Solicitation Q and A Document 10 Jun 2024.pdf

Sol Page 53 of 62 - No page limit. Complete blocks 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of the Standard Form (SF) 1449. Enter applicable CAGE code in block 17a, CODE. Please clarify whether a NON US company can submit a proposal and/or participate?

Yes, non-US companies can submit proposals as long as they comply with the solicitation and all applicable laws and regulations.

Sol Page 53 of 62 a) All proposed unit and extended prices shall be submitted in U.S. Dollars currency and round the amount proposed to the nearest dollar. Please clarify how the contractor will account for currency conversions/fluctuations costs due to local costs?

Offerors shall determine how to account for potential currency conversions/fluctuations.

Sol Page 53 of 62 “a) All proposed unit and extended prices shall be submitted in U.S. Dollars currency and round the amount proposed to the nearest dollar. We are concerned since we currently have contracts in UK priced in GBP, Would the government consider allowing price in either EURO or GBP?

After considering award in EURO and GBP, the governemnt has determiend that all proposals shall be submitted in USD.

Sol Page 53 of 62 “b) Section 613a BGB (German Civil Code) may apply to any contract awarded” Please clarify “may”? According to sec.613a (5) BGB, “the affected employees have to be informed in writing by the former employer or the new owner about the transfer of their employment. Such information has to include the date or the envisaged date of the transfer, the reason for the transfer, the legal, economic and social ramifications of the transfer for the employees and the proposed measures to be taken in relation to the employees. Given, that we have to conform will we be given the applicable information?”

It is the offeror's responsibility to determine whether Section 613a BGB applies to this contract, and if so, to comply with it.

# Question/Comment Government Response

Questions & Answers (Q&A) for Solicitation FA5641-24-R-0001

Sol Page 53 of 62 “b) Section 613a BGB (German Civil Code) may apply to any contract awarded” Will the current staffing be made available complying to sec.613a (5) BGB, “the affected employees have to be informed in writing by the former employer or the new owner about the transfer of their employment. Such information has to include the date or the envisaged date of the transfer, the reason for the transfer, the legal, economic and social ramifications of the transfer for the employees and the proposed measures to be taken in relation to the employees.

Given, that we have to conform will we be given the applicable information?”

The government will not provide the current staffing plan to offerors.

Sol 54 of 62 states “d) The Transient Alert (TA) requirement does not qualify for Technical Expert Status Accreditation (TESA) in accordance with (IAW) Article 72 of the Germany Supplementary Agreement to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Status of Forces Agreement.” Please clarify if this applies to both Germany and UK? I believe UK currently has SOFA status aka TESA, please confirm. Please clarify on why given that the requirement requires a “SECRET” clearance that is not available to non US citizens ,TESA is denied? There is currently no TESA for the UK.

Sol 54 of 62 states “5. Submit a list of the proposed teaming partners, joint venture partners, and/or major subcontractors.”

Please clarify if non-US companies can participate?

Non-US companies can participate so long as they comply with the solicitation and all applicable laws and regulations.

PWS Para1.1.1 The contractor shall validate that employees possess knowledge of aircraft maintenance practices and flight line procedures before starting work on this contract. Can the government clarify?

PWS, para. 9.1, Training, Qualification, and Certification Plan describes the knowledge the employees are expected to have at the comencement of contract performance. Due to the inherent risk associated with aircraft and airfield operations, the contractor shall validate each of its employees has been trained and has knowledge of aircraft maintenance and airfield operations prior to being allowed to being allowed on the airfield to provide service covered in the PWS in order to prevent injury, death, or damage.

PWS 1.2 states “The contractor shall perform specific tasks within the time frames established to meet aircraft arrival, servicing, departure schedules, …” Will the government clarify what the timeframes are?

The timeframe would vary depending on type of aircraft, services required, and arrival/departure schedule. Military base flightlines operate similar to commercial sector flightlines.

PWS 1.2 . “The contractor shall be able to simultaneously provide transient aircraft recovery, process, or launch service …” Will the government please clarify maximum number of services that is expected to be considered simultaneous?

Recommend using PWS, Appx. 2 to determine the average of service provided per day and utilizing knowlege of flight patterns for CONUS to OCONUS transit to determine expected workload. The max number will vary by location and event. Additionally, the planning events the contractor will be required to attend will provide them the insight to make adjustments to the situation/operating environment.

PWS 1.4.11 “Perform aircraft chute retrieval if jettisoned on airfield, assist aircrew when requested on installing a new chute.

If a chute repacking facility is on base, transport chute for repacking and return it to the aircraft.” Please clarify which bases have repack facilities, and secondly how many repacks were completed last year and/expected annually by location?

All 4 locations have access to repack facilities, but they only provide services for AF aircraft. Sister services, NATO partners, and partner nations cannot utilize this service unless a support agreement has been approved (currently no such agreements are on file). Based on this, TA would only recover the chute and return to the aircrew. To our knowledge, no repacks have been performed in the past 3 years and 0 are expected at this time.

PWS 1.8 “SPECIAL EVENT/HANDLING OF DV AIRCRAFT/EXERCISE

SERVICES. The contractor shall provide all Transient Alert Services on transient aircraft for all special events/exercises. These events may require extended hours and/or increased manning beyond normal operating hours to meet requirements. Please clarify how the contractor is reimbursed for the additional labor costs?

These events are already factored in on the workload estimate worksheet (see PWS, appx. 2) and would mainly only effect the locations that close during night hours. A firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract is anticipated;

therefore, it will be up to the contractor to manage costs associated with normal and beyond normal operations.

PWS Para 3.3 FOR SITES WITH CONTRACTOR OWNED VEHICLES.

Follow-Me light bar signs, Ultra-High Frequency radios, and Pintle Hooks. Please clarify what type of vehicles currently being used by contractor?

The contractor shall provide their own follow-me vehicles for this contract so it is up to the contractor to determine what type of vehicles they will need based on their required experience and on AFI requirements.

Please note that PWS, Para 3.3.1 has a towing capacity requirement.

PWS Para 5.4 “CONTRACTOR OVERSIGHT. The contractor shall provide a site lead. Please clarify if the Contract Site Manager is the same as Site Lead. Please clarify one Site lead for all 4 bases OR one that will act for all?

Site Lead and Contract Site Manager can be the same person. It is up to the contractor to determine what personnel are needed to perform the requirements in the PWS. Offerors shall specify who the primary/alternate person in charge is at each location so the parties can rapidly address issues.

PWS Para 14.2 “OTHER THAN NORMAL OPERATING HOURS. The contractor shall provide the names and telephone numbers of the site-lead and alternate in writing to the Command Post, the MOC, the COR and the CO for services during other than normal operating hours.” Please clarify how the contractor is reimbursed for additional labor costs?

Because two of the locations are 24/7 operations, this issue would only apply to the two locations that have limited number of aircraft arriving (closer hours).

Because PPPs are required to provide a 72 hour notification of off-hour arrivals, the contractor would only be contacted during off hours in the event of a ground or in-flight emergency. Because a firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract is anticipated, it will be up to the contractor to manage costs associated with normal and beyond normal operations.

16 What is the current staffing by location/site?

The government does not dictate the staffing at each location. It is the contractor's responsibility to determine the correct staffing required to support the contract.

Would the government ever consider separating this effort to better provide efficiency of operations and mitigate country specific nuances?

The government has determined this is a non-technical effort, which mitigates numerous country specific issues associated with bringing in technical experts.

The government is open to separating the contract based on geographic location if sufficient justification is presented.

We are seeking clarification regarding the security requirements.

Specifically, we would like to know what level of security clearance is required for this project, and whether a Top Secret clearance is required or not.

This contract requires a Secret clearance only (see PWS, para 6.0)

19 Will the Government accept adobe .pdf files?

Negative, the offerors shall submit electronic copies of the proposal in a format readable by Microsoft (MS) Word 2013, MS Excel 2013, or MS Power Point 2013.

Will the Government accept CPARS in lieu of Past Performance Questionnaire?

CPARs can be submitted in accordance with paragraph

5. of Chapter F. VOLUME III - PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION; however, not in lieu of paragraph 6.

Past Performance Questionnaires.

Could we submit one document that includes the Transition Management Plan and Past Experience with a maximum of 20 pages (15+5), and separate documents for the Quality Control Plan with a maximum of 15 pages, and the Mission Essential Services Plan with a maximum of 5 pages, with covers and tables of contents excluded from the page count for each?

Offerors shall provide separate documents IAW the solicitation.

Is this a brand new contract or is there an incumbent performing these services? If not brand new, please provide the current/previous contract number.

This effort is the third iteration of Transient Alert services contracted through the 764th ESS. The current contract number is FA5641-19-C-A004.

On page 54 of the solicitation, under Factor 2: Past Experience, it states that we need to provide proof of past experience performing TA services relevant to the PWS. However, we do not have any past experience related to this service. We would like to inquire if we can use the past experience of a subcontractor for this requirement, as well as for the past performance questionnaire.

To clarify, the solicitation paragraph E.3.b. Factor 2 identifies that the offeror shall provide proof of past experience. The solicitation is written to distinguish the offeror vs subcontractor. This means subcontractor past experience would not be acceptable in accordance with the terms of the solicitation. Although, subcontractor past performance may be considered under the past performance evaluation in accordance with solicitation paragraph F.

Volume III - Past Performance Information.