PTSS_JA_FINAL_22_May_redacted.pdf

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

MARINE CORPS SYSTEMS COMMAND

PROGRAM MANAGER FOR TRAINING SYSTEMS

12350 RESEARCH PARKWAY

ORLANDO, FL 32826-3275

IN REPLY REFER TO

MCSC CT027

J&A Number: 15,277.0

LIMITED SOURCES JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

JUSTIFICATION

1). Contracting Activity

Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) Program Manager for Training Systems (PM TRASYS) 12350 Research Parkway Orlando, FL 32826-3275

2). Nature and/or Description of the Action Being Approved

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Multiple Award Schedule Program under Title III of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949. This justification is to seek approval of the use of limited sources under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 8.405-6, Limited Sources. The proposed action is to award a sole source, 6 month extension to task order 0107 under M67854-02-A-9011 to AECOM (formerly URS), 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2600,Los Angeles, CA 90067.

3). Description of Supplies/Services

The proposed action is to procure Assistant and Advisory Services (A&AS) for PM TRASYS by exercising FAR clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services. The services currently provided by the Task Order include critical support and assistance to 22 PM TRASYS live, virtual, and constructive simulation training system programs. Specifically, these critical activities include (but are not limited to) supplementation of programmatic activities that enables Government employees to perform Government inherent work to include program management, source selections, and fielding for both equipment and services necessary to provide much needed training capabilities to Marines and ensure the completion of the mission of PM TRASYS. These capabilities are part of pre-deployment training requirements that ensure Marines remain mission ready at all times.

The estimated dollar value for this procurement is XXXXX over six months (13 June 2015 through 12 December 2015). The estimated costs are:

(Estimated Dollar Value)

FY15

OMMC XXX

PMC XXX

Note: Appropriation is based on the specific phase of the 22 programs.

4). Identification of the Justification Rationale

The exception to fair opportunity for this action is authorized by FAR 8.405-6(a)(1)(i)(C), i.e., the bridge modification will be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency as a logical follow-on to an original Federal Supply Schedule order already issued under Contract M7854-02-A-9011, Task Order 0107.

In support of a re-compete effort under Seaport-e for Programmatic A&AS, representatives from the PM TRASYS program office began planning the Acquisition Strategy for a new, single award support services contract and initiated the source selection process in March of 2014 for a competitively awarded order utilizing Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) procedures.

On 18 February 2015, prior to when the solicitation phase was to begin, a Program Management Review (PMR) held with the Head Contracting Activity (HCA) in which recommendations were provided to change the Acquisition Strategy by switching evaluation criteria from LPTA to a trade-off process. In addition to the PMR, the Department of Defense (DoD) Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) Frank Kendall distributed a memorandum on 04 March 2015, providing guidance on when to use LPTA contracts. In accordance with the PMR recommendations and the Kendall Memorandum, the program office updated the Evaluation/Acquisition Strategy to reflect a trade-off evaluation methodology. This “course correction” within the planned Acquisition brought with it delays in executing the competition and pushed the milestone of planned award date within the Procurement Execution Plan (PEP) to November 2015, and past the end of performance of the current task order, M67854-02-A- 9011, Task Order 0107.

In order to provide for the continuation of current critical service support requirements, a modification is required to the Firm Fixed Priced (FFP) task order (M67854-02-A-9011/0107) to exercise FAR Clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend services, and extend the Period of Performance (PoP) from 12 June 2015 to 11 December 2015 (6 months).

Initial Request for Proposals (RFPs) and resultant Task Order 0107 for the current contract support incorporated FAR Clause 52.217-8 “Option to Extend Services” upon award. The presence of the clause within the Contract and Task Order provide that the program and contract office gave forethought to total time limitation on base and option periods in accordance with FAR

17.204 and Navy Marine Corps Acquisition Regulation Supplement (NMCARS) 5217.204. However, the clause/option was not evaluated for a specific price at time of award. On 26 February 2013, (approximately seven (7) months after award) the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) Research, Development and Acquisition (RDA) issued Memorandum for Distribution that required any option, and specifically the work to be completed as a result of exercising clause 52.217-8, be included in the total price and evaluated at time of award. The Memorandum also provides that contracts that have been awarded where pricing was not evaluated for exercising the option to extend services under FAR Clause 52.217-8 during the initial competition shall follow bridge contract procedures.

As such, in accordance with the Memorandum, this justification is to seek approval for the use of limited sources and issue a “bridge” modification to exercise the existing clause 52.217-8 (within the limitation stated with the clause) to mitigate a gap in service provided by the CEOSS contract (M67854-02-A-9011, task order 0107) while executing a Best Value Trade-Off re-compete of the current effort under the Seaport-e construct.

Absent this support, PM TRASYS will realize a significant decrease in operational readiness as the gap in service is expected to be, at a minimum, five (5) months until a new competitively sourced contract can be awarded.

Loss of these support services would have a significant negative impact on the fleet. Examples of negative impacts are provided below:

-Inability to field refreshed and newly manufactured training systems. Such inability could result in lack/failure of IA compliance, lack of readiness for the deploying Marines, failed Large Scale Exercises (LSE), or inability to keep current systems operational which then provides incomplete pre-deployment training for Marines going into combat.

-Failure to inventory and catalog training systems and relevant equipment in preparation for entering into the Defense Property Accountability System (DPAS). Such failure could result in an incorrect inventory database, negative impacts to the training missions for different Marines across the Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEFs), tracking readiness and availability of equipment of training, loss of access to inventory, or loss of visibility of assets creating possible duplication of costs.

At this time, support contractors currently comprise approximately 40% of the workforce at PM TRASYS. As stated within the current Marine Corps Commandant’s Planning Guide an expectation exists that “all elements of the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) make extensive use of simulators where appropriate.” The Commandant’s guidance further calls for “Marines to encounter their initial tactical and ethical dilemmas in a simulated battlefield vice actual combat.” PM TRASYS is a key stakeholder in providing live, virtual, and constructive simulators to the MAGTF and constituent units in support of the Commandant’s guidance. The work supplemented by the Task Order 0107 is a crucial element to meeting the mission of PM TRASYS and the Commandant’s guidance. Loss of 40% of the workforce would provide failure to the mission and the Commandant’s guidance.

The existing support contractors (AECOM) are the only currently responsible source available to provide the ongoing services as they have specialized knowledge of the processes and procedures unique to PM TRASYS and are able to continue to provide these critical support services without interruption or a degradation in the quality of support required. Due to the highly specialized nature of the training systems, the rules, regulations and policy Governing PM TRASYS, and knowledge necessary to perform on the current (or follow-on) contract, it is estimated any other contractor would require, at a minimum, 30 days to transition and ramp up to a point which would allow no degradation of services. A 30 day transition period is currently planned as part of the follow-on competition.

Furthermore, the availability of Government manpower over the next 6 months is exponentially decreased by seven (7) major source selections: Marine Corps Distance Learning Program (MCDLP), Combined Arms Command and Control Trainer Upgrade System (CACCTUS), Deployable Virtual Training Environment (DVTE), MAGTF Tactical Warfare Simulation (MTWS), Underwater Egress Trainer (UET), and the Virtual Training Systems Sustainment (VTSS) which is a contract that will include the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer (ISMT) and USMC Operator Driver Simulator (ODS).

5). Determination of Best Value

Best Value was originally determined at the time of award of M67854-02-A-9011-0107 based on a trade-off process in accordance with FAR 8.404(d), 8.405-2(f), and the trade-off procedures outlined in FAR 15.101-1. A review of the marketplace provides that no factors have significantly changed from time of initial award to the present to provide the Contracting Officer with reasonable suspicion that, due to the highly specialized nature of the services provided, any other offeror could provide a better value to the Government without also incurring additional costs and schedule delays.

Furthermore, the pricing for the second option year of performance under M67854-02-A-9011-0107 was found fair and reasonable at the time of initial award based on adequate price competition in accordance with FAR 15.403-1(c)(1)(i), as well as price analysis of historical prices for similar efforts and comparison of GSA prices and CEOS domain vendor pricing.

In accordance with FAR Clause 52.217-8, “the Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor.” As this action is for professional services, it does not fall within the purview of the Services Contracting Act (SCA), and the rates associated with performance are not subject to change.

Therefore, the prices utilized for the 6 month extension should be the equal or below the unit prices from the original award/second option period (June 2014). As the pricing for the last optional period has been determined fair and reasonable, by extension the terms carried forward, to include pricing, are also fair and reasonable.

6). Description of Market Research Conducted

Extensive Market Research has been conducted in preparation for the ongoing competitive procurement and demonstrated a market environment sufficient to provide adequate competition. The adequacy of competition has been subsequently proven by the response to the Government’s Request for Information (RFI) posted on 6 March 2015. No additional market research has been conducted regarding this requested six (6) month extension modification since, as detailed above, no other vendor has the ability to immediately begin providing the critical service support needed to allow the Government to focus on inherent Government duties and complete the required source selections needed to continue to maintain the PM TRASYS training products and provide invaluable training capabilities to Marines.

7). Other Facts Supporting the Justification

Due to the breakup of the ACSS organization, the departure from the CEOSS Multiple Award Contract (MAC), the new Seaport-e MAC and a change in strategy from a LPTA to a trade-off analysis approach, the Government needs additional time to ensure the best solution is found to obtain the optimal task order to support these important not inherentlyGovernmental services over the next 5 years. These events are not due to a failure to plan but due to unforeseen circumstances and new strategies that are in the best interest of the Government.

A six (6) month task order extension is required to allow the Government to focus on critical inherently Governmental functions while allowing the existing support contractor to perform critical but not inherently Governmental tasks already being performed under the existing task order. With a gap in service, limited Government resources will have to be re-prioritized, which could lead to impacts on cost, schedule, and performance on many programs.

The existing support contractors are the only responsible source available to provide the ongoing service support because they have specialized knowledge of the processes and procedures unique to PM TRASYS and are able to continue to provide these critical support services without interruption or a gap in services which will allow PM TRASYS Government employees to conduct their inherently Governmental duties without having to manage the day-to-day operations currently managed by support contractors.

8). Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition

The task order extension (bridge effort) is for a continuation of services through 11 December 2015. As provided in Paragraph 2 above, the Program Office is currently in the process of soliciting the follow-on effort for the highly specialized services. Furthermore, the change in the evaluation strategy from LPTA to a trade-off within that competition strategy exemplifies one of the tenants of Better Buying Power: focusing on the competition strategy. By changing the competition strategy, the program office has not only increased the quality of competition, but most likely increased the pool of potential competitors.

By its nature and definition, execution of this bridge is the action required to remove any barrier to future competition, as the bridge will allow the time necessary to adjust the current documentation and strategy to a Best Value competition. In addition, further actions have been initiated to remove any additional barriers from future competitions, to include the transition requirements of the incumbent in any follow-on service support contractual action.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) is currently undergoing legal review and will be ready for release through the Seaport-e portal once legal concurrence is given. The current Procurement Profile and Execution Plan (PPEP) outlines a path forward that has the award of a new support contract before the requested bridge effort would expire providing adequate time for a smooth and organized transition from the incumbent to the new awardee.