MAFR OMS Site Visit Minutes 20250317.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

27TH SPECIAL OPERATIONS CONTRACTING SQUADRON

(AFSOC) CANNON AIR FORCE BASE NEW MEXICO

17 March 2025

MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD

FROM: 27 Special Operations Contracting Squadron (27 SOCONS)

SUBJECT: Melrose Air Force Range (MAFR) Site Visit Documentation

1. The purpose of this memorandum is to formally document the events of the MAFR Site Visit that was conducted on Monday, 17 March 2025.

2. This visit commenced at the 27 SOCONS at Cannon Air Force Base (CAFB), where contractors and members from 27 SOCONS convened in the 27 SOCONS conference room, where attendance was taken and ground rules for the solicitation were briefed. Vendors were briefed the following:

• Pay attention to deadlines

• Acknowledge all amendments

• Intent is to award w/o discussions

• All attendees must ride the bus for the entire event. No private vehicle transportation during the Site Visit will be authorized.

• Access to portable restrooms will be made available periodically during the Site Visit.

• All questions during the Site Visit must be provided in writing. Offerors are requested to submit questions to the points of contact noted in the Solicitation IAW posted deadlines as noted in the RFP.

• Information provided at this Site Visit shall not qualify the terms and conditions of the solicitation and specifications. Terms of the solicitation and specifications remain unchanged unless the solicitation is amended in writing. If an amendment is issued, normal procedures relating to the acknowledgment and receipt of solicitation amendments shall apply.

• A record of the site visit shall be made and furnished to all prospective offerors. The record will include minutes of the meeting, including questions (on a non-attribution basis) and answers.

3. Seven of the twelve vendors that responded as interested prior to the deadline of 11 March were present for the site visit. The full list of vendors and Government personnel present are listed on the Site Visit Sign-In Sheet. All vendor personnel were given a printed and bound copy of the MAFR guide, which showcases all facilities at MAFR.

4. The bus reached the entry control building (ECB) at MAFR at approximately occurred at 1030, where representatives from the Range Management Office (RMO) boarded. Mr. Mike King gave the safety briefing, then departed, while Mr. Lou Casares and Mr. Tom Elston remained to guide and narrate the tour respectively.

5. Attendees were given the opportunity to disembark the bus and inspect several sites. These included the following:

• The largest MOUT/training area TA-3B referred to as “Gotham City”. This simulated city is modeled after a Middle Eastern city and is composed of hundreds of containers with operational doors and windows. It was noted that there are approximately 200 containers in 3B made up of many more containers. The users are responsible for closing all doors and windows upon exercise completion and are also held liable for any damages they may cause. The contractor is responsible for cleaning up training debris and closing doors and windows that the users might miss after each training iteration. Several containers are equipped with video surveillance cameras and the entire compound has several different broadcasting speakers that can be programmed to play sounds to mimic normal city acoustics such as the call to prayer and foreign language tracks. This area is large enough to support 2-3 exercises at any point in time. The props (bicycles, vehicles, marketplace items such as plastic fruit stands and storefronts, etc.) are all provided by the Government, but contractors are responsible for maintaining and keeping logs of them.

Aromatic systems are in place on this site as well to use synthetic smells to increase the realism for exercise players.

• The tornado shelter, which can shelter roughly 150 personnel.

• The administration/electronic systems building, Building 1095, which is where the

Contracting Officer Representative (COR), training, and Range Inspector offices are located.

• Maintenance building 1100, the LZ/DZ storage facility, that contains tool cribs, carts, and small/midsize robots used for gunship training. Welding can and does occur in this building with proper ventilation.

• Permanent Exercise Facility (PEF) where firetruck storage is located. This entire compound is used for mission planning and there are latrines, tents, and water tanks in the area. There are 2 storage tanks on site that contain non-potable water to extinguish fires.

• The Electronic Warfare area referred to as the Ground Electronic Combat Control Operations (GECCO) that is atop a steep mesa and has winding and caliche roads that must be traversed to access the area. The purpose of GECCO is to facilitate a myriad of electronic training simulations that vary from signal jamming to communications interruption and threat warning stimulators. There is indoor plumbing at this location. The group viewed the Multiple Threat Emitter System (MUTES) that have 18 transmitters and require two operators to oversee radar and computer function. The tour also observed the mini-MUTES operating station. Visitors also viewed the “Smokey SAMS” storage containers that provide visual and infrared cues for aircraft counter- measure techniques.

The GECCO site also houses the Range Operations Center (ROC) and a range operations room that contains controls for a thermal imager, security system, and safety tracking interface. All GECCO systems are contractor operated/maintained. It was noted that the “golf ball”, a large spherical structure on site, is used to house the BASH Bird Radar.

• The reviewing stands, where visitors can see the span of all three Spirit dudded impact areas: Sprint South, Center, and North. The RMO pointed out various targets, including the spinning target for sniper practice for long-range shots. This area is for live impact training for gunships and can support training for up to 105 mm weapons. It was emphasized that any access to this area MUST be after it is cleared by Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) personnel. Fires are common on Spirit Center and Spirit South and require heightened watch by range personnel, including contractors. The RMO pointed out the Range Control tower from which Range Control Officers and Range Officers operate.

• Training Area 1 Alpha (TA-1A) which includes the 5,000ft-long by 90ft-wide Red Horse Landing Zone (LZ) and DZ that can provide landings for aircrafts up to C130’s.

6. Attendees were also made aware that roads were continually being built and expanded at

MAFR and that MAFR is constantly changing to suit customer requirements.

7. One question was asked by a vendor, and they were reminded to submit via email.

8. The site visit concluded at approximately 1330. Bus transportation back to 27 SOCONS concluded at 1430 when all parties disembarked.

MICHAEL W. BOYD, Capt, DAF Contract Specialist