Col. Karen A.F. Landale is the Deputy Director of Contracting, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Col. Landale leads a 500-person mission-focused contracting workforce and provides the necessary resources and environment to deliver innovative and agile solutions to the warfighter. She oversees more than $4 billion in annual contract obligations and supports multiple program executive officers across more than 300 programs.
Col. Landale earned her commission in 2002 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Tampa. The majority of her career has been in operational contracting, at both below- and above-wing levels. She has served as the Chief of the Strategic Sourcing Strategy and Analysis Flight in the Enterprise Sourcing Group. As an Assistant Professor for the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy at the Naval Postgraduate School, she published three articles on procurement. Additionally, Col. Landale was Commander, 773d Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, where she led 45 military and civilian personnel executing a $6.1B contract portfolio, including $163M in annual obligations. In this capacity, she directed and shaped enterprise-wide medical solutions to enhance medical capabilities and achieve sourcing efficiencies. Prior to her current position, Col. Landale was Chief of Contingency Contracting Policy, Defense Pricing and Contracting, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. During this time, she developed contracting policy for Department of Defense contingency operations, and reviewed, drafted, and advocated for contingency contracting legislation.
Col. Landale has supported Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM through five contingency deployments. While deployed, she served as an Administrative Contracting Officer for the Army’s multi-billion-dollar Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, an Administrative Contracting Officer for the Air Force Civil Augmentation Program, and as Deputy Chief of the Delaram II Regional Contracting Center in Delaram, Afghanistan.