Mr. William O. Turney served as the Chief, Contracts Office, U.S. Army SAFEGUARD System Command, during the period of July 1968 to April 1973.
He continuously displayed outstanding abilities as Chief of the Contracts Office and Chief Negotiator for the Command. During this period, he was responsible for over 2,000 contractual awards valued in excess of $4 billion. His outstanding efforts have contributed significantly to the development, procurement, production, and deployment of this nation’s ballistic missile defense system.
In 1968, after the Presidential announcement pertaining to the reconfiguration of the nation’s ABM system from SENTINEL to SAFEGUARD, Mr. Turney successfully negotiated new contractual instruments with the Western Electric Company, the system’s prime contractor. These were extremely difficult negotiations because of the major changes required, especially in the areas of cost and schedule.
Mr. Turney, serving in the capacity of technical advisor, contributed significantly in the competitive selection of a prime contractor for the Site Defense Program, a major new defense program. Following the selection process, and again under his guidance, an incentive contract was successfully negotiated with the system’s prime contractor, McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company. As a result of this action this Command was commended by the Secretary of the Army.
The signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) between the US and the USSR in 1972 necessitated, again, major changes in the ABM’s contractual posture. As a result of the limitations contained in the treaty, a major effort of terminating contracts for the convenience of the Government was undertaken. Under Mr. Turney’s direction and outstanding management techniques, this effort was smoothly completed in a timely manner with the rights of Government being protected at all times.
Even with the press of everyday business, Mr. TUrney still found the time to devote considerable effort to other programs of national importance such as: Small Business, Equal Employment Opportunity and Community Action.
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