Sole Source Justification_FAR Part 13-5_W9124J-20-P-0030_ARNORTH FFT SME Support_posting_final I_082020.pdf

Control No: Sam Houston-2020-24

Contractor: Trailblazer Innovations, Inc.

Program/Equipment: ARNORTH FFT Tracker SMEs

Version –March 2017 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR SUBPART 13.5 SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS –

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

Program/Equipment: This project consists of procurement of subject matter expert technicians and operational support, sustainment, and parts for ARNORTH Friendly Force Tracking devices.

Authority: Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5.

Amount:

Version –March 2017 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support sole source.

Version – March 2017 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

FAR Subpart 13.5 Simplified Procedures for

Certain Commercial Items – Sole Source Justification and Approval

1- Contracting Activity: Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) at Fort Sam Houston

2- Description of Action: ARNORTH requests a firm-fixed price contract with Trailblazer Innovations, Inc. The Government projects award for August 2020 and fiscal year 2020, Operations and Maintenance (OMA) funds will be used.

An acquisition plan is not required because this procurement does not meet the threshold at Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 207.103(d)(i)(B).

Insert approval authority title approved an acquisition plan in accordance with DFARS

207.103(d)(i)(B) on (insert date).

The required acquisition plan in accordance with DFARS 207.103(d)(i)(B) is currently awaiting (insert approval authority title) approval.

3- Description of Supplies/Services: This procurement proposes for Trailblazer Innovations, Inc. to provide Friendly Force Tracking (FFT) Subject Matter Expert (SME) operational support for the sustainment and maintenance of FFT devices. ARNORTH utilizes the FFT devices to provide the Common Operational Picture (COP) with real time track data on units engaged in Homeland Defense (HD), Theater Security Cooperation (TSC), and Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) operations/missions. ARNORTH requires support from the contractor to ensure all personnel utilizing tracking, personnel recovery and Situational Awareness (SA) systems are provided training, technical/operational support, which includes repairs. FFT devices are also utilized for emergency messaging via Iridium based Satellite infrastructure.

The period of performance (including all options) and value of this requirement is as follows:

Base Year: 16 August 2020 – 15 August 2021;

Option Period I: 16 August 2021 – 15 August 2022;

4- Authority Cited: Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items, 41 U.S.C. 1901 (or 41 U.S.C.

1903 for Special Emergency Procurement) as implemented by FAR Subpart 13.5:

Unusual and compelling urgency Exclusive licensing agreements Industrial mobilization Other: State the purpose.

5- Reason for Authority Cited:

ARNORTH, together with its partners, prepares for unified land operations, conducts security cooperation activities, and protects the force within the US NORTHCOM Area of Operations (AOR) to contribute to the defense and security of the United States and its interests. In order to complete it mission, ARNORTH must utilize hundreds of Trailblazer Innovations, Inc. (TBI) hand-held tracking devices and TBI provided/managed situational awareness tools throughout North America and the Caribbean to provide ARNORTH Commander and US NORTHCOM Commander with near-real-time situational awareness, tactical level secure command and control messaging, and 24/7-365 emergency alerting notifications for ARNORTH personnel. There will be substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition; and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements would occur if we do not proceed under this authority.

TBI personnel have been cornerstones in the development, engineering, fielding and training of FFT systems that are in use across the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of State. TBI has a proven tracking record supporting ARNORTH. Between 2012 and 2017, ARNORTH was provided 151 TBI handheld tracking systems. With those devices, NORTHCOM provided the necessary SME support, sustainment, training, 24/7-365 help desk, and 24/7-365 emergency alert notifications via a TBI contract that was competitively awarded by Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane. From 2017 thru 2020 ARNORTH expanded their FFT capability by procuring thirty-six (36) TBI Advanced Vehicle trackers that were installed by TBI on ARNORTH Emergency Response Vehicles. These devices have been sustained and maintained by TBI via the US NORTHCOM FFT Contract that was awarded to them via US Army Communications Electronics RD&E Center (CERDEC), under W911NF-17-C- 0045. Additionally, ARNORTH recently procured 143 TBI Hand-Held Tracking System (HHTS) devices and will absorb another 150 TBI HHTS devices currently deployed on the South West Border (SWB) into ARNORTH inventory. These devices provide critical capability and are maintained, sustained, and supported by TBI under the existing, but expiring NORTHCOM Contract, W911NF-17- C-0045.

TBI systems utilize proprietary TBI configurations, unique encryption keys, and firmware that ensure the Army North Joint Force Land Component Commander (ARNORTH/JFLCC) devices are interoperable with US NORTHCOM Situational Awareness Geospatial Enterprise (SAGE); Guardian;

Geospatial Environment Command and Control Operations (GEC2O); and with the existing JFLCC and other DoD systems. TBI also utilizes unique tools to provide remote configuration of HHTS devices. TBI is the SME and sole integrator of the various systems used by ARNORTH to support border FFT operations. The TBI HHTS devices, along with GUARDIAN/GEC2O/SAGE systems, combined with TBI’s 24/7 support, are critical to ARNORTH operations. These SME services are not available by any other company, therefore no comparison packages have been completed due to lack of available competition. TBI brings unequaled historical knowledge; unique firmware; ability to remote command; experience with systems they installed on each Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV); and synergy with hundreds of other DoD Agencies they support – of key interest being other NORTHCOM Components and the National Guard Bureau. Procurement of these services, support, and sustainment from another contractor would render all ARNORTH owned and operated TBI HHTS non-functional with systems such as Guardian; would remove any repair capability and eliminate the 24/7-365 help desk and support. Furthermore, selecting a different contractor would eliminate our sustainment capability for ERV tracking systems, reduce operational capability and training and ultimately generate new requirements for ARNORTH to develop a compatible common operational pictures, a repair facility, a 24/7-365 help desk, and a 24/7-365 emergency alert notification center – which will significantly increase costs. Pursuing this on a competitive basis would require all current equipment to be completely replaced and all systems would be rendered inoperable.

TBI is the only authorized contractor with the proprietary software and exclusive agreements. These one-of-a-kind capabilities allow TBI to provision, configure, upgrade, troubleshoot and repair each of the hardware suites to meet ARNORTH requirements for data security, sharing, and reliability.

TBI is also the only authorized repair center for the hardware and has an exclusive agreement with Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) for component and code level troubleshooting, upgrade, configuration, and restoration functions. Finally, TBI is the only agency that has the ability to integrate cellular and Iridium data into tailored architectures in support of the ARNORTH mission.

TBI’s breadth of knowledge of FFT architectures, operational tempos, and synergistic opportunities enables us to evaluate requirements and tailor programs to meet each customer’s unique needs.

In sum, procurement from any other contractor would cause unacceptable complications in training, sustainment, and operations, which would place command and control communications at serious risk during exercises and contingency operations. Any other procurement method, such as competition, would require all devices and equipment in use by ARNORTH to be completely replaced and all systems would be rendered inoperable. TBI is the sole integrator for these systems into GUARDIAN/GEC2O and SAGE, no other contractor can provide the required service. These systems/devices are considered mission essential because they are life and safety devices and the only means of communication for deployed personnel. Personnel are currently deployed in austere environments supporting border operations. If the systems are not supported and operational, deployed personnel will have no means to communicate if they need assistance or run into any issues.

There are no alternative options available that meet the requirements of ARNORTH. Due to the nature of the border operation, operations cannot be suspended even temporarily. ARNORTH does not have the manpower nor expertise to use in-house personnel, and ARNORTH would still not be able to utilize the required systems without contractor support. There are no other systems that meet ARNORTH requirements for FFT tracking, so replacement is not an option. Each element of the system and the support are tied together to create an effective mission capability that is exclusively provided by TBI. The SME support required for our existing systems and devices are considered mission essential and provide life safety, critical communications, and emergency alerting capability to deployed forces. These systems, and the support provided ensure that deployed personnel in austere environments can communicate, and alert HHQ during life threatening events. They also provide HHQ with near-real-time situational awareness which ensures leadership can provide crucial information, protection, and support. Lacking the systems, situational awareness tools and the contractor support;

ARNORTH will lose the ability to command and control and protect our forces; which would result in a severely degraded mission and significant increase in risk for the JFLCC.

The SME support required for our existing systems and devices are considered mission essential and provide life safety, critical communications, and emergency alerting capability to deployed forces.

These systems, and the support provided ensure that deployed personnel in austere environments can communicate, and alert HHQ during life threatening events. They also provide HHQ with near-real-time situational awareness which ensures leadership can provide crucial information, protection, and support. Lacking the systems, situational awareness tools and the contractor support; ARNORTH will lose the ability to command and control and protect our forces; which would result in a severely degraded mission and significant increase in risk for the JFLCC.

6- Efforts to Obtain Competition: The Contracting Officer shall publish the notices required by FAR

5.201. Removal of barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the services required was not economically feasible within the time required for completion.

7- Actions to Increase Competition: Army North will continue to review other vendors' solutions as they become available for future competition of this requirement.

8- Market Research: A Sources Sought, under Solicitation PANMCC-18-P-0000 02301, was posted to the beta.SAM.gov government-wide central website, on 02 July 2020 with responses due no later than 15 July 2020. The Sources Sought indicated that the Army was seeking information for planning and informational purposes only and requested all firms to submit a capabilities statement demonstrating their experience in the computer services field. There were zero (00) responses to the posting.

9- Interested Sources: To date, no other sources have written to express interest in the acquisition.

10- Other Facts: N/A

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11- Technical/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.

12- 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 the following:

Price analysis Cost Analysis

IGCE

Other: Insert number here

As a part of this basis, certified cost or pricing data is not required because the item and/or services being acquired are considered commercial.

Date: See Digital Signature Regina Espinoza Contracting Officer

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

Date: See Digital Signature Regina Espinoza Contracting Officer