DEPARTMENT OF WAR

WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES

1155 DEFENSE PENTAGON

WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1155

ACQUISITION DIRECTORATE

WHS-2026-2180

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURES

FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL ITEMS

UNDER FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 12

1. AGENCY AND CONTRACTING ACTIVITY: The Department of War, Washington Headquarters

Services, Acquisition Directorate Enterprise Services & Security Division (ESSD).

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies (GCMC) is seeking approval of a Sole Source Justification to establish a new, single award, firm-fixed price (FFP) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for daily prepared meal services with Armed Forces Recreation Centers Europe, doing business as (dba) Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, a non-appropriated funded (NAF) Governmental entity. The BPA will be funded using annual Operations and Maintenance (O&M) funding allocated to GCMC.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: The contractor shall provide all food, beverages, personnel, equipment, supplies, and facilities necessary to deliver daily prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal services to GCMC program participants. The contractor must be capable of serving up to 50+ personnel simultaneously within tight academic scheduling windows, while complying with food safety and installation security standards.

a. Performance Period: The ordering period for this Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) shall be for five (5) years from the Date of Award.

b. Quantities/Estimated Value: The Master Limit (ceiling) of this BPA is $350,000.00. Call orders will be issued on a firm-fixed-price basis for specific GCMC courses as requirements materialize.

4. AUTHORITY CITED: This action is under the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part

12 under the authority of FAR 12.102(a).

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED: The justification is based on physical security boundaries and logistical constraints. GCMC program participants are often international military and defense officials, who are housed in government-provided billeting within a US Army installation in Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany (USAG-Bavaria Garmisch Community). By virtue of being on a government installation, ELR provides force protection measures and Government vetting of its employees, as well as other dining guests, and thus meets safety and security requirements for the GCMC course participants.

Requiring participants to go off-post daily for meals introduces security vulnerabilities and allowing off-post vendors to cater meals would require the Government to invest resources in a dining space; which is cost prohibitive.

Secondly, the GCMC academic curriculum operates on a compressed schedule with strictly limited time allotments for meals. To meet scheduling requirements, it is essential that provided meals are located within a safe, immediate walking distance of all billeting and classroom locations.

ELR is the only vendor physically located within the required walking-distance radius and operates entirely within the secured footprint. No other commercial entity can satisfy the dual requirements of physical proximity and installation security.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: To ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, market research was conducted within the local Garmisch-Partenkirchen commercial sector to identify capable vendors. Consistent with the publicizing requirements of FAR Subpart 5.0 and FAR 5.201, a notice of intent to Sole Source will be publicized on the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE) via SAM.gov. This public notice will run for a reasonable period to allow any interested commercial vendor the opportunity to submit a proposal or capability statement demonstrating their ability to meet the strict physical security, force protection, and walking-distance constraints of the GCMC campus.

7. FAIR AND REASONABLE COST DETERMINATION: The Contracting Officer determines that the anticipated prices will be fair and reasonable by using the techniques identified at 15.404-1(b) to ensure award will be at fair and reasonable prices. Certified Cost and Pricing Data will not be obtained.

8. MARKET RESEARCH: Market research effort focused on identifying commercial restaurants, hotels, and catering operations within Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Sources utilized included reviews of local commercial business directories and historical vendor performance queries for local food service providers.

Evaluated sources were measured against GCMC’s strict, non-negotiable operational parameters:

1. Proximity: The physical location must be within safe, practical walking distance of the GCMC academic classrooms (Sheridan Kaserne) and student billeting (Sheridan and Artillery Kaserne) due to highly compressed daily schedules.

2. Security: The facility must operate within, or have direct, seamless access to, the installation to mitigate security risks and avoid unvetted off-post transit.

3. Scale: The vendor must have pre-existing commercial dining infrastructure capable of seating and serving up to 50+ personnel simultaneously.

While the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area contains numerous commercial restaurants and caterers, they are located off-post. Selecting any of these off-post sources would fail the walking-distance requirement, introduce security/escort vulnerabilities for GCMC’s participants, or require the government to fund and operate a dedicated daily shuttle service.

Market research confirmed that Edelweiss Lodge and Resort is the sole commercial vendor capable of satisfying the Government's requirements.

9. ANY OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF SOLE SOURCE: Historically, GCMC meal services were provided by vendors contracted to operate a traditional Dining Facility (DFAC). The most recent contract was IDIQ (HQ084724D0001). Under the previous vehicle, the contractor operated a DFAC utilizing a government-furnished building located on the installation. This setup allowed for competitive procurements of operating the DFAC. The Government no longer provides a contractor operated DFAC, thus the acquisition strategy has shifted to procuring commercial restaurant services where the vendor utilizes their own existing infrastructure.

10. INTERESTED SOURCES: To date, no other sources have expressed interest in writing. Any capability statements, proposals, or quotations received in response to the synopsis on SAM.gov will be fully evaluated by the Contracting Officer.

11. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION: AD and GCMC will continue to evaluate ongoing security initiatives and long-term infrastructure alternatives, which includes exploring the feasibility of securing a dedicated on-post dining space.

Is this acquisition for a non-competitive follow-on acquisition previously awarded on a non-competitive basis?

☐Yes ☒ No.

CERTIFICATION

I, hereby, certify that the supporting data under my cognizance included in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer Date

APPROVAL

I, hereby, certify that the supporting data under my cognizance included in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Contracting Officer

Date

This justification is approved.