JA_2007-0004.pdf

JUSTIFICATION & APPROVALS (J&A) FOR FAR SUBPART 16.5

ACQUISITIONS

EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Multiple Award Schedule / Multiple Award Contract (MAC) Orders under MAC/ Fair Opportunity – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.505, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 216.505-70, PGI 216.505-70

Purchase Request Number: DNSMZ40801 Contract Number: HC1028-08-D-2007 Task/Delivery Order Number: 0004 Procurement Title: Communications Center/Gateways & Satellite Systems Systems Engineering & Technical Assistance (SETA) Contracting Office: Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO), PL8313

Estimated Value: $1,781,022.49 Authority: FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C)

JUSTIFICATION FOR AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY

Number: JA14-007

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Procurement Activity Competition Advocate, hereby approve this exception to fair opportunity pursuant to the authority of FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(C).

1. REQUIRING AGENCY AND CONTRACTING OFFICE:

Requiring Agency: DISA Network Services (DISA/NS122), PO Box 549, Ft. Meade, MD 20755-0549

Contracting Office: DISA/DITCO PL8313, 2300 East Drive, Scott AFB, IL 62225-5406

2. NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACTION(S): This action is for the issuance of a Bridge Task Order (BTO) to an existing Task Order against ENCORE II Contract HC1028-08-D-2007, with Femme Comp Incorporated (FCI), TO 0004. The BTO will be a short-term effort until a long-term effort can be developed and processed through full and open competition. This effort will be a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract using fiscal year (FY) 14 Operation and Maintenance (O&M) funds against the ENCORE II contract. The bridge will consist of a 2- month base period with four 1-month option periods. The services received through this bridge are severable. The period of performance (POP) is a maximum of six months (November 11, 2013 through May 10, 2014).

There is currently an on-going acquisition/solicitation effort to obtain SETA Support of comparable scope and complexity as ENCORE II Task Order (TO) 0004 which concludes on November 10, 2013. The solicitation is proceeding through the Request for Proposal (RFP)/proposal evaluation/source selection process with a targeted award date in January/February 2014 timeframe.

JA14-007 Bridge on HC1028-08-D-2007, TO 0004

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: This Task Order is to provide overall contractor satellite communication (SATCOM) support to the DISA SATCOM Gateway Sustainment Branch (NS112), the Technology Evolution Branch (NS122), and the DISA Gateway Operations Division (OP6, formerly GO6). The specific goals and expectations of this SATCOM TO are to obtain the requisite contractor management, integration, technical, operational, life cycle sustainment, migration, transition, and financial expertise for the SATCOM Gateway Sustainment Branch, Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) SATCOM System Expert (SSE) management, integration, technical, operational, life cycle sustainment and migration transition expertise for the Technology Evolution Branch, and the technical and operational expertise for the Gateway Operations Division. This support is structured to assist these DISA Offices to effectively execute their respective DISA roles and responsibilities per the DISA overarching guidance documents (Global Information Grid Convergence Master Plan, Strategic Plan, Campaign Plan, and Campaign Plan Implementation Plan), Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 5105.19, CJCSI 6250.01 E, CJCSI 6211.02C, and other CJCSI’s, DODD’s and relevant publications in a timely fashion. The scope of this effort has not changed since the award of the initial TO. The work is recurring and requires support on an annual basis including the development of several documents that are tied to the yearly budget cycle. This is an ongoing effort that provides SETA support services.

4. SUPPORTING RATIONALE, INCLUDING A DEMONSTRATION THAT THE

PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF

THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES USE OF AN EXCEPTION TO FAIR

OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Exception to Fair Opportunity. The order must be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency because it is a logical follow-on to an order already issued and currently on-going under the contract, wherein all awardees were given a fair opportunity to be considered for the original order.

(b) Description of the Justification. This effort is a continuation of the work being performed under the existing TO and the incumbent (FCI) is the only available source that can meet the immediate needs of DISA based on the rigid timeline to execute a full and open award contract. Based upon the past success of FCI, they have the unique ability and capability needed to maintain the current level of effort to meet the existing requirements. The current TO 0004 covers through November 10, 2013. Due to sequestration, coupled with the FY14 Government shutdown, the Government encountered delays releasing the request for proposal (RFP) that resulted into insufficient time to achieve TO award prior to the end of the current TO POP. To ensure continued support, it was determined that a BTO will allow for the critical support to continue.

(c) Justification:

(1) Minimum Government Requirements. The verified minimum set of requirements of the Government for this solicitation is as described herein above in paragraph 3, Description of Supplies/Services. These requirements are critical on-going requirements that are essential to the execution of the Agency’s mission. Without that must have support, the DISN Operational SATCOM Network would lack the manpower to operate and maintain that vital link, and the service to the warfighter user community would immediately begin to degrade. Ultimately there would be service disruptions, denials/rejections and terminations, which collectively places those deployed warfighter elements in harm’s way, and possibly could result in the loss of life. Based on the necessity of that support, those minimum set of Government requirements had a direct bearing on the decision to restrict the competition for this BTO, taking into account all facets and considerations addressed throughout this J&A. As indicated herein in this J&A, a gap in service support is an unacceptable scenario. Given that, coupled with the current milestone scheduling for the follow-on TO, the Government has no recourse but to proceed with a stop-gap BTO arrangement to sustain the existing DISN SATCOM connectivity, capability, versatility and durability to meet and support the communications’ requirements of the warfighter.

(2) Proposed Sole Source Contractor. The objective of this BTO is to award a bridge to the current TO 0004 incumbent to ensure the continuance of the same set of technical support and network O&M services utilizing the same cadre of manpower expertise until the follow-on full and open competitive TO can be effected. The current ENCORE II SETA TO 0004 support was competed among all of the ENCORE II contractors in full compliance with fair opportunity requirements for a base year plus a one-year option. The ENCORE II TO 0004 base year was subsequently awarded to FCI, the most cost effective technically acceptable and coincidently the lowest bidder respondent, effective May 11, 2011 with a POP extending through 10 May 10, 2012. FCI has performed outstandingly on the on-going TO base year and the subsequent follow-on option year to include the present extension period. Deliverables throughout have been submitted as scheduled and have met the Government’s objectives. The Contractor possesses unique knowledge, abilities, and personnel that are critical to the successful execution of this task order.

FCI is uniquely qualified and remains the logical choice in continuing to provide system engineering and technical assistance for all aspects (quality management, operational, technical, and financial expertise and technical support). The FCI Wideband/DSCS Team consists of military veterans and civilians who have first-hand experience with every aspect of the DSCS including: programmatic; management;

O&M of earth terminals, baseband, and control subsystems; satellite communications and communications planning, monitoring and network control at various DoD levels (i.e. Military Departments, Unified Combatant Commands , DoD Agencies, and the Joint Staff).

FCI supports the day-to-day operational management and sustainment of DODIN Defense Information System Network (DISN) SATCOM Network, to include the DSCS. Failure to continue this requirement will cause harm to an operational system that provides critical communications for the existing war effort and the Warfighter mission. Without that network connectivity, the warfighter’s deployed elements are placed in harm’s way and could result in the loss of life.

The incumbent understands the SATCOM environment and has established a working relationship that embodies trust with the key stakeholders (Joint Staff, USSTRATCOM, and NII). Further, the Government does not possess the resources (personnel), or experience to fill any gap caused by the discontinuance of work by the incumbent until the follow-on TO can be stood-up.

RFP for the recompete was released on ENCORE II on October 28 2013 with a closing date of November 18, 2013 for the proposal submissions. Target commencement date for the new follow-on Delivery Order is January 11, 2014.

(3) Cause of Sole Source Situation. The initial planning for the Communications

Center/Gateways & Satellite Systems SETA Follow-on to the on-going TO 0004 was to effect a full and open solicitation that culminated in a new multi-year TO on the ENCORE II Contract vehicle comprised of a base year and four one-year options. The objective was to award a TO commencing on May 11, 2013 to dovetail behind TO 0004, to maintain continuity of service support and ensure transparency to the user community. Unanticipated and unavoidable solicitation delays, to include the need for more in-depth market research culminating in issuing a Request for Information (RFI) Sources Sought in April 2013, made it apparent that the initial solicitation planning could not accommodate awarding a TO commencing May 11, 2013 to dovetail TO 0004. Accordingly, a six month extension was executed as a two-month base with four one-month options in accordance with FAR provisions extending the POP through November 10, 2013 should all option periods be executed to accommodate the unanticipated and unavoidable solicitation delays, pending the award of the Follow-on SETA solicitation. All option periods were subsequently executed unilateral by the Government on an individual basis after a determination to exercise each option to ensure that the need still existed, the contractor’s performance the preceding period had been strong, and the price was still considered appropriate.

After the award of the six-month extension base period, there were further unanticipated and unavoidable delays in the continuing solicitation for the competitive multi-year follow-on TO. Some of the contributing factors include the sequestration with its related furloughs during the summer months, the elevated pace of FY13 year-end close-out of fiscal activities during August/September 2013, the shutdown of the Government in October 2013 caused by the inability to reach an approved FY14 budget, and the current continuing resolution coupled with the corresponding delays in the release of funds and the processing of procurement actions. Collectively, these factors resulted in significant solicitation milestone delays, and are still having a bearing and impact upon this solicitation.

(4) Demonstration of Unique Source. A full market research conducted to support the ENCORE II full and open solicitation culminating in the award of ENCORE II TO 0004. That Market Research was subsequently revisited and appropriately updated, due to the age of the former survey, prior to executing the TO 0004 option year to determine whether there have been any significant advancements/realignments achieved in the competing commercial environment over the intervening year and to ensure that the execution of the TO 0004 option year was still considered cost effective and in the best interest of the Government. The market research for the follow-on multi-year full and open competition leveraged collectively off those prior market surveys, market research conducted by others in support of other similar government service support solicitations, the finding of the April 2013 RFI Sources Sought Announcement posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website for this solicitation, as well as related research conducted between October 2012 and May 2013. The RFI Sources Sought was designed to determine principally the availability and technical capability of Small Businesses (including the following subsets, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, HUBZone Firms; Certified 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Woman Owned Small Business) to provide the required products and/or services.

The outcome of that RFI reaffirmed the prior market research, concluding the pool of capable sources is still quite restricted. Of the eight respondents to the RFI, only one was considered to be fully CAPABLE of performing the full breath of the Task Areas of this solicitation (the TO 0004 incumbent), four were considered to have a LIMITED CAPABILITY in a yet undefined Teaming/Partnering arrangement, and three were considered NOT CAPABLE or Non-Responsive. Femme Comp Incorporated is a Women Owned Small Business (WOSB), and is the incumbent currently providing the required support under the ENCORE II option year six month extension.

(5) Procurement Discussion. This action is for a BTO to bridge an eminent gap between the conclusion of the existing ENCORE II Contract HC1028-08-D-2007, TO 0004 with FCI and the commencement of full and open competition follow-on TO. The current ENCORE II TO 0004 concludes on November 11, 2013.

The RFP for the full and open competition follow-on TO recompete was released on the ENCORE II on October 28, 2013 with a closing date of November 18, 2013 for the proposal submissions. Milestone scheduling for that solicitation targets January 11, 2014 as the commencement date for the new Follow-on TO.

Accordingly, the BTO will be a short-term effort with the TO 0004 incumbent until a long-term effort can be executed, and is being structured as a 2-month base period with four 1-month option periods. The services received through the BTO are severable, of identical scope and complexity as TO 0004, and will be acquired from the TO 0004 incumbent. The full POP will be a maximum of six months (November 11, 2013 through May 10, 2014) if carried through to conclusion.

(6) Impact. The resources acquired through this BTO perform mission critical activities for multiple elements within DISA, to include providing the Operations Directorate manpower assets to operate and maintain the DISN SATCOM Network to maintain a viable and flexible capability vital to the deployed warfighter elements, and the Network Services Directorate in effecting the final stages of key DSCS SSE functions as that mission transitions to SMDC/ARSTRAT in the January 2014 timeframe. The loss of the in-place experienced incumbent personnel with US SECRET SCI clearances for the DISN SATCOM O&M support will culminate in network degradation and ultimately service disruptions, denial and terminations, which collectively places those deployed warfighter elements in harm’s way, and possibly could result in the loss of life. The loss of the in-place support personnel with DSCS SSE mission background, expertise and knowledge would result in a transition that lacks technical competence, proficiency and timeliness, and will fail to be transparent to the high priority users of the capability. Collectively, the specific security requirements, coupled with the limited pool of manpower with the cited technical expertise, background, prior knowledge of processes and procedures, and network priorities and contingencies precludes acquiring such support staff in a timely and cost efficient fashion if other than an exception to fair opportunity. Other than incumbent manpower at this juncture would require extended ramp-up time for which the Government does not have that latitude, would not be compatible with the milestone timelines, and would thus be unacceptable.

Initiating a corresponding competitive full and open competition Bridge SETA Support of comparable scope and complexity in parallel with this juncture is duplicative, and demands additional manpower resources. These resources currently do not exist.

Accordingly, the initiation of a second parallel competitive full and open competition with the available limited resources would ultimately place both acquisitions at extreme risk, and ultimately lead to compromise and failure of one or possibly both initiatives.

There would be a high probability of realizing a gap in service support, which would directly and immediately compromise the vital operational Defense Information System Network (DISN) Network, culminating in significant impact to the user community and warfighter mission compromise/failure which would be an unacceptable situation/fall-out.

From the cost perspective, parallel acquisition/solicitation efforts of this nature are costly to the Government. There are direct cost and time factors associated with each initiative. With parallel duplicative acquisitions/solicitations of this nature, there would be a substantial duplication of cost to the Government that would not be expected to be recovered through the competitive process. Notwithstanding the obvious milestone schedule ramifications, based on extensive experience of the scope and magnitude of efforts involved to formulate the necessary documentation required for a full and open competition, and bring that solicitation to culmination and ultimate award, recognizing that some economy of scale can be realized leveraging off related and parallel activities, it is estimated that the total level of manpower across all involved elements would be a minimum of six man months. Proceeding with the sole source Bridge approach, while allowing the on-going Follow-on acquisition/solicitation to proceed to award, mitigates that cost duplication through cost avoidance, and is in the best interest of the Government.

5. COST/PRICE FAIR AND REASONABLE DETERMINATION: The Contracting Officer will determine the anticipated cost to the Government of these services covered by this J&A to be fair and reasonable based upon cost/price analysis including historical cost data incurred under the current contract, as well as, obtain information that is adequate for evaluation of the reasonableness of the price pursuant to FAR 15.403-3.

6. MARKET RESEARCH: An initial review was conducted between October 2012 and May 2013, and included an RFI Sources Sought Announcement posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website in April 2013. A follow-up review was conducted in October of 2013, of existing contract vehicles, including ENCORE II, COMETS II, and GSA, that might provide access to qualified contractors other than FCI within the specified limited timeframe. The ENCORE II contract provides the scope or expertise to satisfy the requirement while simultaneously providing the independence desired.

7. ANY OTHER SUPPORTING FACTS: Under this bridge, the existing contractor personnel with the required security clearance and expertise will continue performing the assignments of equivalent complexity and discipline currently being done on the current TO. No new training will be required and no new introductory period will be necessary. To allow continuation of operations and to support the existing war effort, highly streamlined and flexible acquisition techniques are necessary to meet the government's telecommunications needs. The incumbent contractor has developed extensive corporate knowledge in current operations along with the technical acumen to fully address and interact in real time to perform task related to DISA responsibilities. FCI would be able to accomplish the work without the delay and expense of a learning curve and would also be in an advantageous position to retain the working relationships it developed with current SATCOM stakeholders.

A new contractor would not possess the inherent corporate knowledge and expertise, or the business association with the major stakeholders that would readily enable them to respond quickly. Also, orientation of a new contractor would require more investment of time and manpower from the DISA staff and further detract from other critical mission activities. The technical assistance and system engineering support by the contractor requires access to classified material, attendance at classified meeting, and hosting classified meetings.

8. ACTIONS THE AGENCY IS TAKING TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME

BARRIERS THAT LED TO THE EXCEPTION TO FAIR OPPORTUNITY:

(a) Procurement History.

(1) Competitive Award, HC1028-08-D-2007 TO 0004, base year and one option year:

Base Year: May 11, 2011 – May 10, 2012, $3,447,380.

Option Year: May 11, 2012 – May 10, 2013; value $3,309,548.

(2) Extension, HC1028-08-D-2007 Task Order 0004, 6 months extension (2-month base period with four one-month option periods, May 11, 2013 – November 10, 2013;

value $1,781,022.

(b) The Government released an RFP (full and open competition) on October 28, 2013 to obtain these services as a competitive follow-on action to commence January 11, 2014.

9. REFERENCE TO THE APPROVED ACQUISITION PLAN (AP): This effort does not meet the threshold for an AP.

TECHNICAL CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Robert (Bob) Willett SIGNATURE:

(Print/Type) Chief, SATCOM Gateway

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Sustainment Branch (NS112) PHONE: 301-225-2280

DATE: _1 November 2013

REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the J&A are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Paul E Hinderer

SIGNATURE:

Chief, Technology Evolution Branch (NS122)

DSCS SSE

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: COR PHONE: 301-225-2450

DATE: 1 November 2013

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

NAME: Debra L. Powell-Schaffer SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: DISA/DITCO/PL8313 PHONE: (618) 229-9467

DATE: November 8, 2013

PROCURING ACTIVITY COMPETITON ADVOCATE APPROVAL: I have reviewed this justification and find it to be accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Since this justification does not exceed $12.5M, this review serves as approval.

NAME: Gay Arnold SIGNATURE:

TITLE/ORGANIZATION: Procuring Activity Competition Advocate/DISA/DITCO

PHONE: 618-229-9517 DATE: Nov 8, 2013

ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JUSTIFICATION ARE TO BE REFERRED TO

Ashley Timmermann, (618) 229-9369, or ashley.r.timmermann.civ@mail.mil.

mailto:ashley.r.timmermann.civ@mail.mil