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Army MOS · Support

51C Contract and Industrial Management

Current service use not established

This code is listed in the directory. Inclusion alone does not confirm current service use.

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Overview

Contract and industrial management officers develop, implement, direct, and control procurement programs and major procurement activities. They prepare procurement plans, forecast costs and budgets, select contracting methods and contract types, evaluate cost, price, and risk, and advise Army and Department of Defense leaders.

Minimum clearance: Secret

Core Skills

  • Contract cost, price, and risk analysis
  • Procurement program cost and budget forecasting
  • Contract type selection and review
  • Manufacturing expertise applied to procurement decisions

Civilian Career Paths

Career associations are editorial assessments of the cited evidence, not an official crosswalk unless the evidence explicitly says so. O*NET supplies civilian occupation information, not proof of a military match. Related experience does not confer civilian qualifications. Tasks and tools below describe civilian work, not military training.

Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products

Military experience in procurement planning, contracting methods, and cost and price evaluation transfers directly to purchasing goods and services for an organization's operations.

How to prepare: Build a sample bid-comparison worksheet that evaluates price, technical specifications, and contract terms for a purchase in your target industry.

What the civilian work involves
  • Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
  • Formulate policies and procedures for bid proposals and procurement of goods and services.
  • Write and review product specifications, maintaining a working technical knowledge of the goods or services to be purchased.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
  • Microsoft Excel
  • SAP software

Purchasing Managers

Military responsibility for directing procurement programs, supervising procurement activities, and reviewing contract types aligns with purchasing department leadership.

How to prepare: Prepare a portfolio summary showing the scope of procurement programs you supervised, budget forecasting responsibilities, and contract-review decisions. Purchasing managers need several years of related experience.

What the civilian work involves
  • Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures.
  • Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in buying, selling, and distributing materials, equipment, machinery, and supplies.
  • Review purchase order claims and contracts for conformance to company policy.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
  • Microsoft Excel
  • SAP software

Notes & Sources

  • This page covers the officer 51C entry, Contract and Industrial Management, in the cited Army COOL feed. The feed also lists enlisted MOS 51C, Contracting Noncommissioned Officer (NCO), which is a separate personnel-category entry.
  • Purchasing education requirements vary by employer: a bachelor's degree is typical, but some employers hire high-school graduates.
Evidence for this guidance (4 documents)
  1. Army COOL MOC feed: 51C Contract and Industrial Management

    [1] data/authority/army-codes.json entry 51C (OSD COOL feed, fetched 2026-07-25); DB rank officer, authority codeType officer. Identity cross-reference in the same feed: officer AOC 51C (aoc_51c, personnel category O) versus enlisted MOS 51C, Contracting Noncommissioned Officer (NCO), personnel category E. Enlisted entry: https://www.cool.osd.mil/army/moc/index.html?moc=51c

    Supports: Contract cost, price, and risk analysis, Procurement program cost and budget forecasting, Contract type selection and review, Manufacturing expertise applied to procurement decisions, Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (O*NET 13-1023.00), Purchasing Managers (O*NET 11-3061.00)

  2. O*NET: Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products

    [2] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (O*NET 13-1023.00)

  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Purchasing Managers, Buyers, and Purchasing Agents

    [3] What They Do; How to Become One; retrieved 23 September 2026

    Supports: Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (O*NET 13-1023.00), Purchasing Managers (O*NET 11-3061.00)

  4. O*NET: Purchasing Managers

    [4] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: Purchasing Managers (O*NET 11-3061.00)

Defense contractor jobs for 51C

Descriptions may be summarized for clarity. Verify all information with your branch career counselor or official military documentation before making career decisions.

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