Attachment 1 - PWS for Iraq 7-27-23.pdf

U.S. Department of State Attachment 2.A Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement PWS for CWD Program in Iraq

Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement

Performance Work Statement

Conventional Weapons Destruction Program in Iraq

July 27, 2023

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Under this task order, the Contractor will be required to provide experts to survey, mark, and neutralize explosive hazards including unexploded ordnance (UXO), abandoned ordnance (AXO), IEDs, and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Mosul and other areas as needed and approved. In consultation with Iraqi officials at the local, governorate, and national level and the U.S. government, the Contractor will survey, mark, and clear sites which support broader stabilization efforts.

This is a non-personal services requirement. The United States Government (USG) shall neither supervise contractor employees nor control the method by which the contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual contractor employees. It shall be the responsibility of the contractor to manage its employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception of personal services. If the contractor believes that any actions constitute, or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the contractor's responsibility to notify the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) immediately.

The period of performance will be for a one-year base, with four one-year option periods.

2.0 PURPOSE

As the security situation continues to improve, Iraqi citizens are poised to return to their homes in areas of Anbar, Ninewa, and other governorates liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). To facilitate stabilization activities and the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Contractor will survey, mark, and clear explosive hazards from urban environments and critical infrastructure in areas liberated from ISIS. The Contractor will also continue to provide explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) and community outreach in areas contaminated with explosive hazards.

3.0 BACKGROUND

Iraq is contaminated by an estimated 10 to 15 million persistent landmines and ERW from conflicts dating back to the 1940s. Numerous large barrier minefields and unexploded ordnance (UXO) remain along the Iran/Iraq border as a result of the 1980s conflict between the two nations. The wars in 1990-1991 and the conflict that began in 2003 scattered significant numbers of UXO throughout the country, with the majority of contamination concentrated in the south. The activities of ISIS have dramatically altered the conventional weapons destruction (CWD) landscape. As civilians fled large population centers like Mosul, they have become IDPs in areas where they are not familiar with the ERW hazards. As IDPs begin to return to their homes, they are confronted with both ERW and the deliberate mining and booby-trapping of homes and infrastructure by ISIS.

Since 2003, the United States has invested more than $715 million under the U.S. CWD program toward the clearance and safe disposal of landmines, UXO, and excess conventional weapons and munitions in Iraq. The program has been very effective in achieving the primary goals of restoring access to land and infrastructure, developing host nation capacity, facilitating small arms/light weapons (SA/LW) and Man-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) destruction efforts, and improving conventional weapons stockpile security and management practices.

3.1 REQUIREMENTS

The requirements of this task order are to manage and deploy Local National (LN) Clearance Teams to conduct minefield and UXO survey and clearance as well as manage and deploy Community Liaison teams to support the LN teams and conduct Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE). Each year, the number of teams needed will be discussed and negotiated prior to award.

3.2 REQUIREMENT TASKS

1. Deploy 6 Local National Clearance Teams.

a. These teams shall be capable of conducting IED, UXO, and AXO survey and clearance as well as explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operations.

The Contractor shall use, develop, and deploy Iraqi clearance teams capable of clearing ISIS ERW without international staff oversight when possible. The Contractor shall monitor and document all necessary training that is required to keep clearance teams operational. Teams will be held to International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) and National Mine Action Authority requirements.

b. The Contractor shall provide all programmatic, logistics services, equipment, and supplies to accomplish the following: provide all personnel, resources, and supplies required for successful operations associated with this task order to survey, mark, and clear explosive hazards. The host nation will continue to provide EOD resources to pick up explosive hazards on a regular basis. This may change in the event that legislation passes allowing mine action operators to maintain and use explosives.

c. The teams shall conduct survey, marking, and clearance activities focused on urban environments, critical infrastructure, and other priority tasks in areas liberated from ISIS should continue to include the following:

i. Non-technical survey/community liaison teams responsible for assessing the security situation, overall ERW contamination levels, and the impact of ERW on civilian population’s access to shelter, water, food, healthcare, and other social services.

ii. These teams should also be alert to opportunities to secure and disable MANPADS, Anti-Tank Guided Weapon (ATGW) and other weapons stockpiles.

d. The Contractor shall deploy mechanical assets (e.g., MineWolf, armored excavator, etc…) to support operations. This includes any additional heavy equipment which may be needed due to changing site conditions on the ground or due to new taskings.

e. The Contractor shall scale clearance capacity up or down in different areas of Iraq, to include reducing the number of clearance teams in one area while increasing the number of teams in another are, as requested by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or Government Technical Monitor (GTM) and based on the situational requirements on the ground.

The addition of any new teams shall be coordinated with PM/WRA and approved by the Contracting Officer by modification.

2. Deploy 3 Community Liaison Teams

a. These teams shall provide EORE to Iraqis living in and around survey and clearance task sites in areas where the government of Iraq, UN entities, or NGOs are not already providing risk education. Education enables local communities to identify explosive hazards and practice safe behaviors in areas with confirmed and suspected explosive hazards contamination.

b. Teams will be held to IMAS and National Mine Action Authority requirements.

3. Project Coordination and Team Support

a. Contractor Program Management leadership focus for this task order shall liaise with PM/WRA, U.S. Embassy Baghdad, U.S. Consulate General Erbil, Federal Government of Iraq officials, Iraqi Kurdistan Officials, provincial and local government officials, international organizations, and national and international non-governmental organizations. Guidance and direction will continue to be provided by the PM/WRA COR and GTMas required.

b. The contractor will coordinate with Iraqi officials at the national, provincial, and local level as well as with NGOs, UN entities, and other stabilization actors to identify, survey, and clear critical infrastructure sites affected by ERW, as approved by PM/WRA.

c. The Contractor shall provide senior EOD technical advisor services to identify, authenticate, and possibly destroy MANPADS, if appropriate.

The Contractor shall alert PM/WRA within 24 hours of any MANPADS found while conducting operations and coordinate with U.S. Embassy Baghdad and other appropriate in-country officials. The Contractor shall employ personnel with the requisite skills that include knowledge and experience in providing forensic evidence, certification, verification, reporting, and destruction of any MANPADS found or turned over.

d. Maintain Logistic Support Areas (LSA) across Iraq that facilitate access to the specific liberated areas where operations are being conducted. At a minimum, the Contractor must maintain a permanent presence in or around Mosul/Erbil unless security situations deem it necessary to move elsewhere.

e. The Contractor shall provide logistics support to oversee accountability of all U.S. government-owned, contractor-maintained supplies and equipment. This includes the purchase (competitive, local, or other), management, accountability, and control of all supplies, equipment, or other logistics efforts. Knowledge and experience in customs, import, export, and Department of Defense regulations covering the use of defensive technologies and weapons to ensure all supplies and equipment are delivered in a timely manner is required. The Contractor shall establish and/or update of inventory reporting and other logistic elements as described and required under the contract.

4. Security

a. Iraq is a non-permissive environment. The Contractor is required to provide all necessary security staff to ensure all personnel and equipment is safeguarded IAW Contract and Task Order Requirements.

b. The Contractor shall provide supervisory security detail services to manage, maintain, and oversee operations. Responsibilities include supervising, training, equipping, and ensuring that an appropriate number of Protective Security Details (PSDs) are available. The number of PSDs corresponds to the prevailing security situation in Iraq. PSDs are required to facilitate execution of the task order and assist PM/WRA, U.S. Embassy Baghdad, and Consulate General Erbil personnel as necessary. The contractor shall propose the number of PSDs required to support operations at the beginning of each performance period. Any changes to the number of PSDs will be coordinated with PM/WRA and approved by the Contracting Officer.

c. The Contractor shall take adequate measures designed to safeguard personnel, protect property and prevent sabotage, damage or theft of all material, supplies, and equipment as further described and required under the contract.

5. Project Management Office (PMO)

a. The contractor shall provide a PMO equipped to manage the tasks and requirements under this task order.

b. The PMO shall provide support to PM/WRA that enforces the implementation and delivery of, but are not necessarily limited to:

standards, methodologies, and processes; delivery management;

governance and performance management; administration and support of this Task Order.

c. The PMO will be responsible for directing the activities, coordinating the resources, and ensuring timely, quality performance as required in the execution of this task order. This includes the coordination with PM/WRA, host nations, U.S. Embassy/Mission representatives, and other governmental or non-governmental agencies as required for seamless execution of tasks.

d. Integrate PMO measures, metrics, thresholds, and targets to drive performance in alignment with PM/WRA mission, strategies, including risk and operational managements metrics.

6. Transition

a. At the conclusion of the contract (Option Year 4), the Contractor will demobilize and allow the orderly transition of housing and operational headquarters to Iraqi counterparts. The USG expects large areas liberated from ISIS will require clearance by follow-on elements such as the Iraqi military after the departure of the contractor’s team(s). Demobilization can overlap with the operational period to allow an orderly transition of clearance operations without a cessation of services.

4.0 DELIVERABLES

At a minimum, the Contractor shall continue to provide to the COR, GTM, and the Political-Military (POL-MIL) Section of U.S. Embassy Baghdad, one electronic copy of an activity report on a weekly and monthly basis. Reports should contain, at a minimum, information and figures on:

a) All activities undertaken that week/month;

b) Location of activities on a map along with grid coordinates

c) Safety, procedural, or disciplinary violations;

d) The location, number, and type of explosive hazards cleared that day/week/month

(if applicable)

e) Square meters surveyed and cleared that day/week/month

f) Number of risk education recipients that day/week/month

g) Any setbacks caused by, for example, weather, procedural matters or by any host government entity, and steps the Contractor took to solve or mitigate these problems or setbacks that week.

The Contractor shall continue to provide to the CO, COR, GTM, and the POL-MIL Section of U.S. Embassy Baghdad, one electronic copy of a comprehensive monthly summary including the information discussed in monthly reports, as well as:

a) dollar amount obligated to the task order, to-date;

b) amount of funds expended during the reporting month;

c) total dollar amount expended to date under the task order;

d) total unexpended funds on the task order;

e) Estimate to completion (ETC);

f) A comprehensive summary of destruction and advisement outputs;

g) Anticipated issues or setbacks to contract activities and proposed solutions;

h) Steps taken to build the Iraqi capacity.

The following reports are also to be submitted by the Contractor:

a. Adverse Incident Reports (Reference Section C.2.4.2)

b. Lessons Learned Report (Reference Section C.2.4.3)

c. Transition Plans (Reference Section C.2.4.4)

d. Final Report (Reference Section C.2.4.6)

e. Close-Out Plan (Reference Section C.2.4.7)

f. Security Plan

6.0 REQUIRED RISK MITIGATION ACTIONS

Risk mitigation actions will be determined through the Risk Mitigation Plan at time of Task Order award.