Randal W. Sadler

Randal Sadler serves as a key procurement lead within the USDA Forest Service’s Incident Procurement unit, responsible for rapidly acquiring critical logistical and operational resources to support wildland fire response and all-hazard incident management. His role centers on ensuring incident command teams have immediate access to essential services such as mobile command units, heavy equipment, water systems, and temporary housing across national forests and grasslands. Sadler manages time-sensitive, mission-critical acquisitions under emergency contracting authorities, often navigating FAR Part 18 and expedited procedures to meet dynamic operational demands. His work directly enables suppression, containment, and recovery efforts by bridging urgent field needs with compliant procurement solutions. Sadler maintains a broad network of vendors specializing in incident support services, including firms providing equipment rental, logistics coordination, and field infrastructure deployment. He frequently collaborates with small and mid-sized contractors capable of mobilizing rapidly, often engaging regional and local vendors with proven incident response capabilities. His contracting patterns reflect a preference for agile, scalable partnerships that prioritize responsiveness over scale, fostering relationships with vendors experienced in austere environments and emergency deployments. A strong advocate for small business inclusion, Sadler consistently directs over 83% of his acquisitions toward small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, prioritizing firms certified as small businesses without regard to specific socioeconomic categories. This reflects a deliberate strategy to expand access for local and regional contractors with domain-specific expertise in forestry support and emergency response infrastructure. His contracting approach actively cultivates a diverse vendor base capable of scaling operations during peak incident seasons. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), 541720 (Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities), and 237310 (Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction), reflecting a blend of operational support, incident planning analytics, and infrastructure remediation needs. He routinely procures services related to firebreak construction, incident mapping, temporary roadways, and forestry-specific logistics, demonstrating deep technical familiarity with wildland fire management ecosystems.