Mrs. Isabelle Hansen
 

Ms. Isabelle Hansen began her Army civilian service career as a GS-1 clerk in 1945 at the Engineer Depot in Granite City, Illinois. After a six year hiatus, Ms. Hanson returned to the civilian service in 1951 as a typist for the Ordnance Department Procurement Branch at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill. Two years later, she began her promotions within the procurement field. By 1976, she had become the first female employee to reach the GS-15 career level at the U.S. Army Armament Command (ARMCOM) located at Rock Island Arsenal.

In August 1980, Ms. Hansen was promoted to the Senior Executive Service (SES) position of Deputy for Procurement and Production, U.S. Army Armament Materiel Readiness Command (ARRCOM) (later, U.S. Army Armaments, Munitions and Chemical Command (AMCCOM)), Rock Island, Illinois. With this promotion, Ms. Hansen became the first woman within the U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM) (the parent command to ARRCOM) to be selected to the Senior Executive Service rank. At that time, she was one of only four women selected to serve as an SES member within the Department of the Army. DARCOM reverted to its prior name, Army Materiel Command (AMC) in 1984.

Her career in acquisition management spanned 35 years in a variety of staff procurement assignments. At various times she served as the head of the Production Directorate, the Procurement Policy and Plans Office, and as the Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting (PARC) with approval authority for major acquisition plans and contract awards. She supervised and directed the accomplishment of an annual procurement program of approximately $5 billion and was directly responsible for all procurement and production related matters, from the acquisition of weapons and ammunition components through end item loading for delivery to the user.

Ms. Hansen served as the Career Program Manager responsible for revitalizing the procurement workforce at Rock Island with the establishment of a very successful local intern training program. She is credited with establishing Ammunition Executive Seminars beginning in 1980. These seminars fostered communication between government and commercial ammunition producers. She was also responsible for the creation of the Plant Utilization Policy, which permitted government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) ammunition plants to bid on additional work for those other than AMCCOM or the DOD. This reduced overhead operating costs and increased efficiencies for the munitions production base. The policy allowed $22 million in savings and reduced overhead costs.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Hansen earned numerous recognitions, awards and honors. Among them, she received the Exceptional and Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, the Army’s two highest civilian awards. She was awarded the American Defense Preparedness Association Silver Medal in 1985. She was also selected as a Fellow in the National Contract Management Association, in recognition for her outstanding contributions to the field of contract management. Ms. Hansen was inducted into the Ammunition Hall of Fame in 2013.

Ms. Isabelle Hansen retired on May 3, 1985.