Rick Butler

Rick Butler serves as a key procurement professional within the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, supporting the Department of Defense’s mission to advance ordnance systems and explosive technologies. He manages complex acquisitions for heavy-gauge metal fabrication and specialized ordnance handling equipment, ensuring alignment with naval warfare readiness and modernization priorities. His work centers on engineering-driven contracts that require rigorous technical validation, safety compliance, and lifecycle support for critical munitions infrastructure. Butler’s acquisitions are tightly scoped to meet stringent DoD standards for reliability, performance, and explosive safety, often involving custom-engineered components for testing, storage, and handling systems. He maintains consistent relationships with a core group of specialized vendors including TOTAL CONCEPTS OF DESIGN INC, Boh Environmental, L.L.C., CHUCKING MACHINE PRODUCTS, INC., CANADIAN COMMERCIAL CORP, and DEVAL LIFE CYCLE SUPPORT LLC. These contractors are selected for their proven expertise in heavy-gauge metal fabrication, hazardous material handling systems, and precision ordnance component manufacturing. Butler’s contracting approach favors long-term, technically capable partners with demonstrated experience in military-grade manufacturing and quality assurance under MIL-STD and NATO specifications, fostering stable, performance-based vendor partnerships. His procurement portfolio exhibits no set-aside preferences, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a mission-driven focus on technical capability over socioeconomic categorization, prioritizing performance, safety, and system interoperability above socioeconomic targeting. While small business participation is not formally incentivized, qualified small firms may still compete successfully if they meet the stringent engineering and certification requirements. Butler’s primary procurement focus is exclusively under NAICS 332420—Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing—encompassing custom-fabricated vessels, explosive containment systems, and specialized ordnance storage and transport enclosures. His technical domain expertise lies in high-integrity metal fabrication for hazardous environments, requiring advanced welding, non-destructive testing, and compliance with explosive safety codes. He procures mission-critical hardware that directly supports the safe handling, storage, and testing of naval ordnance systems.