Melissa J Benhoff

Melissa J. Benhoff serves as a key procurement lead within the Telecommunications Division (HC1013) of the Defense Information Systems Agency, supporting the secure modernization and operational sustainment of the Department of Defense’s global communications infrastructure. She manages a diverse portfolio of acquisitions focused on network resilience, secure virtual private networks, and legacy telecom modernization, ensuring interoperability across military and federal systems. Her work directly enables mission-critical connectivity by procuring services that enhance bandwidth capacity, cybersecurity integration, and network redundancy in austere and high-threat environments. Benhoff maintains established relationships with core contractors including AT&T Technical Services Company, Inc., Aerospace & Commercial Technologies, LLC, Liberty Communications, Inc., AOC Connect LLC, and Norfolk Fiber, LLC. These partnerships reflect a preference for vendors with proven expertise in fiber-optic deployment, secure telecom engineering, and enterprise-grade network operations. Her contracting approach emphasizes long-term vendor collaboration, technical compliance with DoD standards, and performance-based service delivery models to ensure mission continuity and system integrity. Her procurement strategy prioritizes broad market access, with 57.1% of awards issued under open competition and 28.6% designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. She consistently supports socioeconomic programs, including service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (9.5%) and women-owned small businesses (4.8%), reflecting a balanced commitment to both competition and inclusion in defense telecom contracting. Benhoff’s technical focus centers on NAICS categories including 561621 for security systems services, 541611 for management consulting, and 811310 for industrial equipment maintenance, indicating a multidisciplinary approach to telecom infrastructure support. She procures integrated solutions spanning network security, systems integration, and utility-grade telecom operations, demonstrating deep domain expertise in securing and sustaining the DoD’s communications backbone through hybrid public-private partnerships.