Contracting awards off to good start in fiscal 2011 Published Nov. 20, 2010 81st Contracting Squadron KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 81st Contracting Squadron reported that in October, the first month of fiscal year 2011, 13 contract actions were awarded totaling $3,029,299.34 with businesses in the surrounding areas such as Biloxi, Ocean Springs, D'Iberville, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Gautier. These dollars represent "prime" contract dollars only and don't include subcontract spending. Companies interested in bidding opportunities can find requirements valued more than $25,000 posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website, www.fbo.gov. To find the 81st CONS, look under Agencies, then Department of the Air Force, then search by location to find 81ST CONS. Future construction projects likely to exceed $500,000 are posted on airforcesmallbiz. org under "Contract Opportunities." Once funded, these projects will also be posted on FBO. The 81st Contracting Squadron's posts are found under "Contract Base" under Keesler. For more information, call 377-3131. Construction projects estimated below $500K are procured through CSC, the base operating support contractor. For more information, call 377-4213. To promote the resources available to local small businesses, Marcia McDowell and Melvin Estrade of the South Mississippi Contract Procurement Center recently provided a capability demonstration to members of the 81s CONS. SMCPC provides procurement technical assistance to businesses throughout south Mississippi. Businesses new to government contracting can call the SMCPC, 396-1288.