XL EagleKO (Contracting Officer (KO))
KO stands for Contracting Officer (KO). KO is an abbreviation for contracting officer, used mainly in the Army and other defense settings. Because CO can also mean commanding officer, many defense contracting people write KO to make clear they mean the contracting official.
A KO has the same authority as any contracting officer: a written warrant to award, change and terminate contracts on behalf of the government.
Why it matters to a small contractor
When a defense customer says to get approval from the KO, they mean the contracting officer named in your contract, not the base commander. Requests for changes, extensions or extra work still need that person's written action.
Example
A contractor working at an Army installation is told by a facility manager to 'run it by the KO.' It emails the contracting officer listed in Section G with a description of the requested extra work and asks for a modification.
KO: common questions
Is KO an official title?
It is common shorthand rather than a separate position. The official title is contracting officer.
Why not just say CO?
In military settings CO usually means commanding officer, so KO avoids confusion.
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