Redacted_JA_MICC_2019_3.pdf

Control No: 2019-3 Contractor: TRAX International Corp.

Program/Equipment: Tropic Test Support Services

Version – March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR PART 6 JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

Program/Equipment: Tropic Test Support Services (TTSS) for United States Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC).

Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR Part 6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

Amount: Estimated $1.6M

Prepared by:

Contracting Officer: Edgar Angulo Date: 17 October 2018 Contracting Officer DSN: 899-6172 E-Mail: edgar.angulo.civ@mail.mil

Technical:

Requirements:

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Program Manager:

Small Business Specialist, Small Business Program:

Program/Equipment: Tropic Test Support Services

Version – March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Director, MICC-YPG:

Assistant Director, Small Business Program:

418th CSB Legal Counsel:

Program/Equipment: Tropic Test Support Services

Version – March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FAR Part 6 Justification and Approval for Other than

Full and Open Competition

1. Contracting Activity: Mission and Installation Contracting Command - Yuma Proving Ground (MICC–YPG), U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (USAYPG), Arizona.

2. Description of Action: Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) requests a Cost Plus Fixed Fee contract modification (which includes a fixed fee of 6%) for an extension to contract W9124R-11-C-0009 with TRAX International Corporation, 3120 E.

Post Rd, Las Vegas NV 89120-2706. The Government projects an extension for seven months from 1 November 2018 through 31 May 2019. This contract modification will provide for the continuation of essential test support services at tropic region locations such as Panama, Suriname, and Honduras until award of a competitive follow-on contract is completed. The extension will be incrementally funded using Fiscal Year FY19 Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RTD&E) funds. An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 207.103(d)(i)(B).

3. Description of Supplies/Services: The contract provides test support services for technical and engineering special services to the Tropic Regions Test Center (TRTC) in support of its mission to plan and conduct tropic environmental developmental tests on a wide variety of military electronic systems, materials, weapons, and equipment.

Contracted support services include: conduct of analytical and special studies; assist the government in the design, planning, coordinating, and executing the various test programs; assist the government in test support operations management; and provide test facilities maintenance, test equipment maintenance and operations, and test logistical support which provides a myriad of other support including medical facilities, minor test construction as well as some administrative support.

Period of Performance: 1 November 2018 to 31 May 2019 Total Value: $1.6M

While budget may drive test operations requirements, there are no anticipated changes in the contract requirements during the requested extension period.

4. Authority Cited: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Reason for Authority Cited: As described at FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), when the supplies or services required by the agency are available only from one responsible source, or for DoD, NASA and the Coast Guard, from only one or a limited number of responsible sources, and no other types of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for.

Program/Equipment: Tropic Test Support Services

Version – March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

a. Background.

(1) The current Tropic Test Support Services (TTSS) contract expires on 31 October 2018. Prior to that, on 27 January 2017, a solicitation was posted on FedBizOpps requesting proposals for the follow-on contract. On 2 Feb 2017, the Contracting Officer received an Agency Level Protest stating that the evaluation criteria was too restrictive. On 1 March 2017, the protest was deemed academic and dismissed in its entirety. Corrective actions took place during the previous extension and the evaluation criteria was rewritten to eliminate excessive barriers to competition. The 418th

Contracting Support Brigade (CSB) Commander directed the Contracting Officer to shift the direction of the solicitation to the One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) multiple award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contracts in order to meet the short time line. Market research was expanded to consider the General Services Administration’s (GSA) (OASIS) as a potential strategic sourcing solution. A Request for Information (RFI) was issued to Pools 3 (small business) and 4 (large business) of the OASIS multiple-award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contractors. Five responses were received in response to the RFI from small business OASIS contract holders. Capabilities requirements were reviewed by the technical activity and MICC’s Assistant Director, Office of Small Business Programs. All five respondents were initially determined to be capable of performing the requirements in the PWS; however, the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) expressed significant concerns regarding the ability of a small business to satisfy all of the contract requirements, and stated that if the final decision was to utilize OASIS, the TPOC would need to revise the PWS.

The interpretation of OCONUS capability in the OASIS contract does not cover performance in foreign countries where no U.S. military presence exists. With the preponderance of the work occurring in tropical regions described in the PWS, the magnitude of the level of effort for a sustained period would be unduly burdensome to a small business. The Contracting Officer determined that it was in the best interest of the Government to employ the original approved acquisition strategy and solicit the requirement as an unrestricted open market procurement on 13 June 2017. A seven month extension to continue the contract was issued on 8 September 2017 to allow time for re-issuing a solicitation under full and open competition and to complete the pre-award and award actions with the changes that were necessary. In an effort to further implement the corrective actions, the PWS, the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) and Sections L and M were re-examined and revisions were made. A draft Request for Proposal (RFP) (W9124R-17-R-0004), containing these revisions, was then posted to FedBizOpps on 6 November 2017 for Industry feedback. Based on the questions received from Industry in response to the draft RFP, it was determined that additional solicitation revisions to Section L and M were necessary. An amendment to the draft RFP was posted on 22 March 2018 with the questions and answers that were available at that time, while continuing the revisions and further responses. It was also determined that a site visit to Panama, which occurred on 18 February 2018 would prove beneficial to further determine if any barriers to competition existed that unduly limited or overly restricted the competition and make any necessary adjustments to the solicitation.

A six month extension to continue the contract was issued on 17 April 2018 to allow time to: 1) revise the solicitation as a result of Industry responses to the draft RFP; 2) revise the evaluation criteria; 3) and update the PWS with information to help guide potential vendors with establishing operations in Panama. A revised solicitation with a new RFP number (W91151-18-R-0063) was posted to FBO on 21 September 2018. Questions are expected and responses will be provided by 22 October 2018. An additional seven

(7) month extension to 31 May 2019 is necessary to complete execution of a new follow-on competitive contract.

(2) TRAX International Corporation, the incumbent, is the only source possessing the trained personnel assets, management team, institutional knowledge, equipment, management and other resources to continue the ongoing and upcoming test requirements in the tropics region for the proposed extension period.

(3) The TRTC has approximately six tests in the planning and execution phase that will be significantly impacted by any lapse or delays in contract support provided through the TTSS contract. TRTC is currently conducting long-term exposure tests that would be negatively and irreparably impacted if test monitoring stopped or a new vendor attempted to relocate test items to another physical location. Any lapse in performance would also impact planning for upcoming tests and any planned test execution intended for the upcoming months when humidity and moisture are historically at their highest levels. Calculating the costs of testing delays is not feasible. These tests directly support fielding of the latest technology improvements for the Army’s critical war-fighting equipment. TRAX has performed under the TTSS contract since receiving a competitive award on 14 April 2011.

(4) The TRTC requires a contractor which possesses a staff of multi-dimensionally skilled personnel to provide TTSS through the end of May 2019 with minimal disruption. The functional areas described in paragraph 3, above, are all interrelated services that must be managed and performed by one source to ensure seamless support services to the on-going and scheduled test programs.

b. Alternatives:

(1) Allow the current extended contract to expire and suspend services until the follow-on is awarded. This is not a viable option. TRTC would lose experienced contract personnel; total loss of access to existing test facilities and test areas, and complete loss of critical test data for ongoing tests. The TRTC’s testing mission is invaluable to the Army’s continuing need to improve current weapons/equipment and the fielding of new weapons/equipment to the warfighter. TRTC is the only Government activity that performs tropical testing in a “real world” environment. As such, TRTC cannot halt its mission performance without adversely impacting the Army. TRTC’s mission is critical to the validation of Army equipment design and the only test method that enables the integration of the actual user into this environmental testing. This integration enables TRTC to fully test equipment; measuring its effectiveness in meeting mission performance parameters while operating in varied terrain and weather by those who will use the equipment in combat, and provide Army decision makers the information needed to evaluate systems for continued development or production.

(2) Allow the current extended contract to expire and perform services with Government Resources. This is not a viable option. The Government does not have sufficient personnel with the expertise to manage TRTC OCONUS sites; furthermore, travel and per diem costs make this alternative cost prohibitive. TRTC is not resourced to perform the services required. The shift to reliance on contractors to perform functions has resulted from the downsizing of the civilian workforce over the years and has resulted in a transference of technical expertise and support functions from the Government to private industry. The lengthy process of hiring government employees makes it impossible to recruit and hire qualified personnel through the Government civilian personnel system in the reduced time available, thus rendering this alternative unrealistic and unachievable. There is no other Army activity that has the capability of performing these services in support of TRTC, primarily as the vast majority of the testing is performed in Panama, Honduras, and Suriname.

(3) Award a new, competitively solicited, short-term contract until the follow-on competitive solicitation can be awarded. This is not a viable option. First, there is not adequate time to compete a short-term bridge contract before the end of the current extended contract end date of 31 October 2018. Second, it is highly unlikely that industry will be interested in a short term, low value contract given the effort and expense to research the requirements to establish a presence in Panama, review the solicitation, and develop the required technical and cost proposals and with no assurance that they will benefit from that effort for the follow-on acquisition.

6. Efforts to Obtain Competition:

a. Effective Competition: Effective competition for the long-term competitive resolicitation is anticipated based upon dialogue with vendors in response to the draft Request for Proposals (RFP) posted to FedBizOpps on 17 November 2017.

Program/Equipment: Tropic Test Support Services

Version – March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

b. Subcontracting Competition: There are no known subcontracting opportunities because the majority of the performance on the contract occurs outside the continental United States. The majority of the contract is for labor accomplished by Panamanian local nationals and there are no known subcontracting opportunities.

7. Actions to Increase Competition:

a. As discussed in paragraph 5.a.(1), a RFI was issued to the OASIS contractors within Pools 3 and 4.

The OCONUS capability in the OASIS contract does not account for performance in foreign countries where no U.S. military presence exists. With the preponderance of the work occurring in tropical regions and the magnitude of the level of effort for a sustained period unduly burdensome for a small business, the Contracting Officer made the determination to proceed with this requirement as an unrestricted full and open competitive solicitation.

Additionally, the Contracting Officer intends to use the evaluation criteria that was revised due to the Army’s corrective action to eliminate any barriers in competition. As a result of questions received from Industry in response to the (new) draft RFP, additional solicitation revisions to Sections L and M were necessary and additional updates were made to the PWS to assist vendors with establishing operations in the country of Panama.

b. A site visit was conducted to ensure that any barriers to competition were identified and to also clarify actions that offerors would need to pursue with regards to becoming licensed in Panama in order to successfully operate in Panama with links to the US Embassy’s business development section and their links to Panamanian professionals that aid US companies wishing to establish business operations in Panama. This resulted in changes to some of the evaluation factors, as well as the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Challenges were also made by potential offerors about the efficacy of the Army’s tropical testing occurring chiefly in Panama and being headquartered in Panama, Further research identified an Army scientific study done in 1999 that had determined Panama offered the best climate for extreme Tropical testing.

8. Market Research:

a. In accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 205.205-71, DFARS 206.302-1(d), and DFARS Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) 206.302-1(d), a new draft RFP was posted to FedBizOpps on 6 November 2017 and the results are shown in Addendum two (2) dated 24 January 2018, to the approved Market Research Report dated 4 February 2015. Addendum one (1) was dated 12 July 2016.

Program/Equipment: Tropic Test Support Services

Version – March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

b. Addendum 2 addresses the issuance of the RFP, the preaward protest and the issuance of a draft RFP based on the corrective action. On 27 January 2017, an RFP (W9124R-17-R-0001) was posted to FedBizOpps. On 2 February 2017, a preaward protest was filed by X-EETO, Incorporated, in response to the RFP. After reviewing X- EETO’s protest allegations, the Army decided to voluntarily take corrective action. The corrective action was to consist of the following: (1) re-examine the Army’s requirements in comparison to the solicitation terms and conditions; (2) ensure the solicitation terms and conditions do not unduly limit or overly restrict competition; (3) amend the solicitation, if necessary, to remove any overly restrictive terms or conditions; and (4) re-issue the solicitation.

c. In an effort to implement the corrective actions above, the solicitation (focusing largely on Sections L & M, the Performance Work Statement, and the Performance Requirements Summary) was re-examined and revisions were made. A draft RFP (W9124R-17-R-0004), containing these revisions, was then posted to FedBizOpps on 6 November 2017 for Industry feedback. Questions pertaining to the draft RFP were received from interested vendors: See Table 1 below for additional information.

TABLE 1

d. Based on the Questions received from Industry in response to the draft RFP, it was determined that additional solicitation revisions were necessary especially to Section L and M. A site visit to Panama was conducted to determine what barriers to competition, if any, would unduly limit or overly restrict the competition.

e. A waiver to the requirement to post a sources sought or request for information as required by DFARS 206.302-1(d) and DFARS Procedures, Guidance and Information 206.302-1(d) was approved on 23 September 2015 by George M. Cabaniss Jr., MICC Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting.

9. Interested Sources: Not Applicable

10. Other Facts:

a. Procurement History:

(1) Contract numbers and dates of the previous contracts for these same requirements.

Previous Contracts Period of Performance W9124R-11-C-0009 01 May 2011 – 31 October 2018 DATM07-02-C-0005 01 October 2001 – 30 April 2011

(2) The previous two contracts were competed using full and open competition.

(3) Justifications and Approvals for the extensions to the current contract have been necessary due to delays and changes in the acquisition strategy and PWS requirements for the follow-on contract.

(4) There are no unusual patterns that may be revealed by the procurement history.

(5) There are specific legal implications for conducting business in foreign countries and utilizing foreign national employees (as a third party) for conducting business for the United States Government. In countries where the U.S. State Department and U.S. Department of Defense have established appropriate treaties and Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) the contractor may generally operate under the appropriate umbrella. However, no such treaties or agreements currently exist with the Republic of Panama. Therefore, the contractor must be incorporated in and possess, including but not limited to, the appropriate business licenses and tax registrations necessary to conduct business in the Republic of Panama. Test execution and support is to be provided by a contractor activity in Panama City, Republic of Panama.

Program/Equipment: Tropic Test Support Services

Version – March 2018 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

11. Technical Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

12. Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which are included in the justification are accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

13. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated cost or price to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable. This determination will be made using price analysis. As a part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data will be required.

14. Contracting Officer Certification: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Edgar Angulo Contracting Officer

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the modification to contract W9124R-11-C-0009 for Tropic Test Support Services to TRAX International Corporation to extend the period of performance for up to seven months for potential performance through 31 May 2019 in the amount of $1.6M on a full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. This approval is subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and property herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

SCOTT D. KUKES Date Command Advocate for Competition:

US Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Ft. Sam Houston TX