 19.5, reinforcing her dedication to broad-based small business inclusion across the acquisition spectrum. Palmas specializes in NAICS 561210 (Facilities Support Services) and 238160 (Roofing Contractors), overseeing the procurement of comprehensive base maintenance, custodial services, waste management, and structural roofing systems. Her technical expertise lies in managing complex, multi-year service contracts that integrate facility operations with force readiness requirements, ensuring installations remain fully functional and compliant with Army standards.