Frederick Williams, an AbilityOne employee at Training Rehabilitation & Development Institute (TRDI) in San Antonio, Texas, was the featured speaker at a conference involving senior acquisition officials in the Department of Defense from throughout the world. Williams spoke on Dec. 13 at the Department of Defense Contracting Senior Leader Offsite meeting held at the Arlie Center in Warrenton, Va.
Williams told his story to an audience of acquisition and procurement leaders, including the Honorable John J. Young, Jr., Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, the Honorable Dr. James I. Finley, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Shay Assad, Director, Defense Procurement, Acquisition, and Strategic Sourcing. Assad was named an AbilityOne Procurement Champion earlier this year. Williams received an astounding round of applause and standing ovation at the conclusion.
While serving in Iraq, Williams was in a convoy when his HUMVEE struck an improvised explosive devise; the two soldiers with him were killed and he suffered massive injuries. He was Medivac’d to Germany and eventually back to the United States where he underwent numerous surgeries. He survived, but he was left with multiple disabilities including fear of anything unexpected and being in close proximity to others. As a result, he was unable to find a job. His speech described his experiences following his tragedy and how he found success at TRDI as a securities monitor working for the Director of Aviation at the airfield at Ft. Hood, Texas. Williams was also the keynote speaker at the Pentagon NDEAM event hosted by the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Procurement Policy last month.
