1.5.1 2024 Brand Name Justification- Holster Fully Approved Redacted Version.pdf

Attachment 1 U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Justification and Approval For Other Than Full and Open Competition Brand Name Only Safariland MRDS Compatible Holsters

Version 4.0 Update 2024

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION BRAND

NAME ONLY

Date: May 23, 2024 PR: 20144177

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition (OA), Procurement Directorate (PD), of behalf of the Law Enforcement Safety and Compliance (LESC) Directorate proposes to enter into a contract shall be on a basis other than full and open competition for a Brand Name Only acquisition for handgun holsters that are compatible with Miniature Red Dot Sights (MRDS).

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

CBP intends to procure, on a brand name only competitive basis, Miniature Red Dot Sight (MRDS) compatible duty handgun holsters and two (2) accessory items (belt loop and quick locking system) the authorization, issuance, and installation of MRDS on Glock duty handguns. This action will result in a three-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract.

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

The requirement is to provide a new MRDS compatible duty holster for the impending issuance and installation of MRDS on currently issued service handguns.

CBP LESC approved MRDS for CBP duty handguns in January of 2024. CBP components have begun purchasing and issuing MRDS to field agents for operational use as funding becomes available. CBP components have indicated the intention to purchase approximately 42,500 MRDS for use on CBP handguns, and an additional 8,185 for use on non-CBP handguns, over the next three-year period. Current holsters issued to CBP officers/agents are not MRDS compatible and new holsters must be acquired. There is not an MRDS compatible duty holster available on any CBP contracts to include the CBP Uniform Contract. The execution of this contract will allow officers/agents the ability to transition to a new sighting system for handguns while maintaining the same holster that they are familiar with and trained to use. It is estimated that the MRDS transition will take approximately five

(5) years to complete, with approximately 45,000 armed employees. With the installation of the MRDS onto service issued handguns, there is also a need for plain clothes holsters for non-uniformed carry. There is also not a current contract vehicle available for the purchase of MRDS compatible plain clothes holsters.

Failure to acquire these brand name specific holsters would result in significant, unnecessary investment in alternative holsters. CBP currently employes Safariland Holsters that

Justification and Approval For Other Than Full and Open Competition Brand Name Only Safariland MRDS Compatible Holsters

Version 4.0 Update 2024 incorporate the ALS retention system for over 45,000 armed law enforcement personnel. In order to maintain continuity in both training and the operation of the holster, a common system needs to be deployed. If an alternate system were adopted for MRDS use, a wholesale replacement of all holsters would be required. There would be a substantial upfront cost as well as the administrative costs of modifying the current CBP Uniform Contract (in which the ALS holster system is included). Training would have to be revised and re-written, and training time away from duty time would have to occur for transition training, potentially requirement overtime to backfill operational needs. All these costs add up and are unnecessary if the current ALS retention system is maintained.

The anticipated performance period for this contract is three (3) years. The current CBP Uniforms II Contract 70B01C20D00000004 (the current source for duty holsters) will expire in 2027. The next CBP Uniform Contract (Uniforms III) will include MRDS compatible holsters, which should be awarded in late 2026/early 2027. This contract is intended to serve as a bridge until the next Uniforms III contract can be awarded.

Figure 3.1- Estimated Spend Per Year Est. Ordering Period Est. Qty Est. Ttl Spend 9/1/2024 8/31/20271 53,100 $6,000,000.00

Estimated Totals: 53,100 $6,000,000.00

Figure 3.2: Estimated Spend Per Office/Unit Agency or Component Projected Spend

CBP - USBP $1,850,000

CBP OFO $1,850,000

CBP - AMO $215,000

CBP - OPR $60,000

CBP - ACADEMIES $1,100,000

Other Agencies $925,000

Estimated Total: $6,000,000.00

4. Identification of Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition.

The statutory authorioty permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. § 3304(a)(1) implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302-1

Will Satisfy Agency Requirement, utilizing a brand-name description The acquisition of patented

1 CBP intends to use one, three-year ordering period rather than three, one-year ordering periods.

Justification and Approval For Other Than Full and Open Competition Brand Name Only Safariland MRDS Compatible Holsters

Version 4.0 Update 2024

Safariland-precluding consideration of a product manufactured by another company.

5. Demonstration That the Nature of the Acquisition Requires Use of the Authority Cited.

CBP/LESC has a unique requirement to replace the existing issued handgun duty holsters with a new one to accommodate MRDS. CBP authorized the installation and use of MRDS for duty handguns. Current models of approved duty holsters are not MRDS compatible.

Once the MRDS is installed onto a duty handgun, the MRDS cannot be removed on a daily basis and must be installed or uninstalled by a certified CBP firearms instructor. With this new handgun option, a new MRDS compatible, duty handgun holster needs to be issued to accommodate the handgun and MRDS. To minimize safety concerns, and maintain consistency in the training and operation of the holster, CBP intends to purchase/issue the Safariland model 6390RDS and 7390RDS Duty Holsters as well as the SOLIS RDS plain clothes holster. All of these holsters operate using the Safariland Automatic Locking System (ALS) consistent with the currently issued CBP duty holsters. The ALS is a patented design held by Safariland, and therefore not available from any non-authorized seller.

The Safariland-brand holsters utilize an internal locking mechanism (i.e., ALS) that secures the weapon by the handguns ejection port, which releases with a thumb drive, resulting in a safe locking mechanism in all CBP operational environments. No other brand provides this unique feature. LESC is dedicated to optimizing the safety, readiness, accountability, and operational performance of CBP law enforcement personnel. This is accomplished by developing use of force policy, maintaining appropriate controls and standards, and supplying the highest quality education and training, weapons, and other officer-safety equipment.

The non-MRDS versions of the Safariland-brand 6390 and 7390 holsters are currently issued to uniformed CBP employees as part of the Uniforms II contract, established to leverage collective buying power and ensure consistency amongst all DHS components for agency-mandated clothing and accessories, to include duty handgun holsters. Over the previous four

(4) years of the Uniforms II contract, CBP officers and agents have been extensively trained on the ALS retention mechanisms of the Safariland ALS holster. With the recent need of MRDS holsters, to authorize a brand other than Safariland, whose retention mechanism is patented and unavailable on other than Safariland-brand holsters, would require the retraining of uniformed CBP employees who adopt the MRDS. Given the intended short duration of this contract (three years) until the long-term Uniforms III contract is established with MRDS holsters as part of the competitive process, it is essential to ensure consistency with the current Safariland holsters and the ALS retention mechanism. The safety issues of introducing a second holster with a non-ALS retention mechanism for MRDS-equipped handguns during the transition period, along with the cost and time of retraining uniformed CBP employees on the proper use of non-MRDS holsters, greatly outweighs any potential cost savings obtained seeking other than Safariland brand name holsters.

Justification and Approval For Other Than Full and Open Competition Brand Name Only Safariland MRDS Compatible Holsters

Version 4.0 Update 2024

This justification also includes two (2) accessories: belt loop and quick locking system. Both are specifically designed to work with the Safariland-brand holsters with three-hole patterns.

No other brand of belt loop and quick locking system will work with the Safariland-brand holsters being acquired through this acquisition.

Finally, it is essential that holsters utilized by CBP uniformed and non-uniform armed employees, both MRDS and non-MRDS versions, utilize the same Safariland-patented ALS retention system for purposes of uniformity in operational environments to ensure CBP uniformed employees can quickly and reliably remove their handguns from the holsters with little or no conscious effort developed through muscle memory of training and utilizing the non-MRDS versions of the Safariland ALS-equipped holsters.

6. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

The solicitation shall be a brand name only for Safariland MRDS compatible Duty Holsters due to its specific technical specifications and the current issuance of its non-MRDS related version. Using a Brand Name only approach allows the Government to still achieve a level of competition among authorized distributors, of which there are several vendor approved sellers (see Section 8 Market Research). The solicitation will be posted on SAM.gov to achieve the broadest reach among those distributors.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the Anticipated Cost to the Government will be Fair and Reasonable.

The Contracting Officer has determined that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on , previous contract pricing as well as current commercial pricing.

Second, the required holsters are available from approximately three to four distributors through various General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS), so the Contracting Officer will be able to compare the proposed pricing, in part, against the GSA MAS pricing, which has already been determined fair and reasonable pursuant to FAR 8.404, Use of Federal Supply Schedules.

Finally, CBP intends to compete this requirement, so pricing resulting from competition should reflect current industry conditions for the required items.

8. Description of Market Research.

Market research was conducted via multiple methods. First, research was conducted through face-to-face interaction between government personnel (including CBP Program

Justification and Approval For Other Than Full and Open Competition Brand Name Only Safariland MRDS Compatible Holsters

Version 4.0 Update 2024

Management) and vendors over the course of the preceding three (3) years. A substantial amount of the data was both obtained and shared through face-to-face vendor interactions at in house meetings, trade shows, and culminating at the 2024 SHOT show. This industry show, the largest in the nation, provided a platform to meet with most major manufacturers and distributors. The following are known sources of the required brand name products:

Figure 8.1 General Market Research Results Company Name UEI Size Status Distributor?

Second, market research was conducted through a Request for Information (RFI) posted on System for Award Management (SAM) on January 11, 2024 with responses due January 31, 2024. This announcement was made as Notice ID MRDS-Holsters. The following were respondents to the SAM RFI:

Figure 8.2 RFI Respondents Company Name UEI Size Status Distributor?

9. Any Other Facts Supporting the Use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

CBP previously conducted a full and open competition for holsters in 2019 as part of the Uniforms II contract using a performance based requirements document. Only one manufacturer was presented as meeting those requirements: Safariland. Current market research shows that the industr capabilities have not changed since 2019. The results of the previous full and open competition strongly support this.

10. A Listing of the Sources, if Any That Expressed, in Writing, an Interest in the

Acquisition.

See Figure 8.2 for list of sources that expressed interest in writing in response to the RFI posted on SAM.gov.

11. A Statement of the Actions, if Any, the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome

Any Barriers to Competition Before Any Subsequent Acquisition for Supplies or Services Required.

The current CBP Uniform Contract (the current source for duty holsters) does not offer an MRDS compatible holster variant and will expire in 2027. The next competitively awarded CBP Uniform Contract will include MRDS compatible holsters. This 3-year contract is intended to serve as a bridge until the next uniform contract (Uniforms III) can be awarded.

12. Posting Requirement. CBP will post this name brand justification on SAM.gov along with the solicitation pursuant to FAR 6.305(c).

13. REQUISITION/PROGRAM OFFICE CERTIFICATION

needs and contains complete information necessary to support the action described in this document and the authority cited.

Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Law Enforcement Safety Compliance

14. CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION/APPROVAL*

I certify that the data supporting the recommended use of other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Mission Support Contracting Division- West

* In accordance with FAR 6.304(a)(1), CO certification of a J&A for a requirement not exceeding $750,000 shall constitute approval of the J&A.

&A APPROVALS

16. COMPETITION ADVOCATE (Per FAR 6.304(a)(2) - Over $750,000 to $15M)

Approved Disapproved

Director/Competition Advocate Industry Partnership & Outreach Program