Operating under the Department of Defense and reporting to the Under Secretary of Defense of Acquisition and Sustainment, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) is responsible for contract administration service for the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies. It was established from the Defense Contract Management Command in 2000, which in turn had been established in 1990 as a method of streamlining acquisition costs and ensuring that consistent standards and policies were applied to all acquisition processes regardless of the agency or branch of the military.
The design of the DCMA Identification Badge borrows from the Great Seal of the United States and the Seal of the Department of Defense. In its center is an eagle, representing honor, courage, and service. Thirteen red and white stripes on the shield on the eagle’s breast represent the thirteen colonies that became the first thirteen states, symbolized by the thirteen brilliant rays of sun bursting from the blue sky behind the eagle and ending in thirteen stars—the symbol used for states on the American flag.