20240517_JA_DLI_Chinese_EOT_Instruction_signed.pdf

Control No.: MICC 2024-0048 Contractor: JTG, Inc.

Program: Defense Language Institute (DLI)

Version – March 2017 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR SUBPART 13.5 SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL

ITEMS – SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

Program/Equipment: End of Training Language Instruction request for one (1) Chinese instructor.

Authority: Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5.

Amount: $28,376.30

Prepared by: Alec Creekmore DSN (913)-684-1627 Contracting Specialist Date: 17 May 2024 Email: alec.r.creekmore.civ@army.mil

Contracting Officer: Amy Potter DSN (913)-684-1623 Contracting Officer Date: 17 May 2024 Email: amy.n.potter.civ@army.mil

Technical: Sam Garzaniti DSN: 831-242-5388 Contracting Officer’s Representative Date: 16 May 2024 Email: sam.g.garzaniti.civ@army.mil

Requirements: Sam Garzaniti DSN: 831-242-5388 Contracting Officer’s Representative Date: 16 May 2024 Email: sam.g.garzaniti.civ@army.mil

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support sole source.

Program Manager:

Yousef Shelah DSN: 810-444-8552

____________________________________ Date: See Digital Signature

FAR Subpart 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items – Sole Source Justification and Approval

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) 535 Kearny Avenue, Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027

2. Description of Action: Defense Language Institute (DLI) requests a firm-fixed-price contract with JTG, INC. The Government projects award for May 2024 and fiscal year 2024, Operations and Maintenance, Army funds will be used.

X An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).

___ approved an acquisition plan in accordance with DFARS 207.103(d)(i)(B) on ____.

___The required acquisition plan in accordance with DFARS 207.103(d)(i)(B) is currently awaiting ____ approval.

This action is a follow-on to contract W91QF4-23-D-0011. That contract was not competed under authority FAR Subpart 13.5. The previous contract was synopsized through a combined synopsis and solicitation posted to SAM.gov. Those actions were accomplished by initially posting a sources sought notice to SAM.gov. Only one vendor out of four that submitted a quote was deemed technically acceptable.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: End of Training instruction increases the ability to provide cost-recouping Chinese language training for qualified service members who failed the graduation Defense Language Proficiency Test and who would otherwise be reclassified into another field or separate from service.

This course consists of a ten week period of 7-hour days of intensive language training in the listening, reading, speaking, and writing modalities using the most up-to-date teaching methodologies and curricula. It will require one instructor for the entire period.

4. Authority Cited: Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 (or 41 U.S.C. 1903 for Special Emergency Procurement) as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5:

X Unusual and compelling urgency Exclusive licensing agreements Industrial mobilization Other:.

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

a. This proposed acquisition is necessary due to an unfortunate lapse of the previous contract and non-execution of the option year. It was the government’s intention to exercise the option year, but by mistake, the processing of the intent to exercise the option year was not completed. This has left the government without a means to provide services to students to better their test scores and move to their next duty stations and their military careers.

Providing instruction through sole source will not only provide students an opportunity to improve and qualify as a graduate, it will also provide the four services an opportunity to protect its initial investment, more than $100K, in each of its students. Any students who are reclassified into a new job specialty will cost thousands of dollars more to the government. In addition to cost considerations, requirements for classes are time sensitive. The time period between when a student fails and when a student starts class is no more than three weeks. Given classes start 20 May, 2024, there is enough urgency for a sole source justification because the time it would take to understand the requirement and build competition would cause the government to fail to support mission requirements.

b. Alternatives. While DLI is constantly hiring to address instructor shortages, it lacks the capability to cover these classes with its faculty. Because these classes have to be conducted, teaching by contract is the only way to accomplish the mission. Given the urgent time constraints there are not any alternatives that will support mission requirements.

c. Additional Supporting Information:

1) Currently, due to faculty shortages and urgency, there is no capability to teach these courses without utilizing sole source services.

2) Time and class frequency drive this requirement. The previous contract could provide instructors in 11 languages. Graduations occur nearly every week. Any of these could require an End of Training language instruction.

4) Class starts 20 May 2024. Providing instruction through sole source will not only provide students an opportunity to improve and qualify as a graduate, it will also provide the four services an opportunity to protect its initial investment, more than $100K, in each of its students.

5) It is more advantageous to the government to sole source to the incumbent because the time it would take to build competition and for a non-incumbent contractor t understand the requirement is not an adequate amount of time to conduct classes in less than a week.

d. Impact if justification not approved: Students would not receive their supplemental training and would likely cause them to be reclassified into another job specialty or go back to their previous MOSs. Given the state of affairs in the world, the services have an increased need for qualified linguists in shortage languages. They would take two hits.

They would lose their initial time and money investment in the student who would reclassify and they would have to wait even more time to get another person through the basic course, from 35 – 64 weeks depending on the language, and out in the field working. It has to be considered as well that it is not guaranteed the second individual would pass the final test either.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: The Contracting Officer shall publish the notices required by FAR 5.202(a)(11)

7. Actions to Increase Competition: This action will be synopsized to the Government Point of Entry (GPE). Given this requirement has been previously competed with full and open within the last year, only one vendor being considered technically acceptable the government can expect the reduction in time to create a quote will not be sufficient to meet the requirement standards.

8. Market Research: Ms. Natalie Burcher conducted market research for this requirement within the past year. A sources sought was posted to SAM.gov to build competition for the requirement. More than 12 potential offerors were identified with majority being small business. Another contractor identified through market research cannot meet the requirement because when this requirement was solicited out of the vendors that submitted a quote only one was found technically acceptable (JTG).

(see results of Sources Sought below)

Company and

POC

CAGE

8(a) Capability/Experience

1 Advanced Automa on Corp.

Robert Clancy (315)415-1483

0R0K3 NY Y Y Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

2 Chenega Defense & Aerospace Solu ons, LLC Tamara Himmelberger (571)262-1663

89DQ8 AL Y Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

3 DC Language Cneter Fabiola Wallrodt (703)774-4250

6ZW78 DC Y Y Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

4 DeVine Consul ng, LLC Jeffery DeVine (858)775-6137

1UQN7 CA Y Vendor met some requirements of the Sources Sought.

5 Diploma c Languag Services Raluca Angelescu (703)243-4855

4P1F5 VA Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

6 Global Language Strategies Rebekah Dyer (703)350-3439

5QK25 VA Y Y Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

7 IT Business Experts, LLC

(IBEX)

Shalicia Evans (678)752-7542

6DRY3 GA Y Y Y Vendor met some requirements of the Sources Sought.

Company and

POC

CAGE

8(a) Capability/Experience

8 Interna onal Communica ons Associates, Inc.

(ICA)

Lexie Casey (703)527-8666

3BPZ6 VA Y Y Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

9 JTG, Inc Elspeth Greer (571)527-2795

1CZB0 VA Y Incumbent vendor previous BPA contract W9124N-18-A-0001

10 Language Unlimited, LLC Naderah Farquharson (321)710-9731

5PDT0 FL Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

11 Liberty Alliance, LLC

Dick Linthicum (813)335-6262

82F16 FL Y Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

12 MTNT

Intelligence Solu ons, LLC Arthur Mckinney (907)644-1200

8QPW3 AK Y Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought with subcontractor plan.

13 The Language Doctors, Inc.

Adam Bouc (202)544-2942

1EEF4 MD Y Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

14 WorldWide Language Resources

07ES4 NC Y Vendor met all requirements of the Sources Sought.

9. Interested Sources: This contract action was previously synopsized in sufficient detail. All vendors who responded to the synopsis were deemed technically unacceptable except for JTG, Inc.

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History

Contract number: W91QF4-23-D-0011 Vendor: JTG, Inc Award date: 07 Aug 2023 Competitive Status: Full and open competition

Contract number: W9124N-18-A-0018 Vendor: JTG, Inc Award date: 04 Jun 2018

Contract number: W9124N-14-A-0008 Vendor: Mid Atlantic Professionals Award date: 26 Sep 2014

b. Due to the urgency of this procurement full and open competition is not advantageous to the government because full and open competition will create unsuccessful mission requirements.

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Sam Garzaniti Program Analyst

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Sam Garzaniti Program Analyst

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

This acquisitions fair and reasonable cost determination is based on a previous price analysis, historical price data from a Price Negotiation Memorandum (PNM) conducted within the last 12 months.

Amy Potter Contracting Officer

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Amy Potter Contracting Officer

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of DLI language training services on a sole source basis pursuant to the authority of the Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5. The estimated value of this extension to W91QF4-23-D-0011 is $28,376.30 for 20 May 2024. The approval is subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

SCOTT D. KUKES

Alternate to the Command Advocate for Competition U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, JBSA Fort Sam Houston, TX

Approval Levels Dollar Value of Document Approval Authority

SAT - $700,000 Contracting Officer* $700,001 - $13,500,000 Alternate Advocate for Competition $13,500,001 - $93,000,000 General Officer/Senior Executive Service $93,000,001 and over Senior Procurement Executive

*Contracting Officer signature at paragraph 14 (Contracting Officer Certification) constitutes approval. Approval page not required.