Limited Sources J and A_Redacted.pdf

Limited Sources Justification and Approval (J&A)

CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION

April 2021 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 2 of 4

The contracting agency and organizational activity responsible for the proposed contracting action are identified below:

a. Contracting Agency: United States Air Force (USAF)

b. Procuring Activity: AMIC Det 2, OL-C (Tinker)/PKBA, 4012 Hilltop Road, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma

c. Requiring Activity: 688th Cyberspace Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas

This is a Limited Sources Justification and Approval to exercise the option to extend services (FAR 52.217-8) by modification to an existing task order, FA8773-19-F-A023 (TRIPLECROWN), for a total of up to six (6) months. TRIPLECROWN was awarded as a competitive acquisition under the General Services Administration (GSA) One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) Small Business (SB) Pool 1 multiple award Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract holders. The awardee was Mosaic Technologies Group, LLC, under NAICS Code 541990, contract GS00Q14OADS129. TRIPLECROWN performance ends on 27 April 2024. The period of performance for this task order is 28 April 2024 through no later than 27 October 2024.

The contract type for this task order is a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) for Labor Contract Line Item Numbers (CLINs) and Cost Reimbursement (CR) for the travel CLINs.

This task order modification action will enable the current TRIPLECROWN contractor, Mosaic Technologies Group, LLC, to continue supporting the functions of intelligence, training, exercises, weapons and tactics and operational planning that support and enable the direct operation of the four Defensive Cyberspace Operations (DCO) weapon systems - Air Force Cyberspace Defense (ACD), Air Force Intranet Control (AFINC), Cyberspace Defense Analysis (CDA), and Cyberspace Security and Control System (CSCS) in the 688th Cyberspace Wing (688 CW), 24th Air Force/Commander (24AF/CC), under the Air Combat Command (ACC).

This is a non-personal services contract that will provide essential expertise and capabilities in the following critical functional areas: Intelligence (IN) Analysis Support; Operations Training Analysis Support; Operational Planning Analysis, Exercise, and Range Management Support; Weapons and Tactics Support; Command Section Support; and DCO Weapon Systems Analysis Support at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA)

The total price of this option to extend is $3,502,377.28. Funding utilized will be 3400 funds.

The funding for the Option to Extend Services for the six (6) months allowed is shown below:

CLIN Description Qty U/I Period of Performance Unit Price Amount

5001 Labor 6 Months 28 Apr 24 - 27 Oct 24 $573,146.40 $3,438,878.40

5002 Travel 1 Lot 28 Apr 24 - 27 Oct 24 $60,000.00 $60,000.00

5003 Data 1 Lot 28 Apr 24 - 27 Oct 24 NSP $0

5004 GSA Usage Fee 1 Lot 28 Apr 24 - 27 Oct 24 $3,498.88 $3,498.88

The delay in the acquisition process for the TRIPLECROWN II effort, Fair Opportunity Proposal Request (FOPR) FA8773-24- R-0003, can be attributed to a variety of factors. More specifically there was a change in acquisition strategy moving from a Level of Effort contract, which operated with a Statement of Objectives (SOO), to a Performance Based contract which operates with a Performance Work Statement (PWS). As such, the evaluation criteria had to be redefined and required the MFT to then write to a performance-based requirement. Another delay of roughly 60-70 days was an unexpected increase of work, and therefore the need for an increase in the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) was debated between the program office and

April 2021 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 3 of 4 its leadership. The increase would have caused the estimated value of the contract to increase beyond the current expected $50M clearance threshold and would have required additional contract documents to be routed through for approval. This had to be 100% confirmed prior to moving forward to Business Clearance and thus the FOPR release. Ultimately, the requirements owner decided not to add the additional FTEs.

Another contributing factor is the five Automated Compliance Assessment System (ACAS)/Cyberspace Awareness Dashboard (CAD) trainer positions were added to the contract during option year IV: one in Colorado Springs and four in San Antonio. The five positions were initially discussed as temporary positions to amplify support to one of the weapon systems from 28 August 2023 to 27 April 2024; however, there was a delay in confirming whether the funding and the continued need for those positions were going to be added to the follow-on contract. In sum, the combination of the above factors has resulted in the need for the DET 2 OL-C (Tinker) contracting office to utilize the 52.217-8 option.

The high level risk to the Air Force (AF) and DCO mission must be mitigated through an extension of services to the incumbent, Mosaic Technologies Group, LLC, thus ensuring no break in service or disruption of operational capability occurs with minimal impact to the four weapon systems - Air Force Cyberspace Defense (ACD), Air Force Intranet Control (AFINC), Cyberspace Defense Analysis (CDA), and Cyberspace Security and Control System (CSCS) in the 688th Cyberspace Wing (688 CW), 24th Air Force/Commander (24AF/CC), under the Air Combat Command (ACC).

FAR 8.405-6 requires an ordering activity to justify its actions when restricting consideration of schedule contractors to fewer than required in FAR 8.405-2. In accordance with FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(B), only one source can respond due to the unique or specialized nature of the work.

While the follow-on, TRIPLECROWN II, acquisition process is underway, the impact of the delay to the acquisition award timeline has limited the government's ability to award a new competitive acquisition before 27 April 2024. In addition, any attempt to compete a bridge contract also presents a duplication of effort and costs to the government; necessitating two acquisition teams to work concurrently. Award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirement.

The unacceptable delays in fulfilling this mission requirement include the following: First, administrative lead time to award a new competitive acquisition without interchanges/discussions is approximately 60 days from release of request for proposal. Next, even if administrative lead time to award a competitive acquisition could be overcome, transition to a new contractor for a short duration would result in unnecessary mission degradation. This includes time for re-badging and turnover of personnel, a new contractor would require time to recruit staff with the appropriate clearances and certifications; after which a subsequent vendor would have to repeat this same process. Additionally, filling essential positions to remain fully mission capable is exceedingly difficult when combined with acquiring the right mix of technical ability and top secret/sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI) clearance levels with the bridge period. Historically, upgrading a secret security clearance to TS/SCI has taken up to twelve months.

These unavoidable delays would result in mission degradation and gaps in service, introducing unacceptable risk in fulfilling the government's requirements.

The government has identified the services performed under the TRIPLECROWN task order as vital in support of the 688 CW's unique mission of DCO to secure, defend, and operate the Air Force Information Network (AFIN). This includes the critical functional areas of Intelligence (IN) Analysis Support; Operations Training Analysis Support; Operational Planning Analysis, Exercise, and Range Management Support; Weapons and Tactics Support; Command Section Support; and Defensive Cyberspace Operations (DCO) Weapon Systems Analysis Support. Mosaic Technologies, LLC, has employees with the Comp TIA certifications (such as Sec+ and CISSP), necessary TS/SCI clearance requirements in place; therefore, their workforce is qualified and capable of bridging the gap until the competitive TRIPLECROWN II follow-on contract is awarded.

Mosaic Technologies, LLC, is the only firm capable of providing the services described in Section III above without the AF

April 2021 CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 4 of 4 experiencing unacceptable delays and costs in fulfilling its requirements. The Government has identified the services performed under this contract as vital in support of the DCO mission to secure, defend, and operate the AFIN.

The continuation of the TRIPLECROWN task order requirement through GSA's OASIS SB Pool 1 multiple award IDIQ contract represents the best value and results in the lowest cost alternative considering the price and limited time to have the follow-on TRIPLECROWN II contract in place to meet the DCO mission to secure, defend, and operate the AFIN. The TRIPLECROWN task order was originally placed on a competitive basis using the technique defined in FAR 15.404-1(b)(2)(i).

GSA has also determined the prices provided by Mosaic Technologies, LLC. are fair and reasonable. However, the Contracting Officer will make a determination of fair and reasonable pricing for the individual six-month extension of services utilizing techniques defined in FAR 15.404-1, thus providing the Government with the best value for the TRIPLECROWN six-month extension effort.

Market research under the current TRIPLECROWN task order was accomplished on 19 December 2018. Market research for the follow-on, TRIPLECROWN II, is dated 29 June 2023. Because this action is an extension of services by modification to the current contractor, Mosaic Technologies, LLC, no additional market research was conducted. The current contractor has proven their technical capability by their performance on the TRIPLECROWN task order.

A competitive follow-on effort, TRIPLECROWN II, is in the proposal evaluation phase of the acquisition process. This extension of services to the TRIPLECROWN task order is needed because of the TRIPLECROWN II follow-on effort delay mentioned in Section IV above. A new competitive award will be made once the TRIPLECROWN II acquisition process is complete. There are no existing barriers to competition for this effort.