Comtech_Part16-EFOJ redacted.pdf

J&A Control No: JA-21-B-063 Contractor: TeleCommunications System, Inc.

Program: Global Tactical Advanced Communication Systems (GTACS) II Global Field Service Representative (FSR) Support Services

Controlled by: Army Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition Distribution/Limited Dissemination Control: FEDCON POC: Amelia Zyski, 443-861-4997

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)

2. Description of Action: The Program Executive Office Command Control Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) Program Manager (PM) Tactical Network (TN) requested a hybrid Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) and Cost bridge task order with TeleCommunications (Comtech) at 275 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. The Government anticipated an award for 16 December 2020 and fiscal year 2021 (FY21) Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) Operations and Maintenance (O&M) funds from Army, Navy, Marine Corp and Air Force were to be used. The services that will be provided in this bridge task order were originally provided by Comtech, under task order W15P7T-13-D-0018 W15P7T19F0483, with a period of performance from 16 September 2019 to 15 December 2020.

Due to the urgency statement provided through the PM TN that U.S. Forces (Army/Navy/Air Force/Marines) in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and 15 other countries will have a high risk of a break in service, permission was granted via email by the Senior Contracting Official on 19 November 2020 to award a bridge task order. The bridge task order was awarded on 11 December 2020 under W15P7T-20-D-0019; W15P7T-21-F- 0007, with services to begin on 16 December 2020, which consists of a ceiling of $20,410,280.13 with a five (5) month (four month base period + 1 month option period) duration of performance (if the option is exercised).

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

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The Government required a five (5) month (four month base period + 1 month option period) bridge task order for Global Field Support Representative (FSR) services to cover a gap in coverage created by multiple protests of the recently awarded Global FSR follow-on task order. The bridge effort was for Global FSR support services in support of communications for the Government primarily for operability and sustainment of the Tactical (1-6 meter) and Strategic (7-9 meter) antenna system such as the Deployable Ku Earth Terminal (DKET), Mobile DKET, Secure Internet Protocol Router (SIPR)/Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router (NIPR) Access Point (SNAP), United States Marine Corps (USMC) Support Wide Area Network (SWAN) and Commercialization efforts, Micro Very Small Aperture Terminal (mVSAT), VSAT, Inflatable Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Terminal (ISA) CJNCC NETOPS;

Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition

Multinational Information Sharing (MNIS) Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System (CENTRIXS), Coalition Partner Network-X (CPN-X); and Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF)-OIR AO-wide Network, but are not limited to only these terminals and support. The customers supported within the Performance Work Statement (PWS) are Central Command (CENTCOM), Air Force Central Command (AFCENT), Army Central Command (ARCENT), Marine Central Command (MARCENT), Africa Command (AFRICOM), Europe Command (EUCOM), United States Air Force Europe (USAFE), Marine Expeditionary Forces, (MEFs), Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs), Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Northern Command (NORTHCOM), Special Operations Command (SOCOM), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and support units within the respective Areas of Responsibility (AoRs). These services may be rendered for use on other Command, Control, Communications (C3) systems and/or networks as required to meet operations. Support is Continental United States (CONUS), Outside Continental United States (OCONUS) and in OCONUS Southwest Asia (SWA).

The awarded CPFF and Cost-type effort was compared against the Independent Government Estimate (IGE) in which the pricing was based on labor and indirect rates of Comtech’s current effort under the GTACS I task order W15P7T-13-D-0018 W15P7T19F0483. The total cost for this bridge effort is $20,410,280.13, which consists of labor of $16,595,093.64 (fixed fee of $1,229,266.20 materials of $107,275.22, travel of $164,409.09, and Other Direct Costs (ODCs) of $3,543,502.17. The total Level of Effort (LOE) for this order is 177,710 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: Providing a fair opportunity by competing the bridge task order would cause unacceptable delays that would result in a break of critically required Global FSR support services. This urgent need arose due to the multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) protests filed against contract W15P7T-20-D- 0008 W15P7T20F0262. On 24 September 2020, following a fair opportunity competition amongst prime contractors under the Global Tactical Advanced Communication Systems (GTACS) II Multiple Award Indefinite Quantity (MA IDIQ) Contract, a task order for Global FSR was awarded to Envistacom under task order W15P7T-20-D-0008 W15P7T20F0262. Three unsuccessful offerors filed GAO protests against the task order award on 13 October 2020. A stop work order was issued on 14 October 2020, as required by the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA). The GAO has until 21 January 2020 to make a final determination on the allegations of the protestors. A portion of the Global FSR requirement is currently supported under the GTACS I contract with

Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition

Comtech under W15P7T-13-D-0018 W15P7T19F0483 which expires 15 December 2020. Comtech’s task order under GTACS I MA IDIQ cannot be extended. Therefore, a bridge task order is required so that critical Global FSR support services can continue to be provided in various combatant operations in AoRs worldwide.

The bridge task order was required to support tactical and strategic SATCOM equipment around the world for Combatant Commands and NATO to include their critical network services that support Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines operations. This support is providing direct support to US Military personnel currently engaged in day to day combat operations and will support upcoming Operations in the next 120-130 days. In addition, if there is a break in service even for a day it will result in a loss of communications and support for not just US Military personnel, but also Homeland Security, and Intelligence Agencies. This would result in the loss of communications between soldiers in combat as well as the loss of communication between forward units and headquarters to request additional support and back up ground units. The inability to communicate effectively would lead to mission failure and put soldier’s lives in danger leading to loss of life.

The Government’s technical experts’ assessment is that only the incumbent, Comtech, can provide the required support without interruption of on-going missions. The time that it would take to provide a fair opportunity to compete a short term task order would have resulted in unacceptable delays that would have caused a break in Global FSR support services. Specifically, a fair opportunity competition would take 4-6 months to solicit and award. Additionally, since this requirement provides critical FSR support to Contingency Operations in countries such as Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States and its territories., the transition to a new GTACS II prime contractor would take approximately 90 days after award. The 90-day transition-in period consists of: Hire and on-board personnel needed to meet the minimum staffing requirements; obtain all necessary documentation associated with deployment to theater and other CONUS and OCONUS locations; and transfer the GFP from the incumbent contractor to the newly awarded contract. Without a suitable transition period, there would be serious impact that would interrupt work in progress that would impact the mission. This delay of services pertaining to the safety of the Warfighter is unacceptable.

There were no other alternatives. Due to the critical FSR support being provided in various AoRs, operations could not be suspended and a break in service had to be avoided. The Government does not have the technical expertise provided by these FSRs to allow for continuous operation and maintenance support of communication equipment. Transferring the work to another contractor would cause unacceptable

Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition delays due to the transition in period that would be required. Loss of communication in these AoRs would cause imminent danger and loss of life to the warfighter.

A statement of urgency was filed on 16 November 2020 from the Contracting Officer Representative (COR), which was included as an attachment in the Contracting Officer’s statement of urgency to the Competition Advocate. The requirement is supported under the GTACS II contract for Comtech W15P7T-20-D-0019 W15P7T21F0007, as the GTACS I contracts have expired. The task order period of performance began on 16 December 2020, and consists of a four (4) – month base period and one (1) – month option period, in order to accommodate the GAO decision due date of 21 January 2021, time to implement corrective action, if required, and the transition-in period for the awardee.

The protests that were received against the award of Envistacom W15P7T-20-D-0007 W15P7T21F0006 on 13 October 2020 were from the following three contractors: Trace Systems, DataPath, and TeleCommunication Systems (Comtech). Trace Systems’ and DataPath’s protests primarily challenge the Government’s past performance evaluations and the Government’s tradeoff decision. Comtech challenges the Government’s determination that its technical proposal was unacceptable and the Government’s resultant decision to eliminate its proposal from consideration for award. The Government anticipates the GAO will deny all three protests because the Army’s evaluations and award decision were reasonable, consistent with the evaluation criteria and adequately documented.

The Government considered requesting a protest override due to the initial understanding that funding would not be available to support a bridge task order, which initially delayed the Government’s bridge request. However, it was determined that a Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) override was not an appropriate action because upon request for affidavits from the requiring activities stipulating they had no funding, the Commands discovered that they were able to repurpose funding for the bridge task order. Therefore, as the current Comtech task order, W15P7T-13-D-0018 W15P7T19F0483 providing these Global FSR support services expires on 15 December 2020, a bridge task order to Comtech was the only way to prevent a break in service.

6. Actions to Increase Competition: The protested Global FSR task order was competed using the FAR 16.505 fair opportunity process. The Government does not anticipate any barriers to competing future follow-on efforts, therefore the Government does not plan to take any actions to increase competition.

7. Market Research: No additional market research was conducted due to the urgent nature of this requirement. Comtech was performing the services at no risk to cost, Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition quality, or schedule. No other contractor possess the capabilities to meet these ongoing requirements in the required timeframe and in an efficient and economical manner without causing unacceptable delays to the Government. Furthermore, Comtech’s past experience with this program negates the need for a transition-in period. Comtech had the required boots on the ground to ensure that the Warfighter has the support to transmit and receive communications from the tip of the spear, to the Soldier at the frontlines.

8. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History:

(1) Contract: W15P7T-13-D-0015 Task Order 0008 Contractor: DataPath, Inc.

Award Date: 03 June 2016

Period of Performance:

Base Period: 3 June 2016 to 2 June 2017 Option Period 1: 3 June 2017 to 2 June 2018 Option Period 2: 3 June 2018 to 2 June 2019 Option Period 3: 3 June 2019 to 2 June 2020 Option Period 4: 3 June 2020 to 2 December 2020

Method of Procurement: Unrestricted under the GTACS I MA IDIQ using Fair Opportunity procedures

Contract type: Cost Plus Fixed Fee and cost-no fee

(2) Contract: W15P7T-13-D-0018 Task Order W15P7T19F0483 Contractor: TeleCommunications (Comtech) Award Date: 16 September 2019

Period of Performance:

Base Period: 16 September 2019 to 15 September 2020 Option Period 1: 16 September 2020 to 15 December 2020

Method of Procurement: Unrestricted under the GTACS I MA IDIQ using Fair Opportunity procedures

Contract type: Cost Plus Fixed Fee and cost-no fee

Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition

(3) GTACS II SATCOM Support Services after the fact EFOJ

Contract: W15P7T-20-D-0007 Task Order W15P7T21F0006 Contractor: DataPath, Inc.

Award Date: 03 December 2020

Period of Performance:

Base Period: 3 December 2020 to 2 April 2021 Option Period 1: 3 April 2021 to 2 May 2021

Method of Procurement: 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.

Contract type: Cost Plus Fixed Fee and cost-no fee

b. ACC-APG issued a Request for Information (RFI) on 22 January 2020 to all GTACS II prime contract holders to identify any capable GTACS II primes who intended on bidding on the follow-on requirement to the task order listed in 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(2). Request for Task Execution Plan (RTEP) 9108 was issued on 20 May 2020 on an unrestricted basis under the GTACS II MA IDIQ using Fair Opportunity procedures.

c. There are no subcontracting opportunities for either requirement identified in 8(a).

Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition

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: John R. Lundy Date:

Title: Project Officer CSTP, PEO C3T Signature:

X Right-Click "Signature Setup"

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: Christian A. Gaytan Date:

Title: Assistant Product Manager, CSTP Signature:

GAYTAN.CHRIS

TIAN.ALAN.115

5847677

Digitally signed by

GAYTAN.CHRISTIAN.ALA

N.1155847677 Date: 2021.01.19 16:57:33 -05'00'

Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition

11. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action was fair and reasonable. This determination was made using the Independent Government Estimate (IGE) with agreed upon rates from the contractor from the time of initial award of W15P7T-13-D-0018;

W15P7T19F0483. As part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data were not required in accordance with the exemption provided in FAR 15.403-1(b)(1): when the contracting officer determines that prices agreed upon are based on adequate price competition.

Typed Name: Kevin O. Andralliski Date:

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: Kevin O. Andralliski Date:

Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

ANDRALLISKI.

KEVIN.O.12574

24436

Digitally signed by

ANDRALLISKI.KEVIN.O.12

57424436 Date: 2021.01.20 06:58:25 -05'00'

ANDRALLISKI.KE

VIN.O.12574244

Digitally signed by

ANDRALLISKI.KEVIN.O.1257

424436 Date: 2021.01.20 06:59:21 -05'00'

Controlled by: ACC-APG CUI Category: General Procurement and Acquisition

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of Global FSR support services in the amount of $20,410,280.13 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.

TYPED NAME: Kenyata L. Wesley, Sr. Date:

Senior Contracting Official Signature:

WESLEY.KENYATA.

LEJAY.1064955787

Digitally signed by

WESLEY.KENYATA.LEJAY.106495

Date: 2021.01.29 13:28:53 -05'00'