Readiness Center

The Department of the Army National Guard Readiness Center, a sub-agency of the Department of Defense with contracting authority for National Guard Bureau operations, procures goods and services supporting training readiness, facility operations, and administrative functions across the Air National Guard and Army National Guard.

The Readiness Center has awarded 5,489 federal contracts totaling $37.58 billion in combined potential value since 2000, with $12.35 billion obligated. Recent contract activity has contracted sharply: 138 awards in 2022, 85 in 2023, 74 in 2024, 49 in 2025, and 23 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent award closed on September 22, 2026. Across 1,444 distinct prime contractors, competitive concentration is highly fragmented by both award count and dollar value over the last five years; the top five primes by recent award count hold 22 percent of recent awards, while the top five by potential value account for only 3 percent of combined potential value. Valiant Global Defense Services Inc. leads by dollar value with 12 awards worth $685.7 million, while Arcticom, LLC holds 25 awards (the highest count) with $96.3 million combined potential value. The remaining portfolio spans a long tail of smaller contractors.

Set-aside mix is skewed toward open competition: 71 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, 13 percent are 8(a) sole source, 11 percent are total small business, and 4 percent are competitive 8(a). Service-disabled veteran-owned small business, woman-owned small business, and HUBZone awards are negligible.

The Readiness Center also administers a smaller grant portfolio of 30 cooperative-agreement awards totaling $265.6 million in federal dollars obligated (and $340.2 million including non-federal match) since 2008. Grant recipients are highly fragmented by both count and dollars; the top five recipients by recent award count hold 58 percent of recent awards, but only 14 percent of federal dollars, indicating small average grant sizes and dispersed funding across land trusts and conservation nonprofits. Conservation Fund A Nonprofit Corp leads by count with 2 awards ($9.3 million federal), while AG Land Trust and Prickly Pear Land Trust, Inc. lead by dollars ($10.4 million and $10.1 million respectively). Recent grant activity was sporadic: 3 awards in 2021, 3 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 1 in 2025, and 4 in 2026.

Recent contract opportunities reflect diverse infrastructure and support needs. Solicitation W9133L26QA030 for Air National Guard Readiness Center Cable Television Services (due September 23, 2026, total small business set-aside) seeks continuous HD commercial programming delivery; Amendment 002 revised performance specifications and the performance work statement. Solicitation W9133L26BA010 for Air National Guard Smart Meters (due August 27, 2026, total small business set-aside) targets electrical installation contractors at five locations across Alpena, Michigan; Salt Lake City, Utah; Volk Field, Wisconsin; Morris, Arizona; and Horsham, Pennsylvania, with individual contract values ranging from $250,000 to $1 million. Multiple pre-solicitation sources-sought notices posted in September address heavy equipment maintenance for Peace Vanguard (due October 2, 2026), nitrogen cylinder and gas supply services (due September 28, 2026), and NGB seal plaques (due September 21, 2026).