Teana D. Smith

Teana D. Smith serves as a Contract Specialist with the Military Sealift Command (MSC), where she plays a pivotal role in executing complex acquisition strategies to support the Department of Defense’s global maritime logistics mission. She manages the full lifecycle of contracts for strategic sealift, vessel maintenance, and specialized ocean transportation services, ensuring compliance with FAR and DFARS requirements. Her work directly enables MSC’s operational readiness by securing reliable, mission-critical capabilities for government-owned and chartered vessels, with a focus on long-term sustainment and modernization initiatives. Smith’s procurement activities involve sustained partnerships with prime contractors specializing in deep-sea freight transportation, shipbuilding, and marine engineering systems. She engages with a diverse pool of vendors, including large defense contractors and mid-tier marine service providers, fostering collaborative relationships grounded in performance-based contracting and risk-sharing frameworks. Her approach emphasizes vendor accountability, technical compliance, and operational interoperability, ensuring contracted services align with MSC’s stringent safety, environmental, and readiness standards. While the majority of her acquisitions are conducted as unrestricted competitions—reflecting a 91.7% non-set-aside preference—Smith consistently supports small business participation through Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5, demonstrating a measured commitment to socioeconomic goals. Her contracting patterns reflect a balanced approach that prioritizes mission need while creating meaningful opportunities for qualified small businesses in the maritime industrial base. Her primary technical focus lies in NAICS 483111 (Deep Sea Freight Transportation), with significant activity in shipbuilding and repair (336611) and marine engine equipment manufacturing (333618). She procures a range of services including vessel chartering, dry-docking, propulsion system upgrades, and auxiliary marine components, demonstrating deep expertise in maritime logistics, naval architecture, and marine systems integration. Smith’s work ensures MSC’s fleet remains operationally viable and technologically current in support of national defense objectives.