FBO_Post_JnA_J74_Gap.pdf

Justification and Approval (J&A) for Other Than Full and Open Competition

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 1 of 4

NOTE: If a Justification and Approval was approved for the preceding acquisition, a copy of the approved J&A for the predecessor action must be included in the staff package for approval of the instant J&A. This applies to J&A staff packages that are submitted for review and approval at a level above the contracting officer. The predecessor J&A will be used as a reference document by the approving official.

Is this a new or amended J&A Document? New Amended ( Prior to Award Only! )

Is this a Bridge Action as defined in the AF Bridge Action Reduction Plan? Yes No

Funding level for this acquisition: < $700K > $700K and < $13.5M > $13.5M and < $93M > $93M

Contracting Activity: 21CONS/PKCA

Purchase Request / Local ID Number: F3LNJA8312A001

Program / Project (and PE, if applicable): NORAD and USNORTHCOM J74 Joint Training Gap Support

Program Type (PEO or Other Contracting): Other

Authority: 6.302-1 – 10 USC 2304(c)(1), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements

Estimated Contract Cost (including options): $607,160 J&A Type: Class Individual

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 2 of 4

I. Contracting Activity.

21CONS/PKCA

135 Dover Street, Bldg. 350 Peterson AFB, CO 80914

II. Nature and/or description of the action being processed.

The Government intends to solicit through other than full and open competition, a firm fixed price contract to S4, Inc.

for NORAD & USNORTHCOM (N&NC), Directorate of Joint Training and Exercises, Joint Exercise Division (N&NC/J74) Support services. S4, Inc. is the incumbent small business and this action is for a two (2) month contract with four (4) one-month options.

III. Description of supplies/services required to meet agency needs.

The requirement is for continued support of N&NC/J74 providing Joint Training Program support required for N&NC Headquarters. These highly specialized services are necessary to conduct the N&NC/J74 joint training, implement the Joint Lessons Learned Program, and advise on the four Phases of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Training System. The anticipated period of performance is 1 December 2018 through 31 January 2019, with options that may extend through 31 May 2019, if needed. If all option are exercised, the total estimated value of this acquisition is $607,160.00. These services are being procured using O&M (0100) funds.

IV. Statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii)(A), services may be deemed to be available only from the original source in the case of follow-on contract for the continued provision of highly specialized service when it is likely that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition.

V. Demonstration that the contractor's unique qualifications or nature of the acquisition requires the use of the authority cited above (applicability of authority).

N&NC is currently engaged in the insourcing of support following completion of the competitively awarded task order FA2517-12-D-9001-0015 on 30 November 2018. Personnel action necessary to allow the hiring of all General Schedule (GS) Government employees has not been completed by Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC) at this time and necessary actions are not anticipated to be complete until February 2019 at the earliest, and 31 May 2019 at the latest. At this time, three tasks have been successfully insourced leaving two tasks unsupported by yet-to-be-hired GS employees and requiring continued highly specialized contractor support to assure the J7 mission is supported. In order for 21CONS to competitively award a contract for the aforementioned services to prevent a break in support, substantial duplication of cost will occur which is not expected to be recovered through competition. Competing this J74 Joint Training gap requirement would incur non-recoverable costs to recruit, train, and certify another contractor's staff for continued mission support for this short six month maximum performance period. This justification allows for a contract that will initially perform for two months, and allow for up to four one-month options should further unanticipated delays be encountered by AFPC.

A noncompetitive contract to the incumbent contractor, S4, Inc. allows for streamlined evaluations to assure award by 30 November 2018, utilizing current contract pricing data as the basis for negotiation for a short two-month contract with four one-month options.

Allowing any gap or delay in fulfilling this highly specialized support requirement is not acceptable since current work efforts in N&NC/J74 would come to a halt, undermining the N&NC/J74 mission. A gap in support would additionally likely cause current personnel with the specialized expertise to seek employment elsewhere instead of vying for short-

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 3 of 4 term employment on a competed contract that wouldn't be awarded until after the end of the current task order.

S4, Inc. is currently performing the remaining elements of the J74 Joint Training Program task order and award of this contract will retain specialized expertise to ensure mission critical delays do not occur while AFPC hiring action continues. The highly specialized services S4 can deliver includes the unique requirement to provide information services supporting the Joint Lessons Learned Information Systems (JLLIS) and the Joint Training Information Management System (JTIMS) computer systems. JLLIS enables continuous process improvement by gathering observations and recommendations and making that data available across the enterprise. These lessons learned, after action reviews, and knowledge claims may be from operations, exercises, and other activities as well as from partner organizations in order to identify emerging issues, collect and manage the JLLIS database, and report findings, trends, and issues through electronic media. JTIMS is a Web-based tool suite that, in conjunction with the Defense Readiness Reporting System (DRRS) enterprise and the Joint Lessons Learned Information System (JLLIS), provides a set of integrated information management capabilities used to identify, collect, analyze, store, and disseminate the data required to support implementation of the Joint Training System and sustain a command joint training program.

Attempting to obtain the qualified personnel through competitive contract action is unlikely to achieve any cost savings, and is not feasible within the time available. The current remnants of the workforce are also intimately familiar with the N&NC/J74 mission, and they are fully capable of continuing performance during the delay in AFPC hiring action. S4 Inc. having the certifications and clearances in-place will ensure no break in support, no additional startup/ administrative burdens/costs associated with demobilizing incumbent contract personnel, closing out badging/ credentials of these personnel and then mobilizing a potential new contractor with the required badging/ credentialing. As stated above, AFPC is expected to have the employees recruited and hired by 31 January 2019.

Therefore, this acquisition is for continued performance of a highly specialized service.

For the reasons described, completing an additional competitive acquisition would not achieve cost savings, while it would add significant duplication of costs that utilizing a short term contract does not. Accordingly, S4, Inc. is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the U.S. Air Force experiencing unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements.”

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

Under subject J&A, N&NC/J74 provided all documentation for AFPC hiring action in a timely manner, but AFPC did not achieve the milestones anticipated. At this point to seek competitive award would only serve to disrupt the labor market where a new interim contractor would field offers to the very same employees currently employed. Once APFC actions are complete, no follow-on acquisition would be necessary. Sources Sought synopsis was issued 9 November 2018 with one firm responding: Principle Information Technology Company (PITC) on 20 November 2018 provided a capability statement which showed previous experience in related training and exercise support. The Contracting Officer determined PITC could not readily possess the specific expertise needed to begin performance on 1 December 2018 as required by the synopsis.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

Contracting Officer (CO) anticipates the cost to the Government will be determined to be fair and reasonable on the basis of price and/or cost analysis and by using other than certified cost or pricing data, to analyze cost elements compared with the current contract pricing and the Independent Government Estimate. The proposed labor staffing and technical approach will be evaluated by the Government technical evaluators to ensure accuracy in the development of the Government objective.

VIII. Description of the market research conducted and the results, or a statement of the reasons market research was not conducted.

For this acquisition, the Government conducted market research recognizing the time constraints for continued

March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Page 4 of 4 support would only expediently be provided by the incumbent contractor. Pricing research was also conducted by reviewing the historical costs/funding on the current contract support as well as similar contracts. As described in Section VI above, market research, in accordance with FAR Part 10, was conducted by synopsis of the proposed acquisition, advising industry of the pending acquisition and soliciting inquiries from interested parties.

IX. Any other facts supporting the use of Other Than Full and Open Competition.

As stated in paragraph V above, the proposed maximum six month contract with the incumbent contractor S4, Inc.

would ensure continuation of services, and competition would not be expected to achieve savings that outweigh the administrative costs of re-badging and re-certifying newly employed personnel that would be necessary with a new competitive acquisition. The S4, Inc. personnel currently employed hold required security clearances for performance, have the requisite experience, and are fully capable of performing the proposed contract. Any gap in support will result in additional administrative burdens/costs associated with demobilizing incumbent contract personnel, closing out badging/credentials of these personnel, and then rebuilding the workforce once AFPC takes the actions needed to hire new replacement personnel. The impact of delay in fulfilling this N&NC/J74 mission requirement would be intolerable.

X. List of any sources that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

The requirement has been synopsized in accordance with FAR 5.201 and DFARS 206.302-1(d) and one source responded with a capability statement. See Section VI above.

XI. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before making subsequent acquisitions for the supplies or services required.

The Government is currently engaged in the actions necessary to hire GS employees. There is no anticipation of further contract support in this area once the AFPC hiring has been accomplished.

XII. Certification by the Contracting Officer.

As evidenced by my signature above, I have determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

XIII. Certification by the technical/requirements personnel.

As evidenced by my (our) signature(s) above, I (we) certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my (our) responsibility, is both accurate and complete.