Director, DHA Contracting Activity

Mr. James E. Watkins serves as the Head of the Contracting Activity for the Defense Health Agency and Director of the DHA Contracting Activity. In this capacity, Watkins is responsible for the award and administration of all contracts, with annual obligations valued at over $18 billion.

Prior to his current assignment, Watkins served as the Senior Contracting Official for the DHA during the transition of the authority, direction, and control of the military hospitals and clinics to the agency.
Before that, Watkins served as the Senior Contracting Official and Chief of the Contracting Office for the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and as Director for Acquisition Management and Analytics at the Naval Medical Logistics Command. In this capacity, he was responsible for the award and administration of healthcare contracts in support of all Navy military treatment facilities and operational and expeditionary forces, with annual obligations valued at over $2 billion.

Prior to his arrival at the Naval Medical Logistics Command, Watkins served as a Contracting Officer and Grants Officer for the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity and before that as Contract Specialist for the Naval Sea Systems Command.

Watkins is a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps and is DAWIA Level III Certified in Contracting. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Marketing from Mount Saint Mary’s University and a master’s degree in Business Administration/Electronic Commerce from Johns Hopkins University. Watkins has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2022.