Leadership

Greetings! My name is Troy A. Small. I am the founder and President of Copperwater Consulting Inc. Copperwater is a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) based in Southern, California.

About

I began my professional career as a U.S. Marine Heavy Machine Gunner, attending recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, CA. After graduating basic training, I attended Marine Combat Training, followed by Machine Gunner School at Camp Pendleton.

I was stationed at K-Bay, HI and deployed to the Gulf War and participated in Operation's Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a Heavy Machine Gunner Team Leader. After the war, I was forced to change jobs due to military cutbacks. Of three jobs to choose from, I selected Supply Administration. After becoming a Supply Administrator I was stationed at Headquarters, Marine Security Guard Battalion, Quantico, VA. This is where I learned about the Purchasing and Contracting (P&C) field and determined I wanted to be a P&C Specialist because it looked fun and was a skill set I can use whenever I separate from the Marine Corps. Fast forward one year, I was a P&C Specialist and was subsequently assigned to Headquarters and Service Battalion

From Quantico, VA I was stationed at MCRD San Diego where I served three years as a Contracting Officer, followed by another three years as a Marine Corps Drill Instructor (DI). As a Marine DI, I served 6 cycles in the "trenches": three Green Belt cycles, one Black Belt cycle, and two cycles as Series Chief Drill Instructor. While on Quota I served as the Battalion Operations Chief.

Following MCRD, In 2003 I was stationed at the Regional Contracting Office at Camp Pendleton, CA for four years before being reassigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) in 2007. In Jan 2008, I deployed as the Contracting Chief/Senior Enlisted Advisor for Contracts as a part of the Command Element for I MEF Forward to Camp Fallujah, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).

I returned from OIF in Jan 2009 and retired soon after, on Aug 1, 2009. I immediately transitioned to post-military life and began working for a defense contractor in San Diego, supporting the U.S. Navy. I served as a consultant for three year and flipped badges and began working as a Navy employee as a GS-13 for six years.

While working as a program manager for the Navy, my entrepreneurial spirit was calling me. In Jan 2017 I formed my own business, Copperwater Consulting Inc. A year later, I took the leap of faith and resigned from the Navy to pursue my business.

At the same time, I finalized discussions with Skyway Acquisition, and joined the company in Feb 2018. I hold the position of Vice President of Marketing and Sales with Skyway Acquisition.

SEMPER FIDELIS.