A02 - FAR-Part16-EFOJ_ACC CCoE_RSTS_FINAL.pdf

Control No: JA-21-B-103 Contractor: Beshenich Muir & Associates, LLC

Program/Equipment: RSTS CCoE

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 16

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY JUSTIFICATION (EFOJ)

For Actions Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

Program/Equipment: Regional Signal Training Sites (RSTS) – U.S. Army Signal School, U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence (CCoE)

Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b)(1) as implemented by FAR Part 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) – The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

Amount: $5,680,603.05

Prepared by: Emmery Johnson DSN: 848-4949 Contract Specialist Date: 20 January 2021 Email: emmery.i.johnson.civ@mail.mil

Contracting Officer: CPT Justin Tahilramani DSN: 848-4844 Contracting Officer Date: 20 January 2021 Email: justin.a.tahilramani.mil@mail.mil

Technical: Paul Donnell COMM: 312-780-9769 Training Specialist Date: 20 January 2021 Email: paul.w.donnell.civ@mail.mil

Requirements: Paul Donnell COMM: 312-780-9769 Training Specialist Date: 20 January 2021 Email: paul.w.donnell.civ@mail.mil

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support an exception to fair opportunity.

Program Manager:

Typed Name: David Verret

DSN: 312-780-9769

Signature:

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Legal Counsel:

Typed Name: William Wrabley

DSN: 848-5216

Signature:

FAR Part 16 Exception to Fair Opportunity Justification

Under Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery Contracts For Actions Exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)

1. Contracting Activity: U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), ATTN: CCAP-CCB, 6565 Surveillance Loop, Bldg. 6001, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-1846

2. Description of Action: RSTS-CCoE required a bridge task order with Cost Plus Fixed Fee Term (CPFF) and Cost-No Fee Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN), initiated against base contract number W15P7T-19-D-0205 with Beshenich Muir & Associates, LLC (BMA), 121 Cherokee St., Suite A, Leavenworth, KS 66048-5427. This task order consists of a three (3) month base period from 11 January 2021 through 10 April 2021 with an estimated value of $2,836,631.90, and a three (3) month option period from 11 April 2021 through 10 July 2021 with an estimated value at $2,843,971.15, if exercised.

Fiscal year 2021, Operation & Maintenance (Army) appropriations is being utilized for this action.

The three (3) month base period is to allow for the adjudication of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) protest on task order W15P7T21F0010. The three (3) month option period is to allow time for the Government to respond in the event that a supplemental protest is filed. The total level of effort (LOE) required for this extension is 67,392 hours.

Due to the time constraints associated with the performance of this requirement, a Statement of Urgency was drafted by the Contracting Officer on 22 December 2020. The Statement of Urgency was reviewed and approved by the Command Advocate for Competition on 22 December 2020, permitting the Contracting Officer to issue the bridge task order W15P7T21F0046 in advance of the approved EFOJ. The EFOJ will be completed and approved by the Command Advocate for Competition within 30 days of the signature of the task order award.

3. Description of Supplies/Services: This requirement supports the mission of the U.S.

Army CCoE which is the U.S. Army's force modernization proponent for Cyberspace Operations, Signal/Communications Networks and Information Services, and Electronic Warfare (EW). CCoE is responsible for developing doctrine, organizational training material, leadership/education, personnel, and facility solutions in support of Signal and Cyberspace operations. A major aspect of the CCoE's mission is training, education, certification, development and support of world-class, highly skilled Signal, Cyber, and EW professionals supporting operations at the strategic, operational, and tactical level within and outside the contiguous United States (OCONUS). These trainings and support services are required to stay current with the equipment and fielding requirements for the newest Command, Control and Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Systems in the Army, both within the contiguous United States (CONUS) and OCONUS Areas of Responsibility (AoR).

TASK ORDER AWARD SUMMARY

Period of Performance (PoP) Awarded Value

Base Period 11 January 2021 - 10 April 2021

$2,836,631.90

Option Period 11 April 2021 - 10 July 2021

$2,843,971.15

TOTAL $5,680,603.05

TASK ORDER SUMMARY OF LOE

PoP Awarded LOE Base Period

11 January 2021 - 10 April 2021 33,696 Hours

Option Period 11 April 2021 - 10 July 2021

33,696 Hours

TOTAL 67,392 Hours

4. Authority Cited: 10 U.S.C. 2304c(b)(1) as implemented by FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) – The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: The RSTS CCoE requires adequate personnel to provide high-quality program management, administrative support, and instructors for training at CONUS and OCONUS sites. If this task order extension had not executed, the Warfighter would have been without appropriate training and certification, which is mandated for Soldiers in accordance with DoD 8570.1 - Information Security Education requirements. In addition to individual training and certification, this effort provides training, certifying, and supporting Major Army Commands (MACOM) for DoD Signal and Cyberspace operations. Constantly emerging Cyber requirements for data communication training include network interface, virtualization, threat detection and network management. The growth of the Cyber threat to the Armed Forces mandates that the cybersecurity and tactical network management efforts for Program Executive Offices and MACOMs continue without interruption. A lapse in services would have impacted and/or delayed operational requirements at the tactical level, resulting in increased cost to the Government as well as the risk for potential loss of life during operational deployments.

RSTS services are provided at the following locations:

CONUS

• Joint Base Lewis McCord, WA – Courage Signal University

• Fort Bliss, TX – Ft. Bliss Signal Center of Excellence

• Fort Riley, KS – Danger Voice Signal University

• Fort Hood, TX – Phantom Warrior Signal Academy

• Fort Bragg, NC – Ft. Bragg Digital Training Facility

• Fort Carson, CO – Ivy Division Signal University

• Fort Stewart, GA – Marne Signal University

• Fort Campbell, KY – Screaming Eagle Network University

• Fort Huachuca, AZ – Cyber Workforce Trainer

OCONUS

• Schofield Barrack, HI - Pacific Signal University

• Camp Arifjan, Kuwait – US Army Central Command Signal University

Contract W15P7T-19-D-0205, task order W15P7T21F0010 was awarded to BMA, LLC for RSTS CCoE on 23 November 2020 with an effective date of 24 November 2020. The awarded task order contained a POP as follows:

Transition-In Period: 24 November 2020 to 23 December 2020 Base Period: 24 December 2020 to 23 November 2021 Option Period 1: 24 November 2021 to 23 December 2022

On 18 December 2020, OBXTek, Inc. filed a protest with the GAO challenging the award of task order W15P7T21F0010 (in response to Request for Proposal (RFP) RS3-20- 0044) by ACC-APG to BMA to provide services in support of the RSTS CCoE. In light of the protest, a stop work order was subsequently issued in accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act.

Based on the acquisition history, the Army is aware of two (2) contractors that may be poised to perform the bridge requirement immediately, Leidos Innovations Corporation (Leidos) and BMA. As the incumbent, Leidos has been performing the requirement under Rapid Response – Third Generation (R2-3G) contract W15P7T-10-D-D414 task order KX01. The incumbent contractor’s task order cannot be further extended because it was awarded under R2-3G multiple award (MA) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle and the ordering period for R2-3G is expired.

The Army issued BMA’s task order on 23 November 2020 with an effective date of 24 November 2020. BMA’s transition-in period was nearly complete (day 26 of 30) when the subject protest was filed. Up until the point that the Government received OBXtek’s protest, BMA had met the schedule for all transition-in deliverables, and was prepared to transition to full performance. Due to the fact that BMA’s contract was issued by ACC- APG, the Contracting Officer is in possession of BMA’s current, analyzed cost information and negotiated contract terms. This information was utilized to assist the Contracting Officer in the issuance of a bridge task order to BMA, further mitigating the break in service to the RSTS CCoE mission. For these reasons, awarding the bridge task order to BMA was in the best interest of the Government.

The Government considered the alternative of competing another task order under the Responsive Strategic Sourcing for Services (RS3) MA IDIQ. This alternative was not feasible due to the significant schedule risk associated with this course of action. Based on historical experience, on average, awards competitively executed under $25M under the RS3 MA IDIQ for the type of services required for this action require approximately 115 calendar days from receipt of the requirements package to award. CCoE would have needed to develop a requirements package for the 24 week task order (est. 20 days), receipt of proposal (est. 30 days), evaluation of proposals (est. 30 days based on number of proposals received), discussions and evaluation addendums (est. 25 days), and award decision (est. 10 days). The gap in services and use of Government resources to award a new effort for such a short timeframe was unacceptable.

6. Actions to Increase Competition: RFP RS3-20-0044 for RSTS CCoE services was released to all 261 RS3 MA IDIQ contract holders under the RS3 contract vehicle and the resulting award was made on 23 November 2020 via contract W15P7T-19-D-0205, task order number W15P7T21F0010.

7. Market Research: On 22 July 2020, ACC-APG released via email a Request for Information (RFI) to all of the RS3 contract holders. The RFI included the Performance Work Statement and requested interested offerors to submit questions and comments by 29 July 2020. The Government also requested that potential offerors provide their "intent to bid" and capability statement by 29 July 2020. A total of 29 RS3 contractors responded to the RFI. Twenty seven (27) contract holders (23 small businesses and 4 large businesses) advised that they intend to bid. Of the 27 contractors interested, 25 submitted a capability statement (22 small businesses and 3 large businesses). Of the 22 small business capability statements received, eight (8) were from Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), two (2) from Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), four (4) from Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) and one (1) from Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned (EDWOSB). The remaining seven (7) were from other Small Businesses four (4) or Large Business three (3).The Government evaluated all 8 of the SDVOSB capability statements; of these four (4) were found to be capable. The Government evaluated all five (5) of the WOSB capability statements; of these one (1) was found capable. The remaining eight (8) capability statements were evaluated: six (6) small businesses were found capable and two (2) of the large businesses were found capable. Based on the Government’s evaluation, 13 businesses were determined to be capable based upon their capability statements. The market research conducted is recent, relevant, and is therefore still valid for the award of the bridge contract W15P7T-19-D-0205, task order W15P7T21F0046.

8. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History:

R2-3G Contract: W15P7T-10-D-D414 task order KX01 (Incumbent Contract) Contractor: Leidos Innovations Corporation.

Award Date: 21 September 2017 Competitive Status: Fair Opportunity

9. 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.

Typed Name: Paul Donnell Date: 2-5-2021 Title: Training Specialist Signature:

10. 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.

Typed Name: Paul Donnell Date: 2-5-2021 Title: Training Specialist Signature:

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this bridge task order will be fair and reasonable based on the cost realism and price analysis conducted on the competitive proposals received in response to solicitation RS3-20-0044.

Typed Name: CPT Justin A. Tahilramani Date: 2-5-2021 Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

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

Typed Name: CPT Justin A. Tahilramani Date: 2-5-2021 Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of RSTS CCoE services in the amount of $5,680,603.05 using an exception to fair opportunity pursuant to the authority of FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A) – The agency need for the supplies or services is so urgent that providing a fair opportunity would result in unacceptable delays, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services or supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Cynthia A. Jackson Date: 2-5-2021 Command Advocate for Competition Signature: