H9223924R0007 Amendment 0001 QnA 10.9.2024.pdf

Special Operations Aviation (SOA) Training, Readiness Management Support (TRMS)

RFP H92239-24-R-0007

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

1 General

Who is the incumbent for this contract, what is the current contract number and current contract value?

The current prime contractor is CACI, Inc. The current GSA Task Order Number is 47QFCA21F0087. Based upon the information available, the approximate total contract value is $214M for all five years of performance.

2 General Since the opportunity Special Operations Aviation (SOA) Training, Readiness, Management Support (TRMS)— H92239-24-R-0007 is Set Aside for Small Businesses, can we team with large businesses, and, if so, to what extent?

Yes, Small Businesses may team with a Large Business. See FAR Clause 52.219-14 regarding to what extent.

3 RFP 2.2.3.2 Pg 149 of 159, RFP section 2.2.3.2 refers to a Past and Present Performance Information Sheets. The RFP did not include this sheet. Should the offeror address the 2.2.3.2 requirements using our own format that aligns with the requirements?

Yes, each offeror shall use their own format and address the requirements listed in RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 2.2.3.2.

4 RFP 2.2.3.1 Pg 149 of 159, RFP section 2.2.3.1 does not list the Tabs for a glossary of abbreviations and acronyms; and the list of tables/drawings, & compliance matrix. Was this intentional?

Should the offeror include Tabs for these items in Volume III

- Past and Present Performance?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 2.2.3.1.

5 RFP 2.2.4.2 Pg 150 of 150, RFP section 2.2.4.2 does not list the Tabs for a table of contents, glossary of abbreviations and acronyms;

and the list of tables/drawings, & compliance matrix. Was this intentional? Should the offeror include Tabs for these items in Volume IV - Price?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 2.2.4.2.

6 RFP 2.2.3.3 Pg 150 of 159, The list of items in section 2.2.3.3 is mislabeled missing the item "f". Is there supposed to be an item "f" or was this an error?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 2.2.3.3.

7 PWS 5.3.1.5 Pg 74 of 159, Paragraph 5.3.15 is missing from RFP. See revised H92239-24-R-0007, PWS Section 5.3.15.

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

8 RFP 1.20 RFP section 1.20, Phase-In. How many days are allowed for contract phase-in?

See RFP, CLIN 0001 and Section F – Delivery Information for Period of Performance information.

9 RFP 1.20.6 RFP section 1.20.6, Phase-Out. How many days are allowed for contract phase-out?

The duration for phase-out will be commensurate to the phase-in period of the follow-on contract action.

10 EXHIBIT H Pg 103 - 104 of 159, List Dunker courses and EGRESS courses. Is it the USG intent to train these courses under the SOA-TRMS Contract? If so, will the USG provide the labor categories, number of instructors, and location for these courses?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Technical Exhibit H.

11 EXHIBIT H Pg 103 - 104 of 159, List SOF UAS IO RQ-7 Course. Is it the USG intent to train this course, since the US Army no longer maintain this UAS Platform in the inventory?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Technical Exhibit H

12 Attachment 2

– Pricing Spreadsheet

FINAL

Please provide delivery instructions for a bidder to provide an “unsanitized” version of our submittal directly to the Customer for bidding as a JV and JV Members are not sharing Proprietary rate buildup information.

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section L, Section 2.0

13 52.219-14

LIMITATION

S ON

SUBCONTR

ACTING

Pg 125 of 159, Please confirm that the 50 percent subcontract limitation applies to price vs. Scope of Work

See FAR 52.219-14(e)(1), which states: Services (except construction), it will not pay more than 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance to subcontractors that are not similarly situated entities. Any work that a similarly situated entity further subcontracts will count towards the prime contractor's 50 percent subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded. When a contract includes both services and supplies, the 50 percent limitation shall apply only to the service portion of the contract.

14 Technical Exhibit A, Performance Requirements Summary

Pg 97 of 159, What penalty will the contractor pay if PRS thresholds are not met, e.g. PRS #2, if there is 98% compliance for instructor availability vs. 100%

If the performance standard is not met and training is delayed/disrupted, an exact amount will be determined at that time.

Any reduction will be no more than 10% of the monthly payment amount.

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

15 RFP Technical Exhibit F

Pg 102 of 159, There are 2 Medical Specialist Instructors listed under the Platform Instructor section and 2 more below under the Medical Instruction Section. Is this a duplicate or are there 4 positions?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Technical Exhibit F and chart in PWS section 5.3.1. There are only 2 Medical Specialist Instructors required.

16 RFP

Attachment 2

Attachment 2 Pricing Spreadsheet. Would the Government please unlock the workbook to permit offerors to add/adjust the columns to enable offerors to add indirect rate pools and adjust formulas for calculations in order to reflect corporate accounting policies, including cost buildup methodologies agreed upon pursuant to DCAA/DCMA audits?

Yes. The revised Attachment 0002, Pricing Spreadsheet, is unlocked.

17 5.3.1 Pg 68 of 159, The first line in the table in Section 5.3.1 on page 68 lists a Civilian Mission Flight Instructor (CMFI) C- 27J having a duty location of Fort Liberty, NC but that position is not listed in the Attachment 2 Pricing Spreadsheet.

Which is correct?

See Attachment 0002, Rate Build-up Tab, Column C, Row 24, it is listed there.

18 EXHIBIT F On page 102 of 159 of Technical Exhibit F, Historical Workload Data, the Table has two (2) rows listing Medical Specialist Instructor with two (2) FTEs each. Is the total number of Medical Specialist Instructors two (2) or four (4).

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Technical Exhibit F and chart in PWS section 5.3.1. There is only a requirement for two (2) Medical Specialist Instructors.

19 52.222-42 52.222-42 STATEMENT OF EQUIVALENT RATES FOR

FEDERAL HIRES (MAY 2014) on Page 129 of 159 lists Monetary Wage Equivalencies but the following are not listed in the Table: Range Facility Manger, Platform Instructor:

Intelligence Support to Aviation, Search and Rescue SME, Aerial Delivery Specialist, Aviation Maintenance Support Specialist, Medical Logistics Specialist, and Petroleum Specialist. Would you please provide this information for the missing positions?

See revised FAR Clause 52.222-42.

20 General We would like to confirm this effort is a Small Business Set- Aside.

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 2.2.1.3.

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

The SAM.gov Contract Opportunity for SOA-TRMS states Original Set Aside: Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5) in the Classification section.

RFP Section I - Contract Clauses lists 52.219-6 Notice of Small Business Set-Aside Nov 2020.

Page 118 Clauses Incorporated By Full Text 52.204-8 Annual Representations and Certifications (a) (3) (iii) states:

Is an 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, economically disadvantaged women-owned, or women-owned small business set-aside or sole-source award regardless of dollar value.

Page 125 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting states:

Has the same small business program status as that which qualified the prime contractor for the award (e.g., for a small business set-aside contract, any small business concern, without regard to its socioeconomic status);

Page 127 52.219-28 Post Award Small Business Program Representation (a) (3) (e) (3) states: Was an 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, economically disadvantaged women-owned, or women-owned small business set-aside or sole-source award regardless of dollar value.

Normally one would expect to see Small Business Set-Aside noted on the Solicitation Cover Sheet (SF 33), and this RFP does not.

We request confirmation that RFP H92239-24-R-0007 is a Total Small Business Set-Aside.

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

21 RFP We request clarification re Service Contract Labor Standards Directory of Occupations skill identifier.

Page 149 TAB F Factor 2: Staffing, Retention, and Personnel Management. b. calls out Propose a team labor mix to meet or exceed the required qualifications, knowledge, skills, security clearances, training and education levels for all personnel IAW the PWS. Offerors shall include a breakout chart by labor category, Service Contract Labor Standards Directory of Occupations skill identifier (if applicable);

Attachment 2 Pricing Spreadsheet Rate Build-Up Table Column E Labor Category Service Contract Act Applicability calls for (N/A or Input with SCA Code).

We have identified a number of RFP Position/Job Titles that our research has not yielded an appropriate Service Contract Labor Standards Directory of Occupations skill identifier in the RFP provided Wage Determination attachments. They include:

1. Range Facility Manager-N/A-Believed to be exempt under 29 CFR 541

2. Safety Specialist-N/A-Believed to be exempt under 29

CFR 541

3. Operations and Training Specialist-N/A-Believed to be exempt under 29 CFR 541

4. Operations Manager-N/A-Believed to be exempt under 29

CFR 541

5. Personnel Manager- N/A-Believed to be exempt under 29

CFR 541

6. Program Manager-N/A- Believed to be exempt under 29

CFR 541

7. Air Movement Specialist I-N/A- Believed to be exempt

The decision to classify employees as SCA exempt or SCA non-exempt is a business decision for each offeror. By Law, Contractors cannot pay less than the applicable Wage Determination for covered positions.

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response under 29 CFR 541

8. Air Movements Specialist II-N/A- Believed to be exempt under 29 CFR 541

9. Aerial Delivery Specialist-N/A-N/A- Believed to be exempt under 29 CFR 541

10. Requirement Analyst-N/A-N/A- Believed to be exempt under 29 CFR 541

Question: We believe that some or most of these Labor Categories may be bona fide executive, administrative or professional or require specialized skills, licenses, and certifications that would qualify them as professional and therefore exempt under the Service Contract Act. Can you please give us the government’s position on each of the 10 Labor Categories above and whether they are exempt. If the government believes some or all are not exempt, please identify which Labor Category in the Wage Determination each one corresponds to.

22 General RFP 1.7.1. g. We would like to inquire about the new language in this paragraph: “Must be a former SOF rated pilot and served as a Battalion Commander or Chief Warrant Officer 5 that served in a Senior Warrant Officer Position.”

The question of adding the CW5 position was asked during the Draft RFP Q&A (question #14). The government agreed that CW5 experience should be added “Please see revised PM qualifications that have added CW5 experience.” In the process of adding the CW5 experience level, the Senior Flight Company Commander experience was deleted from paragraph 1.7.1.g.

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 1.7.1.g. Previous position requirements were removed, leaving just a rank requirement for former SOF rated pilots.

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

From our perspective, the existing requirement for the Program Manager (PM) qualifications has served the Government’s interests fully. We are concerned that the revision, added since the draft RFP, is unduly restrictive and exceeds the Government’s actual minimum needs, under FAR 11.002(a)(1).

Background:

Senior Company Commander is equivalent experience in that Company Command and Senior Warrant Officer positions are both designated by a Battalion Commander.

For more than 20 years the SOATC/SOATB (SOA-S3) similar contracts were successfully managed by a PM with experience as a Senior Company Commander.

The SOA-TRMS draft RFP (originally) read: “Must be a former SOF rated pilot and served as a Battalion Commander or Senior Flight Company Commander.”

Current USASOC SOFETOPS Contract GS00Q14OADU121 TO 47QFCA21F0087 (SOATB) does not require nor is there any SOF Aviation experience or expertise among the contract management team including the

PM.

TAKO SOA-S3 H92241-06-R-0023 required the following qualifications for the PM:

Bachelors degree Experience managing diverse operations Top Secret security clearance Army Special Operations experience (desired)

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

TAKO SOA-S3 H92241-12-R-0004 had no qualifications listed for the PM. It contained the following requirement:

“The Contractor shall provide an overall Program Manager (not separately priced under the professional labor categories) responsible for overall supervision and control of all services as part of this contract.”

Based on many years of historical success at the level of experience stated in the previous SOA-TRM draft RFP, we are asking the Government to consider amending 1.7.1g to read as originally stated in the draft RFP with the addition of the CW5 experience.

We respectfully ask the Solicitation be amended to include the original language with the addition:

1.7.1.g. should read: “Must be a former SOF rated pilot and served as a Battalion Commander or Senior Flight Company Commander or Chief Warrant Officer 5 that served in a SOF Aviation Senior Warrant Officer Position.”

23 RFP RFP 1.7.2.b. We would like to inquire about the new language in this paragraph in the RFP: “Possess a minimum of four years of experience in special operations intelligence or operational experience within the SOF community.”

From our perspective, the existing requirement for the Operations Manager (OM) qualifications has served the Government’s interests fully. We are concerned that limiting operational experience to former uniformed vs contractor operational experience may be unduly restrictive and would exceed the Government’s actual minimum needs, under FAR 11.002(a)(1).

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, PWS Section 1.7

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

Does supporting a SOF unit as a contractor meet the requirement for operational experience?

If not, please define “operational experience within the SOF community.”

24 RFP We would like to request a clarification of the requirement for Air Movements Specialist.

Discussion:

Section B - Supplies or Services and Prices Page 8 Item No 0003AD Ft. Liberty Operations Support only list two labor categories: Ammunition Specialist and Requirements Analyst.

Page 68 5.3. Instruction Support calls for:

Air Movements Specialist II 1 ea @ FTCKY

Air Movements Specialist I 2 ea @ FTCKY 1 ea @ HAAF 1 ea @ JBLM

Attachment 2 Pricing Spreadsheet Section B CLIN 0003 Air Movement Specialist Support Services includes SLIN 0004AD Air Movement Support – Fort Liberty.

We respectfully request clarification if there is a requirement for an Air Movements Specialist at Fort Liberty. To be consistent, either add one FTE to the SOW in Section B or remove the FTE on the Attachment 2 Pricing Sheet.

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, CLINs 0003AD and 0004AD, along with Attachment 0002, Pricing Spreadsheet, respectively.

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

25 RFP We would like clarification on the requirement for Surge Pricing re the plug figure.

Page 151 B Basis of Estimate 2.2.4.3.1.e. states: Surge Support- Emerging Requirements: CLINS 1006 and 2006.

The Offeror shall use the plug figure for computation purposes in the total evaluated price on the Pricing Spreadsheet (Attachment 2).

Page 159 2.5.7. Surge Support: Emerging Requirements: The Government will provide a plug figure for Surge Support to obtain the TEP.

Page 66 5.1.3. Surge Support- Emerging Requirements: … The Surge Support CLIN is estimated at 10% of the labor costs for the respective period of performance unless a higher amount is required for mission support and agreed to by the contractor.

Attachment 2 Pricing Spreadsheet Section B Schedule CLIN 1006 (Cell D30) states “Unpriced Option.” Additionally, there are no provisions for this CLIN on the TEP.

Respectfully request clarification and consistency for the Surge Pricing requirement and provide the Surge Support plug figure that supports it. Additionally, insert CLIN 2006 into Attachment 2 and include the Surge Price.

See revised Attachment 0002, Pricing Spreadsheet. The Government will input the plug figure during evaluations.

26 RFP

Section L Para 2.2.1.5 Pg. 147

In a Joint Venture or a Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture (Unpopulated), are both members of the JV required to submit an SPRS Basic score of at least 110, or is it sufficient for only the senior/mentor member of the JV to submit the SPRS score on behalf of the entire JV?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section L, 2.2.1.6.

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

27 RFP 52.222-42 Statement of Equivalent rates for Federal Hires – While we understand this is for information only, can the government provide equivalents for Range Facility Manager, Search and Rescue Subject Matter Expert, Aerial Delivery Specialist, Aviation Maintenance Support Specialist, Medical Logistics Specialist, and Petroleum Specialist?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Technical Exhibit F and chart in PWS section 5.3.1.

28 RFP Volume IV Phase In

To ensure fairness in competition with respect to the phase in pricing we request a plug in number to be used by all offerors, so the incumbent doesn’t maintain advantage for that 60-day period. Will the government consider a plug-in figure for the phase-in portion of the pricing?

No. Each offeror shall provide their own pricing for phase-in.

29 Technical Exhibit H

Some Instructor to student ratios in Technical Exhibit H are listed as 10:18 for example. Can the government clarify these ratios?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Technical Exhibit H.

30 RFP Reference: (Attachment_2_- _Pricing_Spreadsheet_FINAL.xlsx) The current formulas for the calculations of indirect rates do not match with our estimating practices.

Question: Can the Government provide an unlocked version of the pricing spreadsheet (Attachment_2_- _Pricing_Spreadsheet_FINAL.xlsx)?

Yes. The revised Attachment 0002, Pricing Spreadsheet, is unlocked.

31 PWS 5.5 Reference: “5.5. LOGISTICAL & TECHNICAL SUPPORT Regarding technical support, the Contractor shall provide Technical Support that includes information technology (IT), software and hardware programming, audio visual functions, multi-media functions, and meteorologist weather forecasting.”

There doesn’t appear to be a Labor Category under this PWS task area related to SW/HW Programming.

Question: What is the intent of this requirement and is it related to the Programmer/Analyst requirement found in section 5.4 TDSC of the PWS?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 5.4 and 5.5

Questions & Answers

Question

RFP Section Reference Question Government Response

32 RFP 1.2,

various & SOW Part 6, Applicable Publications

Reference: RFP insurance requirements, regulatory requirements, and management of a contractor flight program.

DCMA-82.10 is absent from the applicable publications list and not mentioned elsewhere in the RFP.

“1.20.2. The incoming contractor shall: observe operations of the incumbent’s work force, interview work force personnel off-site. All required proof of insurance, certificates, etc.

shall be provided to the Government at the pre-work conference.” - PWS Pg. 61 Question: What insurance coverage is required? Confirm if this contract is exempt DCMA 82-10, and please verify if DFAR Clause 252.228-7001 is in effect.

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Part 6, DCMA 81-10 was included.

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section I (Clauses), DFARS 252.228-7001 is in effect.

33 Technical Exhibit F

The top of Technical Exhibit F states “i.e. the hours previously performed under the PWS by labor category.” The chart provided has FTEs not hours. Can the government please provide historical hours.

The Government cannot provide historical hours for each Labor Category.

34 Technical Exhibit C

How many hours make up a training day for each of the courses?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 1.6.10 for hours of operation.

35 Technical Exhibit C

There are no training dates listed for the HPW/Swim Test and Dunker Qualifications & ALSE courses. Can the government provide those estimates?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Technical Exhibit H.

36 PWS Paragraph 5.4.13.6 Instructional Systems Developer. Will the government confirm that this paragraph should be 5.4.14?

See revised RFP H92239-24-R-0007, Section 5.4.14