FAR-Part13-5-Sole-Source-JA_ITSS_Amended_Redacted.pdf

Control No Contractor: PERSPECTA ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS, LLC

Program/Equipment: Information Technology Support Services

Version – March 2017

FAR Subpart 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items – Sole Source Justification and Approval

1. Contracting Activity: The United States Army, 409th Contracting Support Brigade (CSB) Theater Contracting Center.

2. Description of Action: IMCOM-Europe requests a contract action to replace the expiring FFP Task Order, 0U04 under contract W91QUZ-06-D-0013 with Perspecta. The Government projects award for March 2020 using fiscal year 2020, and Operations and Maintenance, Army funds.

AMENDED: Amended Justification requests extended performance of six additional months using FY 2020 and FY 2021, Operations and Maintenance, Army funds. The modification will be incrementally funded.

An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The contractor shall provide ITSS to the HQ IMCOM-Europe, the Host Nation Liaison Field Operating Agency and three Garrisons:

Ansbach, Rheinland-Pfalz, and Wiesbaden. The extended requirement does not deviate from the terms and conditions of the existing contract and task order. The only change will come in the form of the extended period of performance.

Period of Performance: 14 APR 2020 to 13 JUL 2020 AMENDED: 14 APR 2020 to 13

JAN 2021

Total Value: $619,504.45 AMENDED: Addition: $1,239,008.88 TOTAL: $1,858,513.33

4. Authority Cited: Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 (or 41 U.S.C. 1903 for Special Emergency Procurement) as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5:

X Unusual and compelling urgency

Exclusive licensing agreements Industrial mobilization

Other:

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

a) This contract action provides services that are of an unusual and compelling urgency based on the circumstances surrounding operations of the U.S. Army, the U.S.

Government and the Federal Republic of Germany Government due to the impact of the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19. The measures taken to combat the spread of the COVID-19 by the aforementioned, respective, entities presents an unusual challenge to competing and awarding, competitively, a new contract to replace the existing task order for IMCOM-E Information Technology Support Services in the time remaining before the current task order expires. IMCOM-E has a public responsibility to comply with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance to prevent further spread of COVID-19. IMCOM-E is also required to comply with Department of Defense and U.S. Army Europe guidance to implement plans to ensure compliance with directed force health protection measures throughout the area of operations in order to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 within U.S. personnel (service members, civilians, contractors, and dependents) or confine it to as small a population as possible.

The expiring task order period of performance ends 13 APR 2020. The Department of Defense (DOD) has instituted a travel ban on any movement of military and civilian personnel from the U.S. into Europe for 60 days, which went into effect on 25 MAR 2020.

This contractor is the only contractor that can provide services by 14 APR 2020, which would allow for continuity of operations for IMCOM-E. The readiness of IMCOM-E is significantly impacted by the performance under the subject ITSS task order. IMCOM-E must maintain readiness throughout the impactful steps that have been taken and may be taken in the near future to address the fallout from COVID-19.

The impact to the Government customers if this service were to lapse includes user account administration (create, delete, modify) would be greatly reduced and likely cease, due to the need to be supported by the NEC, which likely does not possess the resources to provide the required support. This service also allows for issuing of SIPR tokens, SIPR account maintenance and management of the end-user SIPR network. If the service lapses these tasks would cease, requiring IMCOM to move to other facilities outside of its footprint to obtain SIPR access.

The provided services also provide SharePoint support, which is IMCOM’s main C2 collaboration tool. If the service lapses it would be unsupported. Information would grow stale and technical issues would remain unresolved decreasing IMCOM’s ability to communicate to the field, which drastically affects the organization’s ability to deal with

COVID-19.

The IMCOM-Europe Regional Director and his primary staff is supported via this service contract. If the services were to lapse the IMCOM-E Director would be without IT support staff, which would threaten leadership’s ability to communicate with the field, which has a significant detrimental effect on readiness. Additionally, this requirement supports setup, tear down, management and maintenance of our VTC bridge. Without this service it would cease to be supported - virtually eliminating the ability to provide real-time video communication to senior and regular staff.

Garrison Information Systems affecting housing, provost marshal, public works, etc.

would be severely limited in their utility as patching, technical support and other IT support issues are serviced by this requirement. The impact of degradation of Garrison systems would negatively affect overall readiness.

Without the services provided via this requirement patching of information systems, where over-the-wire support was not available or failed, would dramatically increase IMCOM-E’s security threat footprint.

ITSS is critical to the daily operations, communications and accountability across the IMCOM – Europe region. Suspending operations would have a grave impact on the readiness of the Armed Forces in Europe, and provide a significant advantage to U.S.

adversaries. Insufficient Government personnel exists to provide organic use of in-house personnel/expertise to fill gaps in contracted services. The type of service is not inherently governmental in nature, and service reliance is predominantly provided through commercial market acquisitions.

These services are of a recurring nature; however, the measures taken to address the COVID-19 fallout have seriously put in jeopardy the ability of the Government to award a contract to continue services. Further, the degradation of normal operations within the posts, for instance, changes to the Installation Access Control System (IACS) process threaten the seamless continuation of contracted services. The IACS process has been adjusted to limit face-to-face interaction. Appointments are now required and the loss of efficiency will create a backlog of undetermined effect.

AMENDED: The existing contract action resulting from this Justification and Approval, W564KV-20-C-0015 services expire on 13 JUL 2020. There is a continuing need for the services as evidenced by preceding paragraphs. The circumstances surrounding the impact of COVID-19 remained fluid throughout the timeframe from the approval of this J&A to the reason for the amended J&A.

The contract to replace the bridge action has proceeded towards award as stated below in the Actions to Increase Competition section. The solicitation went out to all CHESS ITES-3S vendors on 28 APR 2020 with an original responses due date of 20 MAY 2020. During the question and answer portion of the solicitation it was made clear that all of the anticipated competitive vendors, would be affected by the DOD’s Stop Movement Order, which was referenced on the original justification. On 20 APR 2020, the Secretary of Defense extended the aforementioned Stop Movement order from MAY 2020 to 30 JUN 2020 via the memorandum, “Modification and Reissuance of DoD Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 – Travel Restrictions.” The order was rescinded 22

MAY.

Additionally, the organization handling the DOCPERS transition to ECOPS, which was mentioned in the original justification, identified the sunset period of the old system and the forecasted launch of the new system. Notice of the sunset and launch dates was disseminated to the Contracting Officer during the open Request for Task Order Proposal period mentioned above. Specifically, 15 MAY 2020, the Contracting Officer was provided notice from the Chief, DOD Contractor Personnel Office (DOCPER) the DOCPER system would sunset on 18 MAY 2020 and the launch of the new system was forecasted for 22 JUN 2020. Delays in the implementation of the new system have been realized, pushing the updated forecast launch of to 20 JUL 2020. It must also be stated that due to prolonged down time of the system, no actions will have been processed for more than two months, resulting in a significant backlog of work that per the DOCPER office will have a resulting effect on timelines to approve work submitted after the new system is operational.

The CHESS ITES-3S Request for Proposal #321651 identified a start date of 14 JUN 2020 for the phase-in and 14 JUL 2020 for the full performance under the Base period. The two aforementioned events essentially rendered the start dates on the RFP impossible to meet. As previously referenced, the vendors questioned the feasibility of the stated start date of the contract. While the task order competition was still open, the Task Order Request was amended to reflect more realistic start dates based on the available information at the time. The solicitation was amended on 18 MAY 2020 with the revised start dates of 14 AUG 2020 for the phase-in and 14 SEP 2020 for the full performance under the Base period. The TOR Amendment 01 also revised the proposal due date from 20 MAY 2020 to 28 MAY 2020. At this time it is not clear on the success or failure of the ECOPS launch. Therefore, it remains an unknown as to whether the awardee of the CHESS ITES-3S task order competition will be able to achieve TESA status in time to meet the solicited start times. However, in the interim the DOD’s Stop Movement order was rescinded, 22 MAY 2020, and the stop movement is no longer contingent on timeframe, but on a case-by-case determination dependent on the departing location and the destination location’s COVID-19 outbreak status.

The uncertainty of the factors described above created an environment that was sure to stifle competition if the Government didn’t adjust its start dates for the requirement. Prior to the revision a contractor that was interested in proposing on the effort would bare all of the risk to meet the start date when facing nearly impossible odds that it could meet the dates. The contractor would have to accept the risk that the Government would provide Exceptions to Policy (ETP) for its proposed employees. Also, if the contractor were aware of the transition from DOCPERS to ECOPS it would absorb the risk that the Government would allow for the delay in performance to accommodate the transition of the Government system. It would be reasonable to assume all contractors would be absorbing such outsized risk that they would likely not spend the money and the time to propose. The Government did not believe Fair Opportunity could be provided under the original start date scenario. The result of the revision to the start dates was to foster a truly competitive environment. This change in start dates when combined with the existing bridge contract necessitates an extension of the bridge contract to prevent a lapse of services.

The previous statements on the necessity of the services remain as pertinent as they were in the original justification and approval.

(b) Alternatives: No alternative currently exists to satisfy the need for continued services prior to task order 0U04’s performance end.

There is an established contractor base for these services via the wider industrial base, but specifically, Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) Information Technology Enterprise Solutions 3-Solutions (ITES-3S). Market research conducted in January 2020 concluded there were capable vendors to support this effort.

However, the current task order holder has an established workforce of personnel that meet the Government’s security qualifications, but are ultimately residents of the host nation country. Therefore, the current task order holder does not rely on Technical Expert Status Accreditation (TESA) status for its employees. The TESA accreditation allows for approved contractors to operate in Germany under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and FRG. Market research revealed that most

1) An additional three (3) months period of performance is required to allow for the Government to successfully transition from the current contractual solution to the subsequent solution. The uncertainty surrounding the impacts of the COVID-19 spread and measures taken to combat the spread could have a significant impact on the availability of another contractor to perform this service. The three-month timeframe is acceptable to allow for a competition to replace the expiring contract, but only on the assumption that operations remain feasible considering the vendor base and the requiring agency and acquisition workforce.

The three months requested for this contract action, because of the unusual circumstances of the worldwide pandemic, are in line with existing DOD guidance such as stop movement orders, which currently affects a 60-day timeframe. The three months encompasses the DOD stop movement timeframe and then would allow for a phase-in for the subsequent follow-on contract action.

AMENDED: The additional six (6) months requested in this justification and approval will allow for the completion of the competition of the follow-on contract action, and will allow needed time for the contract to proceed through DOCPER approval so the awardee can properly on-board staff to meet the new requirement without a break in service. The transition to ECOPS from DOCPERS has already extended nearly 30 days past its initial forecasted launch date, with no guarantees that the next forecasted date will be met. Once the new system is launched, there is a still an average timeframe of 18 weeks for contract and individual applicant approval. The aforementioned average timeline for the two-step DOCPERS/ECOPS approval was attained by the Contracting Officer via the DOD Contractor Personnel Office Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and via this organization’s previous communications with the Chief of the office. Pertinent documentation supporting this is retained in the contract file.

The following illustrates why 6 months time will be needed to support this bridge extension:

1. End Date of Current Contract: 13 July 2020

2. Anticipated Award Date:

3. DOCPER Approval Process Timeline: 14 December 2020

4. Contractual Phase-In Time: 13 January 2021 (1 month elapsed)

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition: In accordance with FAR 5.202(a)(2), this action will not be synopsized.

7. Actions to Increase Competition: The Government intends to solicit for these services on the CHESS ITES-3S contracting vehicle. Assuming the impacts of the measures taken to address the COVID-19 spread allow for telework and electronic communications, the Government anticipates awarding a task order that would allow the contractor to properly staff the requirement once the travel ban is lifted.

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: Date:

Title: Signatur

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: Date:

Title: Signatur

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. The Government has provided an IGE and historical pricing will be used to perform the price analysis.

This determination will be made using the following: X price analysis cost analysis X IGE audit: other:

As a part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data is not required because the item and/or services being acquired are considered commercial.

Typed Name: Luke M. Maloney Date:

Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Typed Name: Luke M. Maloney Date:

Title: Contracting Officer Signature:

MALONEY.LUKE

.M.1409156777

Digitally signed by

MALONEY.LUKE.M.1409156777

Date: 2020.07.10 15:19:05 +02'00'

MALONEY.LUKE

.M.1409156777

Digitally signed by

MALONEY.LUKE.M.1409156777

Date: 2020.07.10 15:19:28 +02'00'

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the procurement of IT Support Services in the amount of $1,858,513.33 on a sole source basis pursuant to the authority of the Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5, subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

EILEEN M. HIPE Date:

409th CSB Command Advocate for Competition Signature:

HIPE.EILEEN.

M.1231813051

Digitally signed by

HIPE.EILEEN.M.1231813051

Date: 2020.07.10 15:50:46 +02'00'