Stephanie Carter

Stephanie Carter serves as a Contracting Officer with the Department of the Army’s 0408 Aq Hq Contract, where she is responsible for managing the full lifecycle of procurement actions supporting critical military communications and expeditionary infrastructure. Her portfolio centers on the acquisition of specialized apparel and accessories essential to soldier readiness, including tactical gear, protective equipment, and mission-specific clothing systems. She ensures compliance with federal acquisition regulations while aligning procurement decisions with the Army’s operational priorities to sustain deployable forces. Carter’s role is pivotal in translating warfighter requirements into executable contract vehicles that deliver reliable, standards-compliant equipment under tight timelines and austere conditions. Carter collaborates with a broad network of manufacturers and suppliers specializing in defense-grade apparel and accessory production. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she maintains consistent engagement with firms possessing expertise in military-spec textile manufacturing, moisture-wicking fabric integration, and flame-resistant material compliance. Her contracting approach emphasizes performance-based requirements, rigorous quality assurance protocols, and vendor accountability through contract line item numbering (CLIN) structures that track delivery and compliance at the unit level. Carter’s procurement activity is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of her awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a deliberate strategic alignment with the Army’s need for scalable, high-volume production capabilities and the absence of socioeconomic set-asides for this specific class of equipment. While she does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides for these acquisitions, her process remains transparent and competitively driven to ensure the highest quality and cost-effectiveness. Her primary focus is on NAICS 315990—Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing—where she specializes in procuring tactical uniforms, load-bearing equipment, cold-weather gear, and integrated combat accessories. She possesses deep technical knowledge of MIL-SPEC standards, including MIL-PRF-32344 and MIL-STD-810, and works closely with logistics and field units to validate product performance in operational environments. Her expertise lies at the intersection of materiel engineering, supply chain resilience, and soldier-centric design in defense apparel procurement.