J&A 2521

CHANGES TO THE FOLLOW-ON JOC ACQUISITION STRATEGY

The period of performance for the current JOC ends on 29 September 2025. Acquisition planning for the follow-on contract began in October 2024, but a formal electronic contract request was not issued until 01 March 2025. While this was too late to avoid a lapse in JOC coverage, PWD CLDJ had anticipated being able to endure this short break in availability of the JOC as a procurement tool without undue impact on the installation. The follow-on JOC was originally scheduled to be awarded in January 2026.

On 06 June 2025, the Government posted a Sources Sought notice to the System for Award Management (sam.gov) and received responses from interested firms by the closing date of 18 June 2025 While the source selection and solicitation documents were in development, a decision was made to expand the area of performance to include U.S. Government controlled areas located in Somalia including Mogadishu, Kismayo, and Baledogle Military Airfield.

The decision to incorporate additional locations into this requirement, while ultimately strengthening the solution, necessitated repeating some initial steps in acquisition planning, including conducting expanded market research to cover the additional geographic areas. A revised Sources Sought notice was posted on 24 July 2025, and garnered 30 positive responses confirming potential contractor capability.

IMPACT OF CHANGE ON FOLLOW-ON JOC ACQUISITION TIMELINE

The change the follow-on JOC’s scope to add the sites in Somalia required updates to the Performance Work Statement (PWS), Independent Government Estimate (IGE), and other procurement documentation to fully reflect the revised requirements. This necessary refinement process has impacted the original schedule, resulting in a delay to the Request for Proposal (RFP) release. While issuance of the JOC solicitation was originally planned for August 2025 and award by January 2026, the follow-on JOC solicitation will now be released in September 2025, with award of the follow-on JOC contract anticipated for Q2 of FY 2026.

GAP IN JOC COVERAGE POSES UNACCEPTABLE RISK TO INSTALLATION

This contract action will allow coverage between the expiration of the final option period on 29 September 2025 and the award of the follow-on JOC contract. Award of a bridge contract allows for rapid response to urgent minor construction needs like the 16 projected task orders listed above; streamlined procurement process compared to stand-alone contracts; a pre-qualified contractor with demonstrated capabilities; and reduced administrative burden. The incumbent is pre-qualified, possesses base access and can readily respond to mission requirements.

The JOC serves as the only contracting vehicle that can provide the rapid minor construction projects listed in the tables above in support of electrical power delivery, airfield repairs, and defensive posture. Without the ability to rapidly execute these projects, CLDJ will experience significant harm in performing its mission and in some cases, delays will place the troops, contract and civilian workforce, and aircraft assets in elevated risk of harm. Portions of the Camp’s electrical infrastructure are more than 20 years old. While not beyond a normal serviceable life, the Horn of Africa presents a unique mix of environmental challenges to overcome. First, surface level humidity and the Camp’s close vicinity to the Red Sea present a caustic saline atmosphere which accelerates the deterioration of electrical infrastructure.

Similarly, the environment takes an accelerated and unpredictable toll on airfield structures, tension fabric hangars, and runway integrity. Second, Camp Lemonnier does not experience large swings in electrical load demand as non-equatorial installations experience. Electrical load is consistently high in order to operate the thousands of workplace, recreational, and living quarter air conditioners as well as the critical defensive monitoring platforms necessary of a forward operating base. Finally, interruption in electricity supply have a swift and direct impact on the life-safety of Camp inhabitants, as non-climate-controlled facilities become dangerously hot within a few hours of direct sun exposure.

Since July 2025, the electrical infrastructure at the Camp has been under extremely high power loads, triggering cascading failures, which have served to highlight Camp vulnerabilities and the urgently needed repairs. Out-year projects were pulled forward for FY25 execution on the JOC in order to begin the upgrades to key power systems. The five projects listed in Table 1 above are amongst those projects that were pulled forward; they are time-sensitive actions that must begin as soon as possible in order to maintain Camp Lemonnier’s physical electrical infrastructure operational and allow for safe and efficient execution of the Navy mission. These projects were not fully developed at the time they were pulled forward because of the expectation that they would be executed in forthcoming fiscal year. The projects are expected to slip into FY26 due to the need to finish developing and award the projects, as well as the lack of year end funding to support award, due to the unexpected need to pull these projects forward.

The incumbent contractor is the only source capable of performing the required services without unacceptable delays and disruption of services. This contract allows for a streamlined process for the execution of numerous, commonly encountered construction projects in an efficient and effective manner by reducing unnecessary levels of engineering and contract procurement time while reducing overall project costs. Without this vehicle, there is imminent risk of requirements being unmet and/or significantly delayed over the coming FY if each must be developed and competed as individual stand-alone contracts or postponed until the subsequent contracts are awarded. Procurement timelines for unrestricted solicitations in the NAVFAC EURAFCENT area of responsibility are between 150 and 180 days depending on proposed evaluation strategy and whether or not discussions become necessary. CLDJ simply cannot afford to wait up to six months for these projects to be awarded. The extended delay or cancellation of such a large number of known and yet to be known future requirements will jeopardize the command’s mission to support the warfighter. While PWD CLDJ had originally anticipated being able to endure a short lapse in JOC ordering ability, the unforeseen electrical failures that highlighted the need for repairs in recent months, combined with the extended time frame of the lapse, would leave the installation without a contract mechanism to timely award and execute these urgent projects, which presents an unacceptable risk to personnel and equipment.

Absent a bridge action to extend the term of this contract the Public Works Department will lose this tool to execute requirements while the follow-on contract is competed and awarded.

This in turn will compromise mission readiness, diminish airfield safety and capabilities, and will delay the availability of required facilities to support the combat missions of the Installations supported Commands.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable.

The increase in the contract period of performance is an interim solution until the award of the competitively procured follow-on solicitation. The follow-on solicitation will be released in September 2025 and the award is anticipated March 2026.

NAVFAC EURAFCENT considered the use of stand-alone contracts, to be competitively awarded, to execute planned projects; however, there is not sufficient time or capacity to solicit and award multiple new stand-alone contracts to meet the needs of the PWD and requiring activities. Furthermore, NAVFAC EURAFCENT considered using other existing contracting vehicles, such as the Base Operations Support Contract and two Multiple Award Construction Contracts, as alternatives, but the value and complexity of these projects are outside the scope of these contracts.

As detailed above, NAVFAC EURAFCENT posted sources sought notices in SAM.gov on 06 June and 24 July seeking sources experienced in a wide variety of minor construction and repair tasks including road and pavement repair, building renovation, roofing, excavation, emergency repairs, providing new interior finishes on buildings, water and gas line construction and repair, utility repairs (including sanitary sewer and storm drainage), and fire protection systems repairs.

The initial sources sought resulting in interested firms, while potential offerors responded to the revised announcement.

The result of the sources sought notice demonstrates that there are other potential sources that could perform minor construction work aboard CLDJ. However, even if NAVFAC EURAFCENT were to competitively award each individual project, considering the procurement timeline, that effort would not result in any new awards sooner than the award of the contract action currently in the solicitation phase. The current contractor is the only source that can provide the required services in the timeline required to meet the Navy’s operational needs.

In accordance with FAR 6.305, the approved J&A shall be posted in the government-wide point of entry on SAM.gov within 14 days after award of the bridge contract.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost.

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated cost to the Government of the supplies/services covered by this J&A will be fair and reasonable.

8. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition.

The agency is currently planning the follow-on contract, with an anticipated solicitation release date of September 2025 and a subsequent award date in March 2026. The new JOC will be solicited for a one-year base period, plus four (4), one-year option periods, plus one

(1) six-month option period for a total ordering period of five years and six months. The JOC is being procured under full and open competition, maximizing competition to the greatest extent possible. No additional barriers to competition are anticipated at this time.