fair_opportunity_exception_justification - Public Affairs_Redacted.pdf

Controlled Unclassified Information

Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity or to Use Brand-Name Restriction

Is this a brand-name Justification? D Yes

Is this a Bridge Action as defined in the AF Bridge Action Reduction Piao? ~ Yes 0 No

Contracting Activity: 6th Contracting Squ~dron

Purchase Request / Local ID Number:

Program Name (and Program Element, if applicable):

Estimated Cost/Price of the Order (including options): -

TypeProgram (see AFFARS5302.1O1 for definitions): 0 PEO Program D Other Contracting

FairOpportunityException: FAR1650S(b)(2)(i), subparagraph ~(Al 0(B) □ IC) O(D) O(E)

Type of Determination: rg) Individual 0 Oas, Expires: [ click and select]

Click here for instructions to complete the boxes below.

(1) Contracting Activity:

Depanment of the Air Force, Air Mobility Command (AMC), 6th Air Refueling Wing, 6th Comracting Squadron

(2) Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

This Justification is for an exception to fair opportunity for a one-month bridge extension action to Task Order: FA481421 FO191 for Public Affairs Support Services for USCENlCOM. The current task order FA481421 FOl 91 was issued to contractor Red Gate Group under GSA OASIS contract 47QRAD20D1057 in the amount of S21, 164,839.53 on 26 August 2021. The 52.217-86-month ext was issued on 17 Apr 2025 to extend the contract to 28 February 2026. The Government intends to issue a one-month bridge to the incumbent contractor under GSA OASIS on a sole-source basis to prevent a lapse in mission-critical Public Affairs services while finalizing award of a competitively solicited follow-on task order.

The estimated value of this bridge action is -

(3) Description of the supplies/services reQuired to meet the agency's needs:

Headquarters, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) requires critical public affairs support services including:strategic communications planning, media engagement and p ress coordination, senior leader communication support, operational messaging synchronization, and policy communication advisory services. These services are essential to CENTCOMs mission execution and synchronized Department of War messaging across a dynamic operationally sensitive Area of Responsibility.

The proposed bridge action will be for one (1 ) month.

CUN 5001 Program Manager CUN 5002 JOC Media Analyst CUN 5003 Planning Officer CUN 5004 Media Operations Officer CUN 5005 Social Media and Web!>ite Content Manager CUN 5006 Photojournalist CUN 5007 Website Designer CUN 5008 Regional Social Media Specialist- Arabic CUN 5009 Regional Social Media Specialist - Farsi CUN 501 o Regional Social Media Specialist- Urdu CUN 5011 Regional Social Media Specialist- Russian CUN 5012 Regional Social Media Specialist- Hebrew CUN 5013 Regiona l Social Media Specialist - Turkish month I month 1 month 1 month 1 month 1 month 1 rnonth rnonth month month month

1 month month

November 2018 Controlled Unclassified Information Page 1 of 4

1157813907C Cross-Out

1157813907C Cross-Out

November 2018 Controlled Unclassified Information Page 2 of 4

CLIN 5014 Administrative Assistant 1 month $ CLIN 5015 Assessment Specialist 1 month $ CLIN 5016 Senior Executive Assistant 1 month $ CLIN 5018 Contract Access Fee (CAF) 1 month $ CLIN 5019 Media Operations Officer 1 month $ CLIN 5020 Regional Social Media Specialist - Arabic 1 month $ CLIN 5021 Tools 1 month $ Total: $

The Period of Performance is 1Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2026

(4) Identification of the exception to fair opportunity and the supporting rationale:

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505(b)(1)(i) requires the Contracting Officer to provide each awardee under a multiple award contract, a fair opportunity to be considered for each order exceeding the micro-purchase threshold unless a statutory exception applies. The specific exception that precludes the fair opportunity process for this acquisition is 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."

The incumbent task order for public affairs support services to CENTCOM expires on 28 February, 2026. These services are mission-critical and directly support strategic communications, operational messaging synchronization, senior leader engagement, and media coordination across CENTCOM's Area of Responsibility. A lapse in service would cause CENTCOM Public Affairs to lose 75% of its current manpower, including 24-hour media operations capability, foreign language press release and social media operations, drastic reduction in PA support to Operational Planning Teams and other boards and bureaus, CENTCOM website management, PA information environment assessments and analysis for the commander, and the ability to timely respond to international media during a heightened regional interest. Bottom line, CENTCOM Public Affairs will not be able to fulfill its mission.

The follow-on requirement has already been competitively solicited under the GSA OASIS+ multiple-award contract vehicle, and proposals have been received. The evaluation process is actively underway. However, additional time is required to finalize contract award, execute contract clearance reviews, and provide a transition period to ensure uninterrupted continuity of services.

Issuing a separate competitive task order for a one-month bridge period would require providing fair opportunity to all OASIS+ contract holders, allowing proposal preparation time, conducting evaluations and completing award actions. This process would introduce delays that would likely result in a lapse in critical services. Given the limited duration of the bridge action and the imminent contract expiration date, such delay would create unacceptable mission risk.

The proposed bridge action is limited to one-month and , representing the minimum duration and value necessary to allow finalization of the competitively solicited follow-on task order. The bridge maintains the current scope and level of effort and does not introduce new requirements. The need for this exception to fair opportunity is not the result of lack of planning or inadequate procurement execution. The Government initially planned to fulfill the requirement through an in-house $750M Professional Services IDIQ acquisition strategy; however, significant manpower reductions due to Department of War reduction in Personnel (DRP) impacted the requiring activity's ability to support the evaluation process, resulting in cancellation of that approach. The Government promptly initiated a competitive procurement under GSA OASIS+. Additionally, a Federal Government shutdown cause an approximate 45-day delay to acquisition milestones. These factors were outside the control of the contracting activity.

Accordingly, the circumstances meet the criteria for unusual and compelling urgency under FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(A), and providing fair opportunity to all contract holders for this short-term bridge action would result in unacceptable delay and potential disruption of mission critical services.

(5) Contracting Officer's determination that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable:

IAW FAR 15.404-1(b)2(ii), the Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated price of $ for the one-month bridge action is fair and reasonable.

1157813907C Cross-Out

1157813907C Cross-Out

1157813907C Cross-Out

1157813907C Cross-Out

November 2018 Controlled Unclassified Information Page 3 of 4

The proposed bridge pricing reflects a continuation of current scope and level of effort under the incumbent task order. The contractor has applied a 3% escalation to the monthly price established under the existing contract. The prior established pricing was set in 2021. Since that time, the Employment Cost Index (ECI) for professional and technical services has increased by approximately 5.4%. The proposed 3% escalation is below the documented 5.4% increase in the ECI for the relevant labor category, indicating the proposed price adjustment conservative relative to broader market labor cost growth. The escalation is therefore considered reasonable and consistent with prevailing economic conditions

Additionally, the bridge action does not introduce new scope, labor categories, or increased level of effort beyond the existing contract. The pricing is based on previously negotiated GSA OASIS labor rates and maintains the same labor mix required for performance continuity.

Based on a comparison to historical pricing, review of applicable economic indices, and confirmation that the escalation is below current labor market cost growth, the Contracting Officer determines the proposed bridge price to be fair and reasonable.

(6) Other facts supporting the justification:

The incumbent contractor currently provides personnel with required security clearances and operational familiarity necessary to perform public affairs services in support of CENTCOM. Replacement personnel, even temporarily would require security processing, access provisioning, and operational integration, creating measurable mission disruption risk during an already compressed timeframe.

(7) Actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to increasing fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services:

The follow-on requirement has already been competitively solicited under the GSA OASIS+ contract vehicle. The Government is expediting completion of technical and price evaluations, contract clearance reviews, and finalizing award documentation to ensure timely award of the follow-on action. The bridge action is limited to one month and solely intended to allow sufficient time to finalize the competitive award and complete transition activities. The contracting activity will continue to monitor milestone tracking and acquisition lead times to ensure sufficient timelines for evaluation, clearance, and transitions for future acquisitions.

(8) Program Manager's certification that supporting data is accurate and complete:

As evidenced by my signature below, I certify that any supporting data contained herein, which is my responsibility, is both accurate and complete.

(9) Contracting Officer's certification that the justification is accurate and complete:

As evidenced by my signature below, I certify that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

(10) Approving Official's determination that one of the circumstances in FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i) applies to the order.

As evidenced by my signature below, I hereby determine that the fair opportunity exception checked on page 1 applies.

Date

26 Feb 2026

Contracting Officer

LAKEISHA GAMBLE

6 CONS/PKB, (813) 828-4783

Signature

GAMBLE.LAKEISHA.N

ICOLE.1257945410

Digitally signed by

GAMBLE.LAKEISHA.NICOLE

Date: 2026.02.27 06:28:27 -05'00'

1157813907C Cross-Out

1157813907C Cross-Out

1157813907C Cross-Out

November 2018 Controlled Unclassified Information Page 4 of 4

Date

27 Feb 2026

Chief of the Contracting Office (COCO) Michael Terranova

6 CONS/PK, (813) 828-4752

Signature

TERRANOVA.MICHAE

L.1384936829

Digitally signed by

TERRANOVA.MICHAEL

Date: 2026.02.27 06:23:17 -05'00'

1157813907C Cross-Out

1157813907C Cross-Out

1157813907C Cross-Out