OAMS_RFI.docx

M00264-RFI-0014

Request for Information (RFI)

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) Marine Corps Installations National Capital Regional – Regional Contracting Office (MCINCR-RCO), Marine Corps Base, Quantico, VA is seeking sources capable of providing technical services to support the United States Marine Corps Forces, Central Command (MARCENT) and subordinate commands.

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS: Marine Corps Installations National Capital Regional – Regional Contracting Office (MCINCR-RCO), 2010 Henderson Rd, Quantico, VA 22134.

INTRODUCTION:

This RFI is issued to conduct market research and determine the availability and technical capability of all sources to provide the required products and/or services.

This RFI allows potential contractors to submit a non-binding statement of interest and documentation demonstrating their corporate capabilities and suggestions that will allow the Government to refine its potential course of action. This RFI is intended to assess industry service capabilities and solicit feedback for acquisition planning purposes. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

ACQUISITION OVERVIEW:

This market research is for a follow-on contract action to support MARCENT with Operational, Analytical, and Management Services (OAMS). MARCENT is located aboard MacDill Air Force Base (AFB), Florida and serves as a Component Command to U.S Central Command (USCENTCOM). A two-star United States Marine Corps (USMC) General Officer (COMUSMARCENT) commands. MARCENT consists of a Command Element, Manpower Section (G-1), Intelligence Section (G-2), Operations Section (G-3), Logistics Section (G-4), Plans Section (G-5), Communication Section (G-6), Comptroller Section (G-8), Staff Judge Advocate Section (SJA), Communications Strategy & Operations Section (CSO), and a Force Surgeon Section. The scope of services covers each component within MARCENT’s structure.

Current contract was procured competitively under the General Services Administration Best in Class One Acquisition for Integrated Services (OASIS II) Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract. A task order was awarded to Leidos, Inc in August 2020.

The scope of the requirement includes professional services for MARCENT in the areas of command element, manpower, intelligence, operations, logistics, planning, communications, Operations Plans (OPLANS), Concept Plans (CONPLANS), strategy development, doctrinal reviews, operational policy reviews, crisis action planning, deliberate planning support, training and educational plans, and wargaming exercise support within the continental United States (CONUS), and outside the continental United States (OCONUS).

The scope of the requirement was determined to be non-commercial during the prior procurement action. Contractor staff assigned to the contract was classified as Mission Essential per DFARS 252.237-7023 and 7024.

The North America Industry Classification System (NAICS) used was 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services). The Product Service Codes (PSC) used was R425 Support- Professional: Engineering/Technical.

The facility security clearance for this effort is at the Top Secret. Highest level of classification of the required work is at the Top Secret (TS) Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), enabling access to all sources and classifications of planning documents and network communications, including Special Access Program (SAP) level. The Contractor will NOT be required to store classified information at its premises since place of performance will be at Government site.

MARCENT needs a contract that allows mission readiness. Their cognizant Area of Responsibility (AoR) is very volatile, which requires a contractual instrument that can accommodate increase of contractor support if a conflict arises. As such, the follow-on contract action is expected to be done as a single award ID/IQ under the USMC. The estimated ceiling value considered for this IDIQ is $200M with 10 years ordering period.

SERVICES TO BE ACCOMPLISHED:

A copy of the DRAFT Performance Work Statement (PWS) for this requirement is provided as an attachment to this RFI. The following table provides a layout of the task area, requirement and PWS section.

EXPECTED ALLOCATION OF WORK BY TASK/CLIN

The following table provides information regarding the estimated labor and spending percentage distribution per year. This is provided to allow prospective contractors an idea of task prioritization based on MARCENT’s operational tempo and support structure.

4%

Total

100%

PRINCIPAL GEOGRAPHICAL OPERATION SUPPORT AREAS

Principal support operations will occur at MARCENT Headquarters, MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL and at 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB), Manama, Bahrain. Occasional travel may be required to areas within the Continental United States (CONUS), as well as areas Outside of CONUS (OCONUS).

SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall take all necessary steps to assure that Contractor and any subcontractor personnel performing under this contract are persons of professional and personal integrity and trust and meet all other requirements stipulated in this PWS. The contractor shall have an active Top Secret Facility Clearance (access to COMSEC) without any Special Limitations that restrict access. The Government is NOT sponsoring clearances. The contractor must have its security clearance eligibility in place at proposal submission due date.

The Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring all contract personnel are U.S. citizens. Contractor personnel performing at the TS/SCI level shall possess an in-scope (per current DoD 6-year reinvestigation requirement), favorable, Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI)/T5 investigation (to include SBPR, PPR, T5R, or current enrollment in the DoD Continuous Evaluation (CE) / Continuous Vetting (CV) program), adjudicated for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility by the DoD Central Adjudication Facility (DoD CAF) without conditions, exceptions, or waivers at the time of performance and must maintain the level of security required for the life of the contract. The security requirements are in accordance with the attached DoD Contract Security Classification Specification, DD Form 254.

· All Contractors that require Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access are subject to random Counter-intelligence Scope Polygraph (CSP) examinations as part of the Director of Intelligence's Continuous Evaluation Program.

· The Contractor shall ensure it and all subcontractors have completed all Contract Security Classification Specification Department of Defense (DoD) DD Form 254. All DD Form 254 requirements must be completed and approved prior to commencing any work under this contract.

RFI INQUIRIES

1. Technical Capabilities:

a. The capability statement provides in response to this RFI shall include the following criteria:

1) Service capabilities that the responder currently possesses. Response should include the relevant information regarding specific labor, trades, skills, experience, certifications that responder possesses to fulfil each task area included in section 2 of the Draft PWS.

2) Identify the task area(s) or requirement(s) that responder cannot fulfil and provide an explanation about how to mitigate. This includes potential business arrangement with subcontractors and their capabilities. Please identify the subcontractor and their business size.

3) Provide a summary of past performance experience considered relevant to this requirement. Please include contract number, a description of the scope and how it relates to a given task of the MARCENT OAMS II PWS.

4) Extent to which the responder is aware of any potential Organizational Conflict of Interest issues or a non-immitigable OCI related to current development work at USMC.

5) Do you have experience coordinating and processing travel for contractor personnel in MARCENT’s AoR?

6) Does your company hold or is able to obtain or maintain a Top Secret facility clearance to meet this requirement at proposal due date (Estimated around 2nd Quarter 2025)? and

7) Provide a recommendation for performance matrix related to the objectives of this effort.

8) Provide a recommendation for a qualification matrix by billet related to the objectives of this effort.

2. Mitigation of NAICS Business Size Restrictions on Small Business Set Aside Strategy:

a. The expected annual spending forecasted for this requirement ranges from $12 to $15M. The NAICS being considered for this effort is 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services). In accordance with the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) § 121.201 this NAICS has a small Business Size standards for annual receipts of $19.5 million.

1) Does this CFR small business size standard threshold present a concern to small businesses to participate as a prime on this acquisition?

2) Are there any recommendations to foster participation of small businesses based on the value of this requirement and the potential restrictions the CFR size standard cap might cause to the business?

3) Are there any other NAICS available that can better foster competition opportunities for small businesses? If so, please provide supporting rationale.

3. Inflation Cost Risk

a. The Government is considering expediting a single award ID/IQ contract with a 10 year ordering period. Inflationary market conditions represent a risk for establishing fixed fully loaded labor rates for each year under the ordering period.

1) Do you have suggestions or strategy to recommend the Government to alleviate the inflationary risks on this requirement? Even though this is a noncommercial contract, the Government is not contemplating the use of a cost plus contract vehicle.

2) How troublesome will be to set fully loaded labor rates for 10 years, based on a rate per year? Would this represent an unbearable risk in hiring and retaining personnel? Would this prevent your company from submitting a proposal in response to this effort?

3) If recent inflationary matters (post 2019) have impacted industry to hire and retain qualified personnel, which of the following alternative will pose small businesses to mitigate this risk:

a. If a 10 year ordering period if used: The use an annual application of a labor index factor from the Department of Labor. This will consider establishing a fully loaded rate for each labor category for the base period and agree to apply a cost index factor for the outyears to revise rates on an annual cycle. Revisions solely to be made upon rate increase per index at a certain date set on contract.

b. If a 10 years ordering period consisting of a 5 year base and 5 year option period is used: Would the use of FAR 52.216-5, Price Redetermination-Prospective to be adjusted at the 5th year of the contract This will consider establishing a fully loaded rate for each labor category for the 10 years of the contract but subject to rate revision on the 5th year of the ordering period. On the 5th year of the contract, prior to exercising the option period, an assessment of the inflationary conditions will be done to determine if an upward adjustment is necessary for the years included in the option period. The adjustment will be applicable if inflationary conditions are higher than the ones considered by the contractor at time of award. If so, the use of the Department of Labor cost index factor prior exercising the option (5th year of the base period) will be applied to revise rates applicable to years 6 to 10 of the contract. Rate revisions solely to be made upon rate increase per index at a certain date set on contract.

4) How impactful for a technical solution would it be to have subcontracting limited to 1st tier?

4. Acquisition Strategy

a. Maximization of small business opportunities is one of the primary goals in this requirement. To assist RCO-NCR in deciding the level of participation by small business in any subsequent procurement that may result from this RFI, you are also encouraged to provide information regarding your plans to use joint venturing (JV) or partnering to meet each of the requirement’s areas contained herein. This includes responses from qualified and capable Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Service Disabled-Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Women-owned Small Businesses, HUB Zone Small Businesses, and 8(a) companies. You should provide information on how you would envision your company's areas of expertise and those of any proposed JV/partner would be combined to meet the specific requirements contained in this announcement.

b. If you are a small business, please explain the extent to which your organization has the ability to meet the proposed acquisition, considering compliance with the Limitations on subcontracting clause (FAR 52.219-14).

c. If you are a large business, please provide a recommendation for percentage of subcontractor work, considering maximization of opportunities to small business. Please provide recommendation for subcontracting plan percentages by socioeconomic group.

d. We encourage to provide information and recommendations for tailoring this proposed acquisition to the needs of MARCENT. Recommendation areas may include the type of contract, anticipated contract terms & conditions, incentives, variations in delivery schedule, price and/or cost proposal support, and data requirements, contract pricing, and any other areas that the responder believes is relevant for the Government to achieve its stated objectives. Your organization may opine regarding what portion of the work could be set-aside for small businesses, if all the required work cannot be provided by a small business. Details to support any recommendations for partial small business set-asides should be included.

RFI RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Interested parties are directed to respond to this RFI with a white paper. White paper shall be in Microsoft Word for Office or compatible format and shall not exceed 25 pages. A page is defined as each face of an 8½” x 11” sheet with information contained within a one inch margin on all sides. Font type shall be Times New Roman at 12 point, and single spacing.

2. Responses must contain UNCLASSIFIED information only and be marked “UNCLASSIFIED” at least on the first page of the response. No classified information may be included anywhere in the response. Responses must include:

a) Business name and address.

b) Name of company representative and their business title and point of contact information.

c) Type of Small Business.

d) CAGE Code.

e) EUI Number.

f) Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

3. Questions - Questions and the whitepaper regarding this RFI should be submitted in writing by e-mail to Edgar Lopez-Jimenez at edgar.lopezjimenez@usmc.mil.

4. Responses: Vendors who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email NLT 18 June 2024 by 12 pm, Eastern Time (EST) to Edgar Lopez-Jimenez at edgar.lopezjimenez@usmc.mil. Interested vendors should submit a brief capabilities statement package (no more than 25 pages) demonstrating ability to perform the services listed in this Technical Description. Documentation should be in bullet format.

5. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All government and contractor personal reviewing RFI responses will have signed non-disclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described 41 USC 423. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified.

DISCLAIMER:

THIS RFI IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS RFI. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS RFI. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.