Questions__Answers__AFMED Security Admin Support completed.pdf

FA8052PRE15211- Questions/Responses for Security Admin Support

1. The solicitation states the contractor must have an active Facility Clearance (FCL) at the time of proposal. If a Joint Venture (JV) is the prime, but only one JV member has the required FCL, would the Government permit the cleared member company to provide the 1 FTE under the JV prime contract? Or must the JV itself possess the FCL to be eligible?

Response: The company submitting their proposal for this requirement must have an active

Security Facility Clearance (SFC).

2. Are résumés for proposed personnel required, and if so, do they count toward the page limits?

Response: Resumes are not to be submitted as part of the company’s proposal, therefore, is not part of the page count.

3. Does the Government have formatting standards (font size, spacing, margins) that must be followed for proposal submission?

Response: The standard basic format is 12 pt Times Roman, single space.

4. Could you please confirm the total number of FTEs required for this solicitation?

Response: One

5. Is there an incumbent contractor currently performing this work?

Response: No, there is no incumbent is this is a new requirement.

6. Is the budget for this contract opportunity available or anticipated to be released?

Response: Available

7. Attachment 3 (Instructions to Offerors) from page 10, listed three Volumes of Proposal shall be submitted, namely, (1) Technical Approach; (2) Responsibility; (3) Price Proposal that is required to be addressed, written under the Volume (2) Responsibility. Is this something we need to address

Para III. Responsibility Determination given in page 12 of Attachment 3?

Response: Yes, there are the three volumes that are required for submission to this solicitation.

Volume 1: Technical Approach which is the company’s capability statement. Volume 2: identified under section (g) the information that is provided by the offeror to establish responsibility. Price

Proposal is submitted on the Pricing Schedule.

8. Past Performances are not included and not cited anywhere in the evaluation factors, but, page 10 para 10 of the Attachment 3 talks about Past Performances.

Response: Offerors are able to their provide past performance to help in determining responsibility; however, there are no evaluation factors provided since we will look at your past performance provided to determine if it is recent and relevant to the requirement.

9. We understand that, Past Performances are NOT a requirement to be included with the Proposal. Is this correct?

Response: Past Performance aides within the area to establish Responsibility Determination and is identified on p. 12 of Attachment 3 under section (g).

10. If Past Performances are required to be submitted with the proposal, will they be excluded from

20-paged limit count of Technical Approach Volume?

Response: The Past Performance would be included within Volume 2: Responsibility page count.

11. Attachment 3 page 10 para (9), (10), (11) require the SF1449, Acknowledgement of Amendments, Representations & Certifications to be included with the Proposal. Shall we add these as

Appendices to Volume 1 (Technical) and, please exclude these from the page count of 20-page limit set for the Volume 1?

Response: If there were any amendments within the solicitation on SAM.gov that would require your response; however, there were no amendments other than the Government re-uploading the

PWS and Attachment 3 to allow vendors access to the files. Yes, they can be added as Appendices and not part of the page count for Volume 1.

12. Attachment 3 page 11 para A under heading “Factor-1: Understanding of Requirements” asks to submit Proof of Education and copy of Transcripts, but does not talk anything about named candidate, resume, signed commitment letter. Submitting of just proof education alone suffices? Resume/Commitment Letter are not required?

Response: Resume/Proof of Education is required for the position.

13. Please exclude Proof of Education, Copies of Transcripts, and Resume (if required only) from the page limits of Technical Volume.

Response: Add it as Appendices.

14. How many Full Time Equivalents (FTE employees) and how many hours of effort is required to deploy for performance of this contract?

Response: 1 FTE and the total hours 1920

15. Can the Government give information of the Labor Categories required and their skillset/experiences required to be put on this work?

Response: Yes

16. Requesting the Government to share us the information of Incumbent Vendor’s Name and their currently on-going contract. What is the Awarded Dollar Value of this contract, that is currently in performance? And, what was it’s period of performance?

Response: This is a new requirement and does not have an incumbent nor does it have an awarded dollar value.

17. Can we request for the tentative date of award notification of this contract?

Response: The Government will be awarding this contract no later than 30 Sep 2025, and notification of the award will be posted on SAM.gov on the next business day or within 3 business days.

18. Is the current incumbent contract currently fully staffed with qualified personnel AT THE

CURRENT PWS LEVEL?

Response: New requirement.

19. Confirm number of FTEs expected for base staffing – is minimum 2 Security Admins + 1 Lead required?

Response: One FTE only no Lead required.

20. Will the Program Manager/Lead role be billable?

Response: N/A

21. What wage determination (WD #) applies for Falls Church, VA locality?

Response: WD # 15-4281

22. Clarify whether turnover coverage (backfill staff) is billable.

Response: yes

23. Will the Government furnish laptops and CAC/VPN access for telework, or must contractor provide?

Response: Yes, the government will provide the above items.

24. Is the monthly Financial Status Report (CDRL A003) in a standard format, or contractor-developed?

Response:

25. Please provide all submission requirements, does the government require separate volumes

(Technical, Past Performance, Pricing)? If so, how many pages per volume?

Response: That information is provided on page 10 under section (c), ADDENDUM.

26. Is transition/mobilization period billable separately?

Response: No

27. Please clarify all submission requirements. Are any other documents required beyond Pricing

Schedule B, confirmation of Wide Area Workflow account, and confirmation of SAM registration?

Response: There are the three volumes that are required for submission to this solicitation.

Volume 1: Technical Approach which is the company’s capability statement. Volume 2: identified

28. The Contractor shall designate a Focal Point to be the single point of contact for all Contractor and

Government correspondence. Question: Does the focal point have to be onsite as a Program

Manager? Can vendors price out the focal point hours?

Response: No the focal point does not have to be onsite.

29. Provide a stable workforce with less than 30% turnover. A turnover is recorded when a worker leaves a position for any reason and the Government still has a requirement for that position.

Question: This statement indicates more than one position (Security Administrative Support

Services -Administrative Assistant IV) can you clarify?

Response: It should only be one position that we are currently in need of 1 Security Admin

Support.

30. There is no indication of a Past Performance (PP) Volume requirement. Please clarify there is no

PP requirement?

Response: That is provided as part of the Responsibility Determination on page 12 Section III.

31. Is there a government estimate for the number of FTEs required to support the customer’s requirements or workload data (i.e. number of clearances per year, training events per year, number of personnel supported, number of inspections conducted, etc) to allow us to estimate staffing levels to support the work?

Response: Yes, that information was provided to our Finance folks to start the Contract request for additional personnel.

32. To ensure our proposal aligns with the Government’s expectations, can the Government clarify whether it will provide the number of required labor categories (LCATs) and estimated labor hours? This information is essential for preparing a realistic and supportable cost volume.

Response: Yes we will br

33. What criteria will the COR use to approve or deny routine telecommuting requests?

Response: Per the PWS Section 2.9.1.Telecommuting is authorized on an ad-hoc or situational basis for this contract. Routine (3 or less days per week) or full-time (5 days per week) telecommuting may be authorized upon the written approval of the COR

34. Are there limitations on the percentage of contractor staff that may telework at the same time?

Response: No there are no limitations.

35. The PWS requires a 95% staffing fill rate with <30% turnover. How will turnover be measured

(per year, over contract life, by labor category)?

Response: over contract life

36. Will the government allow substitutions of personnel with equivalent qualifications during vacancies, or must resumes be pre-approved?

Response: Both we will still want to pre-approve the contractor.

37. The PWS requires 3 years of direct security admin support experience. Will related DoD security experience (e.g., force protection, physical security) be considered equivalent?

Response: no it will not be considered equivalent.

38. For the T3 clearance requirement, do personnel need to hold the clearance at time of award, or can interim Secret/T3 be acceptable at onboarding?

Response: Per the PWS a SECRET/T3 is acceptable

39. Are the CDRLs (A001, A002, A003) to be submitted in a specific format/template, or may the contractor use its own standard reports?

Response: The contractor can use its own standard reporting.

40. Should the Financial Status Report (CDRL A003) include labor hours, burn rate, and staffing metrics, or only financial expenditures?

41. Some thresholds (e.g., “zero valid customer complaints”) may be difficult to measure objectively.

How will the Government validate and adjudicate a “valid complaint”?

Response: We will

42. Will COR surveillance be conducted via monthly reviews, quarterly audits, or random inspections?

43. The PWS mentions the following: "Ensure positions are filled 100% and are present for duty within fifteen (15) days after the start of the period of performance (POP) in the contract." To make bidding fair, with price being an evaluation factor (Factor 2), how many positions are expected to be filled 100%?

Response: Only One.

44. Due to the positions requiring T3 clearance. Does the government plan to issue a DD254 post award?

Response: Yes, a DD 254 will be provided at the time of award as an attachment.

45. Would the government consider making an offeror having a Facility Clearance an evaluation factor? Or is the GCA willing to sponsor Facility Clearances for this effort?

Response: Yes, Attachment 3 of the Solicitation has been revised to include an active Security Facility Clearance. The offeror is responsible for having and maintaining Facility Clearance to sponsor required FTEs.

46. Can the government please outline what the expectation is for Contractors to submit/provide to achieve the Satisfactory Rating and how this will be evaluated?

Response: Please review Attachment 3 on page 11, Section A. FACTORS.

47. We noted that we have 20 pages for a Technical proposal, however in reviewing the Factor 1 Criteria, it appears the Government simply wants a resume to confirm the identified candidate(s) has the knowledge and education. Will the Government please confirm it desires a full 20 page technical capability response?

Response: The number of pages submitted is at the discretion of each vendor; however, the maximum pages for the Technical proposal is a 20 page count.

48. Does the Government have a projection of how many FTEs are required to complete the annual performance of work?

Response: Yes, we was allotted one and giving the option to add an additional one later on.

49. If an FTE count cannot be provided will the government provide an annual workload history to allow contractors the ability to cost an appropriate quantity of FTE as part of the Firm Fixed Price performance?

50. Would the Government include specific guidance on what information is expected to be include in the 5-page volume? This will ensure the Government receives the required information to evaluate/determine an offers submission.

Response: The explanation for the 5 page count for Responsibility Determination is found on page 12, Section III.

51. Would the Government confirm that any supporting documentation such as CPARS, bank statements or proof of lines of credit, Government references, etc. are not included in the 5 page limitation for this volume?

Response: It is part, or if you need to include as Appendices.

52. Would the Government confirm that this solicitation is for one full-time employee (FTE)? If so, would the Government specify the man-hours per year for this FTE, i.e. 1,872 or 1,920?

Response: The total hours is 1920 hours.

53. Would the Government clarify the contract type they intend to award, whether firm-fixed price or time & materials?

Response: It will be a firm-fixed price contract.

54. The Government included an Attachment 2 - Pricing Schedule on the SAM.gov posting. Would the Government clarify if they would like vendors to submit their price quote on this attachment as part of the price volume?

Response: The Attachment 2 – Pricing Schedule does not have to be part of the page count for the Pricing.

55. Would the Government clarify whether vendors should submit a complete SF 1449, or submit the volumes specified in the Instructions to Offerors

Response: The Government did not provide the SF 1449 and should not be submitted, but the Government provided a Pricing Schedule that needs to be filled out and returned with proposal package.

56. Would the Government clarify in which volume they would like the representations and certifications, acknowledgement of amendments, terms and conditions, and other administrative information?

Response: That would be within Volume 2: Responsibility.

57. The document specifies to provide Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) in our offer, but the government does not utilize this software/service anymore. Should we assume that we should submit any CPARs, FPDS or client information in place of the PPIRS?

Response: Yes, that is correct.

58. Is there a government estimate for the number of FTEs required to support the customer’s requirements or workload data (i.e. number of clearances per year, training events per year, number of personnel supported, number of inspections conducted, etc) to allow us to estimate staffing levels to support the work?

Response: It should be a total of 3 FTE for the number of personnel supported. The goal is to start with one then build out more in the future for additional FTE’s.

59. Will the contractor be responsible for developing AFMEDCOM's local policies to support DoDI 5200.02, AFI 16-1404, AFI 16-406, AFI 31-601, etc.?

Response: No they will be supporting does DODI’s and AFI’s for the Security and Industrial Programs.

60. The solicitation document is unclear on specifics of requirement due in each volume. Will the government specify requirements for each volume?

Response: There are the three volumes that are required for submission to this solicitation.

Volume 1: Technical Approach which is the company’s capability statement. Volume 2: identified

61. Does the requirement for 3+ years experience and Associate's degree apply to all staff, or only the

Program Manager position?

Response: FTE is not a Program Manager position it applies to all staff.

62. Is there a specific pricing template or format required beyond "Pricing Schedule B" provided in the solicitation?

Response: No, there are no additional templates. The pricing should be provided on the Pricing Schedule.

63. Should FAR 52.212-3 Representations and Certifications be included in a specific volume or submitted separately?

Response: This can be part of Volume 2, as part of or as an Appendix.

64. Can you provide clarification on what constitutes a "technically relevant field" for the Associate's degree requirement? (e.g., Criminal Justice, Security Management, Business Administration, etc.)

Response: Security Management and Business administration we be a bonus because the would come in basically as a SME.

65. What constitutes "demonstrated military experience with NISPOM, DISS, and NBIS systems"?

Must personnel be former military, or is contracting or civilian experience with military systems sufficient?

Response: Yes, the can be former military or contracting or former civilian.

66. What level of detail is expected for past performance references in Volume II (contract numbers, POCs, performance ratings), and does supporting documentation count against page limits?

Response: You may submit supporting documentation as Appendices.

67. Should financial capability documentation be included in Volume II within the 5-page limit, or provided as separate appendices?

Response: You may choose to include or as Appendices.

68. Will the government confirm the requirements for Volume 2 Responsibility, are those listed in Section III (Responsibility determination, items a-g) in the evaluation criteria on page 12?

Response: Yes, that is correct.

69. Will contractor employees required to conduct the inventory of top-secret information or will they develop the procedure for government personnel with the appropriate clearance to conduct the inventory, the PWS states this is a monthly deliverable. Will the government include this in the CDRLs?

Response: 3.1.3.2 should only be listed as SECRET information only, Contractor only requires Secret Access.

70. The PWS states the person needs 3 years of experience however the Attach 3 requires personnel possess an associates degree in a technically relevant field but does not list experience requirements. Can the government confirm the years of experience and education requirements for each position required on the contract?

Response: For the one FTE 3 years of experience or either an associates degree as the requirement.

71. The PWS has requirements for personnel to support activities associated with SCI and top-secret level information. Will the government confirm whether personnel need to have the appropriate clearance level (Tier 5 investigation for top secret)?

Response: Contractor will only be submitting Members for SCI they will not need to be read in to do so.

72. The PWS has requirements for personnel to support activities associated with SCI and top-secret level information. Will the government confirm if the contractor FCL needs to be at the secret or top secret level?

Response: The contract only requires SECRET and the company should have an FCL of Secret or Higher.

73. The PWS has requirements for personnel to support activities associated with SCI and top-secret level information. Can the government confirm personnel supporting this contract will have a requirement to access SCI?

Response: Contractor will not be required to have access to SCI. They will only be submitting the customer military and civilians for SCI only.

74. The PWS has requirements for personnel to support activities associated with SCI and top-secret level information. If personnel have a requirement to access SCI, will the government confirm SCI eligibility can be sponsored for the billet after being hired and starting on contract?

Response: For the requested service SCI is not required and the Contract doesn’t require SCI only Secret. The contractor will be processing members for SCI.

75. The PWS states, The Contractor shall maintain a current listing of Contractor personnel. The list shall include Contractor personnel’s name, social security number, and level of security clearance. The list shall be validated and signed by the company Facility Security Officer (FSO) and provided to the CO and Information Protection Office prior to the service start date. Will the government remove this requirement and accept the visit request(s) submitted via DISS since it contains the required information?

Response: Yes, we will remove that requirement and have the company submit request in the system.

76. Section 2.14.1.1 states "Ensure positions are filled 100% and are present for duty within fifteen

(15) days after the start of the period of performance (POP) in the contract." Section 3.3.2 states "Contractor shall notify the Information Protection Office at each operating location 30 business days before on-base performance of the service." Can the government deconflict the 2 requirements? (i.e., it is not possible to meet the timeline to provide the contractor list 30 days prior to work but be present for duty 15 days after the start of the POP)

Response: yes we can.

77. The PWS states, The Contractor shall also attend an Initial Contract Performance Review 30 calendar days after the Contractor assumes full performance responsibilities (i.e., after completion of transition/mobilization) Will the government define a transition period after contract award?

Response: Yes we will.

78. These evaluation criteria imply the government is expecting resumes to be submitted for all positions. Will the government accept representative resumes from contractor "current staff" demonstrating an offerors understanding of the personnel qualifications required to execute this work?

Response: Yes we will except them.

79. The PWS states, Contractor personnel not requiring access to classified shall successfully complete, as a minimum, a Tier 3, before operating Government furnished workstations. This appears to be in conflict with paragraph 3.3.18 (local area networks) that requires all personnel with access to unclassified information systems. Can the government confirm all personnel require Tier 3 investigation for a secret clearance is required for unclassified work and this satisfies the investigative requirements for unclassified system access?

Response: The minimum is a T1 to have access to the NIPR systems.

80. The PWS states all Contractor employees shall sign the non-disclosure statement provided at the time of contract award and submit to the CO prior to beginning performance on this contract.

Will the government include this in the CDRLs since this is a deliverable for contract award and new personnel supporting contract post award?

Response: It will be an attachment to the PWS for the contractor to have access and submit.

81. The Performance Objective states, Contractor shall provide qualified personnel who meet the education, experience, and certification requirements specified in the PWS for each position. Can the government provide the number of and description for each position?

Response: Yes, currently there’s only one FTE request.

82. PWS states, Coordinate with Security Manager toward developing, updating, maintaining and monitoring tools which tracks all Annual Security Training Requirements for DAF/SG and AFMEDCOM personnel. What tools are currently being used to track and monitor annual security training requirements?

Response: None. They will be building this program thru Microsoft.

83. To assist the government in assessing price realism, will the government accept a price volume narrative along with Attach 2, Pricing Schedule B?

Response: Yes, the Government will accept a narrative along with Attachment 2, Pricing Schedule.

84. Will the government accept years of experience equivalency in lieu of the Associates Degree requirement? Example: An additional 2 years experience (total of 5 years experience) would equal the minimum requirement of 3 years experience and an Associates Degree. Associates degree = 2 years experience Bachelors degree = 4 years of experience, Masters degree = 6 years of experience

85. Will the government accept a higher degree in lieu of experience? Example: A Bachelor’s degree in a related area or equivalent equals additional experience of 4 years.

86. Will the government accept SPeD certifications in lieu of experience?

87. Is the place of performance classified as an-off base facility?

Response: Place of performance is non-classified but has classified areas at the location of the period of performance.