8_FOE_Redactred_1_Apr_-14_Jun_-_Final_-_signed.pdf

FAIR OPPORTUNITY EXCEPTION (FOE) JUSTIFICATION

I. Contracting Activity

Department of the Air Force, 763d Specialized Contracting Squadron, Acquisition Flight B, 507 Symington Dr., Rm W202, Scott AFB, IL 62225-5022. Contracting Officer Mary Andich, (618) 256-9942. “Exception to Fair Opportunity” Justification. Purchase Request number

F3SF555070AC01.

II. Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved

Through this individual Fair Opportunity Exception Justification, 763 SCONS intends to issue a firm fixed price (FFP) modification to extend support for the existing Global Decision Support Systems (GDSS) task order HC1028-08-D-2017-RL01, for two and one half (2.5) months. The current contract expires 31 Mar 15; this bridge effort for 2.5 months (1 Apr 15 – 14 Jun 15) will be accomplished via FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services. The task order was awarded as a combined Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF), Firm Fixed Price (FFP), and Cost-Reimbursable task order to Computer Science Corporation (CSC) against their ENCORE II (ECII) multiple award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, HC1028-08-D-2017. The 2.5 month extension will include FFP and cost-reimbursable line items only; CPFF line items will not be included.

III. Description of the Supplies/Services Required To Meet the Agency’s Needs

Under the contemplated extension CSC will continue to provide GDSS application and systems support services. Required support includes GDSS system releases in a non-service-interrupted process that addresses system sustainment, support to fielding and operational maintenance, and administrative support to meet financial and programmatic reporting needs. This requirement is divided into three major task areas: Enterprise Information Technology (IT) Policy and Planning (FFP), Custom Application (CPFF), and Operations Support (FFP). This extension is for the minimum services required to sustain GDSS operations. Under the contemplated 2.5 month extension, Custom Application (CPFF) will not be included.

GDSS is a Mission Assurance Category (MAC) 1 system – a National Security System that requires assured availability of 99.99%. MAC 1 systems handle information vital to the operational readiness or mission effectiveness of deployed or contingency forces. Because the loss of MAC 1 data would cause severe damage to the successful completion of a DoD mission, MAC 1 systems must maintain the highest levels of both integrity and availability and use the most rigorous measure of protection. The system is maintained and sustained by the United States Air Force (USAF), HQ AMC, and is used by 22,000 customers around the world. GDSS application and systems support services support a complex major program system, accomplishing the integration of 10 million lines of code with 22 interfaces. In 2011, GDSS replaced multiple legacy systems with a single enhanced system: a modernized, fully integrated and enhanced Command and Control (C2) decision support system using open systems infrastructure and a shared relational database. GDSS supports the Defense Transportation System (DTS) and Distribution Process Owner (DPO) migration strategies. GDSS is designed around a client-server environment composed of web applications, server processes, Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) relational database management system, database schema, and supporting utility scripts. This environment runs on host infrastructures maintained by the Air Force that include: Presidential Support, weather, latest airfield information, Air-Ground Command, flight planning, crew member data, mission information, Air National Guard missions, air refueling, aircraft maintenance, reference data, current mission schedule, threat assessments, mission management and execution, risk assessment, health of fleet, load information, notice to airmen, and port operations. General network operations and maintenance is handled by the government, to include local network updates/patches as part of their security policies.

This requirement provides GDSS application and systems support services for four Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPR) and Secret Internet Protocol Router (SIPR) enclaves located at Scott Air Force Base (AFB), Hickam AFB, McConnell AFB, and Ramstein Air Base. Required contractor support includes GDSS system upgrade releases in a non-service interrupted process that addresses system sustainment, support to fielding and operational maintenance, and administrative support to meet financial and programmatic reporting needs.

Required contractor certifications include Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Model - Integrated (CMMI) Level 3 capabilities, and an Earned Value Management System (EVMS), among other requirements.

The GDSS Application Support contract was formerly administered by Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO) under the ECII multiple-award IDIQ contract as task order HC1028-08-D-2017-0015, awarded 16 Sep 09. The task order resulted from a competitive solicitation issued to all ECII vendors to which two contractors proposed. The awardee was CSC. The period of performance (PoP) on the task order HC1028-08-D-2017-0015 ended 15 Mar 14.

The PoP of task order HC1028-08-D-2017-RL01, issued as a sole-source bridge effort, included a base period of six and a half months (21 Mar 14 – 30 Sep 14) and an option period of six months (1 Oct 14 – 31 Mar 15). The current life cycle value of this task order is .

GDSS follow-on contract FA4452-15-C-0003 was awarded to Tapestry Solutions, Inc. (Tapestry) on 22 December 2014, with a three month phase-in period 1 Jan 15 – 31 Mar 15. Protest B- 410994 was filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) by CSC on 5 January 2015.

The expected decision date of the GAO protest is 11 April 15. This 2.5 month extension will allow for the continuation of the current level of service for the period 1 Apr 15 – 14 Jun 15, and encompasses a 60-day phase-out period as well, 15 Apr 15 – 14 Jun 15. This extension is for the minimum services required to sustain GDSS operations until the GAO protest is resolved, and transition between CSC and Tapestry is complete. The transition period has been reduced from three months to two months.

The proposed bridge contract extension is anticipated to employ FFP CLINs for Enterprise IT Policy and Planning, Operations Support, and Transition and a cost-reimbursable CLIN for ODCs and travel. The contract will be funded using Transportation Working Capital and Operating Funds (TWCF). The anticipated price for this extension is and does not include transition, as the transition FFP line item is already priced and funded on the contract. Upon receipt of the protest, the transition CLIN was suspended pending disposition of the protest.

The following table depicts the anticipated price of the 2.5 month extension:

Performance Work Statement (PWS) Task Area

Extension (1 Apr 15 – 14 Jun 15)

Enterprise IT Policy and Planning

Custom Application N/A Operations Support Transition Already funded, change PoP only ODC/Travel DITCO Fee

On 27 Jan 14, the Services Designated Official certified that the PWS is performance-based, reflects outcome-based objectives in the Services Delivery Summary, and contains metrics appropriate for the requirement that will ensure timely and accurate assessment of contractor performance.

As stated earlier, the current GDSS Application Support is being provided via the ECII contract HC1028-08-D-2017. Said contract provides technical solutions for the Department of Defense (DoD), and provides for necessary personnel, materials, facilities, travel and other services required to provide worldwide integration support, systems engineering and related services.

IT solutions encompass a range of capabilities from old legacy systems to new, emerging net-centric technologies, and technical solutions provided are comprised of one or more of twenty task areas, including: Enterprise IT Policy and Planning and Operations Support. Therefore, the

GDSS bridge requirement and subsequent extension fit under the scope of the basic ECII contract.

IV. Authority Permitting a Fair Opportunity Exception

FAR 16.505(b)(1)(i) requires the Contracting Officer to provide each awardee under a multiple award contract, a fair opportunity to be considered for each order exceeding $3,000 unless a statutory exception applies. The specific exception that precludes the fair opportunity process for this acquisition is FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B).

V. Demonstration of the Contractor’s Unique Qualifications or Nature of the Acquisition Requires the Use of the Authority Cited Above to Provide the Required Supply/Service (Applicability of Authority)

FAR 16.505(b)(2)(i)(B), “Only one awardee is capable of providing the supplies or services required at the level of quality required because the supplies or services ordered are unique or highly specialized.”

The proposed extension of task order HC1028-08-D-2017-RL01 is for the continuation of highly specialized services. The extension will provide the time necessary to resolve a GAO protest of the competitive follow-on contract, and allow for a two-month transition to the new contractor. This extension will be accomplished by utilizing FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services.

CSC has been designer, developer, and integrator of the GDSS v3.0 architecture and infrastructure for the last five years. GDSS v3.0 is a major technical release to replace commercial products at end-of-life. CSC has the unique expertise and capability to economically and effectively sustain and test upcoming upgrades GDSS 3.0.0.13, v3.0.1, v3.0.2 and v3.0.3, and Mobility Enterprise Information Service (MEIS)v3.3.3. CSC’s highly specialized architectural design and in-place technical and management personnel are instrumental in achieving the major infrastructure upgrade and the accreditation of the operational capability to meet program accelerated schedule objectives. It is imperative to the security posture of GDSS and maintaining program schedule objectives that CSC continue contract performance at this critical juncture in the transitioning of GDSS to the Web-based client. This places CSC in the position of having the unique understanding of the GDSS software application development environment. As a result of their unique understanding of the requirements and user priorities, CSC can ensure each feature recommended for development is consistent with the functional priorities and free from technical and functional constraints. CSC is the only contractor currently possessing the requisite knowledge of the critical state-of-the-art capabilities, and the internal organization of the million-plus lines of code comprising GDSS and MEIS that must be considered in existing framework. CSC is currently providing sustainment for the products they http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/16.htm%23P399_69627 http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/16.htm%23P399_69627 developed for GDSS. Awarding to any other contractor would result in security vulnerabilities, increased cost, and schedule slips which would not only affect GDSS but also dependent programs such as MEIS. Therefore, this acquisition is for continued performance of a highly specialized service.

Award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Air Force’s requirements. The time required for any other contractor to obtain the necessary technical knowledge and expertise at this critical point would be two months. A new contractor would have to decipher millions of lines of code, and learn the code of 10 interfaces and 13 outside interfaces with no loss of service. At least two months of GDSS support would be lost if a new contractor begins work without a transition period with the current contractor, notwithstanding the time required for other employees with the appropriate skillset and expertise to learn the system. This would result in unacceptable delays in implementing the transitioning of GDSS to the Web-based client.

A delay in fulfilling the agency’s requirements and the resulting lack of coverage would result in security vulnerabilities, increased cost, and schedule slips which would not only affect GDSS but also dependent programs such as Mobility Enterprise Information Service. Further, a delay in the integration would place undue risk on the ability of AMC/TRANSCOM to meet its Program Objective Memorandum (POM) requirements and greatly increase the technical risk and integration costs associated with the program. Additionally, the time required for a contractor to obtain the necessary technical knowledge and expertise would result in delays of fielding schedules, causing a trickle-down effect, as all testing and fielding support is handled via a shared contract; thus, changes must be re-scheduled based on personnel availability. A delay and resulting lack of coverage will cause an inability to maintain systems identified as end-of-life by the system original equipment manufacturer (OEM), impacting the ability to maintain the systems as fully operational and capable. Further, lack of coverage will result in unacceptable delays in meeting the Department of Defense mandate to move system capabilities to “cloud” (web environment). Accordingly, CSC is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the U.S. Air Force experiencing unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements.

VI. Description of Efforts Made To Ensure Competition Between All Awardees

In accordance with FAR 16.505(a)(1) orders under indefinite-delivery contracts do not have to be synopsized. Paragraph V, above, justifies why competition among all awardees is not possible for this acquisition.

Market research was conducted in May and June 2012, with addenda completed in May and September 2013, with regard to the competitive GDSS Application Support follow-on contract, FA4452-15-C-0004, which incorporates a similar Performance Work Statement to this requirement. A Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought notice was posted to the Federal Business Opportunity (FBO) website. A total of 13 capability packages were submitted and subsequently reviewed and evaluated by contracting and the technical team to determine which industry sources had necessary knowledge, background, and capabilities to perform this requirement. Market research confirmed other contractors can accomplish these services. The follow-on contract was a competitive effort. However, because history supports the need for a transition period for a new contractor to become proficient in troubleshooting the environment, only CSC can perform this effort without unacceptable delays.

VII. Determination by the Contracting Officer That The Anticipated Cost to the Government Will Be Fair and Reasonable

As this extension will be accomplished utilizing FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services, continued performance will remain within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract.

The prices used for the extension will be the same as the current contract’s prices, which is considered fair and reasonable by the Contracting Officer (CO). The current prices were determined fair and reasonable by the CO at contract award based on cost and price analysis.

Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) assistance was provided with regard to contractor rates, and certified cost or pricing data was obtained under the current contract and used for analysis.

VIII. Description of Market Research Conducted Among All Awardees and the Results Or A Statement of the Reason Market Research Was Not Conducted

A sources sought synopsis, synopsis number HC1028-08-D-2017-RL01, was posted on FedBizOpps (FBO) on 4 Mar 15, for a period of 15 days. The posting notified all interested parties of the government’s intention to extend the current contract via a sole source modification to CSC. The synopsis stated that any interested party may respond with their interest and capability. No responses were received.

As described in Section VI above, market research, in accordance with FAR Part 10, was conducted by sources sought notice for the follow-on acquisition. The sources sought advised industry of the pending acquisition and solicited inquiries from interested parties.

Although previous market research indicates there is sufficient competition for GDSS Application Support, the competitive follow-on contract can take place only after the necessary transfer of control of the system configuration baseline to the government is completed via a bridge contract.

History supports the need for a transition period of a minimum two months for a new contractor to become proficient in troubleshooting the environment once CSC has completed transitioning GDSS to the Web-based client. Additionally, if the government were to award to any other contractor than CSC, unacceptable delays would result as previous efforts in moving development and test environments to a new maintenance contractor required over 12 months to restore the environment to the extent required to continue development/maintenance of GDSS. Therefore, the requirements of FAR 16.505(b)(1) – Fair Opportunity cannot be met, and the additional requirement of DFARS 216.505-70 is not applicable.

IX. Other Facts Supporting the Justification

None.

X. List of Any Awardee That Expressed Interest in the Acquisition

None.

XI. Actions the Agency May Take to Remove or Overcome Any Barriers To Increasing Fair Opportunity Before Any Subsequent Acquisition For the Supplies or Services

None. As stated in Section III above, 763 SCONS awarded a competitive GDSS Application Support follow-on contract.

XII. Contracting Officer’s Certification

The Contracting Officer’s signature on the signature page evidences that she has determined this document to be both accurate and complete to the best of her knowledge and belief.

XIII. Technical/Requirements Personnel’s Certification

As evidenced by their signatures on the signature page, the technical and/or requirements personnel have certified that any supporting data contained herein which is their responsibility is both accurate and complete.