Michelle D. James

Michelle D. James serves as a secondary procurement specialist within Mschq Norfolk, supporting the Department of the Navy’s mission to sustain operational readiness of U.S. Navy surface and auxiliary vessels. She plays a critical role in facilitating the acquisition of deep-sea freight transportation services and mission-critical marine logistics solutions, ensuring timely delivery of equipment and repair components essential to fleet sustainment. Her responsibilities include coordinating contract execution, evaluating vendor compliance, and supporting the procurement lifecycle for high-priority maritime operations, working closely with senior contracting officers to align acquisitions with naval operational timelines and strategic readiness goals. James maintains established working relationships with key contractors including ExxonMobil Marine Limited, Vigor Marine LLC, Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., and Ontic Engineering & Manufacturing, Inc., reflecting a preference for experienced, specialized vendors capable of delivering complex marine logistics, ship repair, and defense-grade engineering services. Her procurement patterns indicate a reliance on proven industry partners with demonstrated capacity in deep-sea transport and naval support infrastructure, fostering long-term vendor partnerships grounded in performance reliability and regulatory compliance rather than frequent vendor rotation. Her contracting activity reflects a strong preference for unrestricted competition, with 95.5% of awards issued under no set-aside conditions, indicating a focus on mission-critical urgency and technical specificity over socioeconomic targeting. While small business participation is present at a modest 4.5%, it is not a primary driver of her acquisition strategy, aligning with the agency’s operational imperatives that prioritize capability and scale over socioeconomic preferences. James’s procurement portfolio is exclusively focused on NAICS 483111 — Deep Sea Freight Transportation — underscoring her specialized expertise in maritime logistics, oceanic cargo movement, and naval supply chain resilience. She procures services related to heavy-lift vessel operations, intermodal freight coordination, and specialized marine transport of defense equipment, requiring deep domain knowledge in Federal Maritime Commission regulations, vessel classification standards, and DoD transportation security protocols.