D6 - Brand Name JnA REDACTED.docx

Requiring Activity (RA) Justification and Approval (J&A) for Sole Source or Brand Name

I. DESCRIPTION OF ITEM OR SERVICE:

1. Commercial description: Level A Protective Suit

2. Intended use: Level A Suits are used by Installation First Responders to provide the highest level of respiratory, skin, and eye protection against hazardous gases, vapors, liquids, and particulates. There are used by Installation HazMat Incident Response Teams (HIRT) during incident response Radiation where dangerous substances are known or suspected to cause skin toxicity, or pose immediate threats to life and health.

3. Source or Brand Name: Kappler, Frontline 500

II. THE DETERMINATION FOR USE OF OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION IS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING:

A. ☐ ONLY ONE RESPONSIBLE SOURCE

1. ☐ RESTRICTIVE RIGHTS. The source has established proprietary rights, limited rights in data, patent rights, copyrights, or secret processes in the item or service required.

2. ☐ EXCLUSIVE LICENSING AGREEMENTS. The item or service is only available from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), or there is only one authorized distributor or technical representative for the OEM.

3. ☐ OTHER REASONS.

B. ☒ BRAND NAME. Item required must be a brand name, product, or feature of a product, particular to one manufacturer.

Explain the following:

1. Why can’t another brand meet your current requirement? How do you know?

There are other Level A Suits on the market. However, the Frontline 500 has already been fielded to MCIs. Using another Level A Suit would require additional POI development, and additional training for F&ES personnel at MCIs CONUS & OCONUS. The FY26 Basis of Allocation (BOA) (Line 1) approved replacement for Level A Suits is the Frontline 500.

2. What makes this brand unique or different from other similar brands?

The Frontline 500 Level A suits are used by MCIs in support of monitoring at Entry Control Points, and supports First Responders during incident response. The Frontline 500 is also compliant with OSHA 1910.120 and NFPA 1990(1991) Standards.

3. What would be the impact to your activity’s mission if a different brand were to be purchased, or if this requirement was not procured at all?

Procuring a different Level A Suit would negatively affect Marine Corps Installations due to increased costs and logistics associated with Training and Fielding a new piece of equipment that is not on the FY26 BOA.

III. ACTIONS TAKEN TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME BARRIERS

1. What other companies or brands did you consider and/or contact before concluding a sole source or brand name purchase is necessary?

Other Level A Suits considered are on GSA and listed below. These options would require additional efforts to support training and fielding.

Dupont, Tychem 10000 Ansell Encapsulated Suit Kappler Zytron 500

2. What were the results of your market research and/or contact with industry that support your conclusion that a sole source or brand name purchase is necessary?

The results of market research and contact with industry concluded that their products would increase procurement costs.

3. How can other companies or sources become vetted, certified, or approved to provide the supply or service for future requirements?

Other sources may become approved to provide similar future requirements by being approved on the Program Basis of Allocation.

4. What can your activity do to continue to ensure that competition is being utilized to the maximum extent possible for the same or similar future requirements?

The Government will continue to monitor the market and conduct market research to identify any emerging solutions that may satisfy future similar requirements. Should such solutions become available during the lifecycle of the current requirement, the Government will consider whether switching to and fielding new Level A Suits is in the Government’s best interest, and regarding future similar requirements, seek competition to the maximum extent practicable.

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MCINCR RCO – RA General J&A Template – Strategic Branch Fiscal Year 2024_Ver.1