JA - Cybersecurity 2nd Bridge_Redacted.pdf

United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)

Justification and Approval (J&A) Cybersecurity Bridge Contract

May 2023

May 2022 – J&A No. 23 - 3631

Bridge contract H92415-23-C-0006 was awarded on 5 December 2022 for the continued performance of the CONUS CLINs to allow time for the award and transition of the competitive ITES-3S follow-on contract. The POP for this contract ends on 31 May 2023.

The Cybersecurity follow-on contract H92415-23-F-0005 was awarded on 9 March 2023 and a GAO protest was received on 27 March 2023 for the subject contract. As a result, a Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) stay of performance was issued IAW FAR 33.104(c)(1) and will be in place until GAO has made a determination NLT 5 July 2023..

Based on the protest determination date and required transition period (CONUS – 30 days and OCONUS – 60 days), a subsequent bridge contract consisting of a three month base (1 June 2023 – 31 August 2023) is required to avoid a break in Cybersecurity services. Four additional one-month option periods will also be included to cover any additional delays as a result of corrective actions that may be required.

The base and option periods will include the CONUS CLINs currently on H92415-23- C-0006 as well as any OCONUS CLINs on H92222-17-F-0085 whose POP ends prior to 31 December 2023 as shown below:

Base Period

CONUS CLINs (ENTERPRISE, SOCOM, USASOC, AFSOC, NSW, MARSOC, and

SOCNORTH)

1 Jun 2023 – 31 Aug 2023

Option Period 1

CONUS CLINs (ENTERPRISE, SOCOM, 1 Sep 2023 – 24 Sep 2023

Option Period 2

CONUS CLINs (ENTERPRISE, SOCOM, 25 Sep 2023 – 31 Oct 2023

Option Period 3

CONUS CLINs (ENTERPRISE, SOCOM, USASOC, AFSOC, NSW, MARSOC, and

SOCNORTH);

OCONUS CLINs (SOCAF, SOCCENT, and

SOJTF-L)

1 Nov 2023 – 30 Nov 2023

Option Period 4

CONUS CLINs (ENTERPRISE, SOCOM, USASOC, AFSOC, NSW, MARSOC, and

SOCNORTH)

OCONUS CLINs (SOCAF, SOCCENT, and

SOJTF-L)

1 Dec 2023 – 31 Dec 2023

May 2022 – J&A No. 23 - 3631

The bridge contract will be for continued Cybersecurity support services within the scope of the current contracts H92222-17-F-0085 and H92415-23-C-0006. No changes to the requirements or Statement of Work (SOW) will be made. Market research has indicated other contractors are capable of performing the services;

however, it is not in the Government’s best interest to compete this bridge requirement because an award to any other source would result in substantial delays, duplication of costs and effort, and operational mission impacts. This requirement calls for 93 Full Time Equivalents (FTE) at both CONUS and OCONUS locations. These individuals have been performing these services for the past twelve months, at a minimum, and have acquired subject matter expertise and situational awareness of the Cybersecurity services mission. Many of the Cybersecurity positions require specific qualifications and certifications, such as Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification, which are not held by all IT professionals. A new contractor would require additional time to recruit the qualified personnel necessary to successfully complete the work. Once hired and in place, the new contractor personnel would require a transition period of at least 30 days to train the personnel and gain the in-depth knowledge required to perform the services and keep the SIE operable. A new contractor would also require a minimum transition period of at least 60 days to deploy and transition OCONUS personnel. OCONUS positions have unique requirements that must be met prior to deployment and performance. For example, all OCONUS personnel must process through Combat Readiness Center (CRC) prior to deploying. Furthermore, certain countries require additional processing and approvals prior to performance, such as Technical Expert Status Accreditation (TESA) approval for performance in Germany (SOCEUR and SOCAF personnel). These additional processes and approvals can take up to 45 – 60 days. A new contractor would not be able to recruit, hire, mobilize, and train contractor personnel within the time required which would result in a lapse in service. Failure to maintain these services would significantly increase the risk of the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all information systems on the SIE which could result in USSOCOM’s inability to perform its daily operations and cause serious detrimental impact to the SOF mission.

Competing this bridge requirement amongst GWAC contractors (i.e. GSA Alliant 2 or ITES-3S) would result in unnecessary delay and likely a break in service. Typically, it takes a minimum 120 days to solicit, evaluate, and award a new task order under an existing GWAC. As stated above, a new contractor would require an additional 30 – 60 days to adequately transition and get up to speed. Requesting a proposal from the incumbent and negotiating a bridge contract can be accomplished within thirty days.

Competing the seven-month requirement is not expected to result in overall lower costs that could be overcome through competition. Competing this bridge contract would also require a technical evaluation of all offerors to ensure they are capable of meeting the requirements which would result in additional labor costs for contract evaluation and award. Furthermore, conducting source selection evaluations will result in additional delays to award the bridge contract.