Melissa Perez-Hughes

Melissa Perez Hughes serves as a key procurement lead within the FA4417 1 Socons, a critical unit under the Department of the Air Force responsible for sustaining and modernizing airpower capabilities. She manages the acquisition of mission-enabling systems including secure radio and wireless communications equipment, aeronautical navigation technologies, and integrated base defense infrastructure. Her work directly supports operational resilience by ensuring timely delivery of reliable, interoperable systems that enhance air operations readiness. She routinely handles complex, mission-critical contracts requiring compliance with stringent DoD security standards and lifecycle management protocols. Her contracting portfolio is anchored by long-standing partnerships with a select group of contractors, including AANTILIA LLC, MARRERO, COUVILLON & ASSOCIATES, L.L.C., MATTHES PARKER LLC, L1 ENTERPRISES INCORPORATED, and WALCO ENTERPRISES INC. These relationships reflect a preference for vendors with proven expertise in defense-grade communications, facilities support, and physical security services. Hughes fosters collaborative, performance-driven partnerships, emphasizing contractor accountability, technical compliance, and rapid response to evolving operational needs. A hallmark of her procurement strategy is an overwhelming commitment to small business participation, with 88.9% of her awards designated as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This reflects a deliberate focus on empowering small, disadvantaged, and veteran-owned firms capable of delivering niche technical services. Her contracting patterns consistently prioritize socioeconomic programs aligned with DoD goals for broad-based industry engagement and innovation infusion from non-traditional defense vendors. Her primary NAICS focus areas include 811310 for industrial machinery maintenance, 561210 for facilities support services, and 561621 for security systems installation and monitoring. She also procures specialized moving services and infrastructure support tied to airbase operations. Her technical domain expertise lies in integrating secure, field-deployable systems that ensure continuous operational capability across austere and high-threat environments.