Attachment_0009_-_RFP_Q As.pdf

W564KV‐17‐R‐0001

Attachment 0009

Question # RFP Reference Document QUESTION ANSWER 001 PWS 5.5.1.2 PWS Could you please provide JMSC Exercise Planning SOP that is referenced in PWS 5.5.1.2. PWS paragraph 5.5.1.2 states, "The Contractor shall assemble and deliver exercise design products IAW Government guidance and the Exercise Design Planning and Preparation Deliverable Product List excerpt from the JMSC exercise planning SOP, included with this PWS as Attachment G." The excerpt is provided in the PWS;

however, it is provided as Attachment F. The PWS has been updated to reflect this change.

002 RFP, L.1.2.a;

Delivery;

Section L "Proposals shall be received no later than the due date and time specified for receipt of proposal via one of the addresses listed below."

The proposal submission date is Monday, 21 November. With the upcoming holiday, travel is limited. Will the Government extend the submission date to Tuesday, 22 November to provide Monday as a travel day for contractors hand delivering their proposals.

No, the proposal due date will remain 21 November as stated.

003 RFP, L.3.2.2.1.a.ii, page 61; PART B, Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan;

Section L "Phase Out – The offeror shall detail its processes and timelines for continuing full performance while providing a successful and cooperative transition for the follow‐on contract as required by the PWS. The Offeror shall detail its plan for executing a realistic and feasible time‐phased approach to transitioning‐out all of the PWS requirements."

Will the Government provide a copy of the incumbent’s Phase Out Plan to ensure a smooth transition?

No, a copy of the incumbent's phase‐out plan will not be provided during the solicitation. It is the Government intention to include the incoming contractor in the required phase out meetings that will be conducted.

004 RFP, L.3.2.2.2.c, page

62; PART B,

Subfactor 2: Staffing Plan;

Section L "Staffing plan identifying all positions required to meet the tasks listed in the PWS. This documentation shall include labor categories/ types along with proposed hours, proposed position descriptions, levels of expertise, experience levels, clearances associated with the position, and location of the personnel."

Will the Government require offerors to show this same information in the Cost Volume to ensure uniformity in both volumes?

The Price/Cost Volume should easily cross‐walk information for ease of staffing evaluation from a price and technical standpoint. The information does not have to be exactly the same but evaluators should be able to compare the volumes against each other.

005 RFP, L.3.4.1.a, page 64; Price

Section L "FPAF CLINs: The Offeror shall provide its proposed price for all FPAF CLINs in Microsoft Excel detailing its fixed prices and summarizing using Attachment 0005 ‐ Cost/Price Matrix for the base year and option years."

Is the offeror required to submit build‐ups to include base rates and indirect rates utilized to develop proposed labor rates for the FPAF CLINs?

Please refer to the RFP, paragraph L.3.4.1(a), for revisions to the requirements for FPAF CLINs.

006 RFP, L.3.4.1.a, page 64; Price

Section L "FPAF CLINs: The Offeror shall provide its proposed price for all FPAF CLINs in Microsoft Excel detailing its fixed prices and summarizing using Attachment 0005 ‐ Cost/Price Matrix for the base year and option years. Attachment 0005 will be used to calculate the total evaluated price. The prices shall include all personnel; management; transportation inside of the hub, spoke, and JMSC/JMRC; travel to include logistics support movement of equipment; and other services necessary to perform the requirements outlined in the PWS."

In order to assist offeror’s with estimating costs for travel inside the hub and spoke sites, will the Government provide historical travel information for these requirements?

No, historical information for travel inside the hub and spoke sites will not be provided as different technical performance solutions require different amounts of travel.

007 RFP, L.3.4.2, page 65;

Price

Section L "If a proposed subcontractor chooses to provide its cost/price information independently to the Government, it shall submit its cost/price proposal IAW the submission instructions outlined in paragraph L.1.2 above."

Will the Government confirm that this pertains to major subcontractors only?

No, paragraph L.3.4.2 pertains to all subcontractors wishing to submit their cost/price information independently.

MCTS Draft RFP Questions

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Question # RFP Reference Document QUESTION ANSWER MCTS Draft RFP Questions

008 RFP, M.2.5, page 68 Section M "Prior to award, the Government shall make an affirmative determination of responsibility by analyzing whether the apparent successful Offeror complies with the requirements of FAR 9.1."

The FAR, Part 9.105‐3.b., ‐‐ Disclosure of Pre‐award Information. The contracting officer may discuss pre‐award survey information with the prospective contractor before determining responsibility. After award, the contracting officer or, if it is appropriate, the head of the surveying activity or a designee may discuss the findings of the pre‐award survey with the company surveyed.

Will the Government discuss any information collected in question with the offeror during the pre‐ award period to ensure the most complete analysis is used for award consideration?

IAW FAR 9.105‐3(b), the contracting officer MAY discuss pre‐award survey information with the prospective contractor before determining RESPONSIBILITY.

009 PWS, 1.1.4, page 3;

PART B, Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS "Primary simulation federations used at JMSC are the Joint Live Virtual Constructive (JLVC) and/or Joint Land Component Constructive Training Capability‐Entity Resolution Federation (JLCCTC‐ERF)."

WARSIM is identified in TE3 and MRF is identified in the approved acronyms.

What is the demand and support team expertise required to support MRF‐based simulation exercises?

JMSC (including VMTC and KMTC) will receive a WARSIM‐based MRF in the summer of 2019 to support exercises. In August 2019, JMSC will receive a beta fielding of the WARSIM‐based MRF (version 8.0 with the KORCOM Bridge) for the purpose of internal to USAREUR interoperability testing. It is not expected that this version will support training. JMSC will receive technical and functional New Equipment Training for both the fielding in 2017 and 2019.

010 PWS, 1.1.7, page 4;

PART B, Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS "Recent events have shifted the focus of many exercises to support operational deployments within Europe. These shifts in location are important for situational awareness and planning but should not impact workload."

The incumbent routinely deploys one to several personnel to support multinational training events hosted at multinational sites other than Hub, Spoke, or JMRC ‐ locations (not included in TE 3).

What is the historical demand for support to these events, so we can accurately forecast FFP requirements to support concurrent hub/spoke/ JMRC training that may have demand for the same personnel/skills?

Travel locations and dates have been added as Attachment 0008 ‐ TDY Travel Data

011 PWS, 5.5, page 34;

PART B, Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS "Specific tasks listed below shall be provided at all locations unless otherwise noted."

Does the term “all locations” mean the hub/spoke and JMRC locations?

"All Locations" means any location that involves an exercise that JMSC is required to support. This includes the spokes and JMRC but JELC events regularly take place at diverse locations around the USAREUR and AFRICOM AORs. This also includes locations in CONUS ISO these events.

012 PWS, 5.5.1.2, page

34; PART B,

Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS "Produce Exercise Design Products. The Contractor shall assemble and deliver exercise design products IAW Government guidance and the Exercise Design Planning and Preparation Deliverable Product List excerpt from the JMSC exercise planning SOP, included with this PWS as Attachment G.

Exercise design products are those products defining the operational requirements of the exercise (for example: Timeline, ESMD, ECG documents, room builds.)."

Attachment G is the JMRC Exercise Products List Attachment F is the JMSC Exercise Products List

Did the Government mean to refer to both lists?

See response to Question #1

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Question # RFP Reference Document QUESTION ANSWER MCTS Draft RFP Questions

013 PWS, 5.5.3, page 35;

PART B, Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS "Participate in Exercise Control Group (ECG). During execution, the Contractor shall participate, and when necessary, lead efforts for coordination and synchronization of products and activities within the ECG."

Is the contractor empowered to make decisions concerning the exercise in support of ECG responsibilities?

No. JMSC has a robust government staff that will be involved in all aspects of exercise planning and execution.

014 PWS, 5.5.6, page 36;

PART B, Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS Scenario Development and Management. …The Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining knowledge and experience to provide products at one to two levels above the rotational unit, IAW current doctrine (See Part 6) to include integration of Hybrid Threats, across and within each US WfF and NATO functional areas as appropriate to meet training objectives.

Will the contractor have access to the current regional threat assessments and operational environment products developed and maintained by TRADOC G2, USAREUR G2, and applicable NATO resources?

TRADOC G2's resources are web based REL Public and CAC accessible by JMSC personnel.

NATO's resources are restricted to what NATO wishes to release to JMSC on an exercise by exercise basis. One NATO supporting scenario belongs to JMSC and is developed in house and will be readily available.

USAREUR G2's resources will only be made available for case based need to know.

EUCOM G2's resources will only be made available for case based need to know.

015 PWS, 5.5.6.7, page

38; PART B,

Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS "JMRC Pre‐Rotational Products. Prior to the start of the rotation, the Contractor shall produce a base OPORD and the necessary FRAGOs corresponding to rotational battle periods as defined by the Government during the JELC planning process."

The pre‐rotational products excludes the road‐to‐war (RTW). Is the RTW a required pre‐rotation product?

See changes to PWS paragraph 5.5.1.2 and paragraph 5.5.6.7. At JMRC, the intelligence planners create road‐to‐war.

016 PWS, 5.5.9.1, page

41; PART B,

Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS Operate Simulation Client. At JMRC, the Contractor shall operate constructive simulation clients during the execution of an exercise. When required to avoid imminent mission failure at JMSC, the Contractor shall operate constructive simulation clients during the execution of an exercise.

For exercise support at non‐Hub/ Spoke and JMRC locations, will the contractor be required to operate simulation clients? If so, which ones?

At JMRC, the contractor is responsible for operating all constructive simulation models throughout the entire exercise this include all current and future constructive models.

At JMSC, for exercise support at non‐Hub/ Spoke and JMRC locations, the contractor may be required to operate constructive simulation clients.

017 PWS, Part 7, Technical Exhibit 3, page 63‐64; PART B, Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan / Subfactor 2: Staffing Plan; Price

PWS JMSC Estimated Workload Data. The JMRC workload data accounts for 10 exercises/events per year. Historically, JMRC has run 1‐3 additional variants for an approved RTU cycle reusing most of the base ESP documentation however creating near full replication of contractor support for the additional exercise variant. The contract team also provided support for the simulation client supported JTAC‐ training events supported at JMRC. Collectively, these translated to 3‐4 additional equivalent exercises per year

Does JMRC plan to run additional exercises that require contractor support other than those specified in TE3. If so, is the support for these exercises included in the FPAF CLIN?

As specified in Technical Exhibit 3 (JMRC Estimated Workload Data) pages 68‐71, the contractor is responsible for providing all simulations support listed in Technical Exhibit 3. This support may include Bde/Bn exercises, Bde/Bn CPX/LTP events, Bde/Bn LFX support, Tactical Gaming(TG) events, and Fielding/NET events as listed in Technical Exhibit 3.

018 Attachment 0005 Cost‐Price Matrix, Section B, CLIN 0001, MCTS Phase‐In Support

Att 0005 Will the Government consider providing a plug number for Phase‐In Support in order to minimize incumbent pricing advantages?

Alternatively, will the Government consider removing the Phase‐In price from the Total Evaluated Price?

No, a plug number will not be provided for Phase‐In Support; nor will the Government remove the Phase‐In price from the Total Evaluated Price.

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Question # RFP Reference Document QUESTION ANSWER MCTS Draft RFP Questions

019 PWS 1.6.20;

Subfactor 1:

Execution Plan

PWS Recent rulings have shown that although the Government can conduct these coalition exercises in support of PfP or other agreements, contractors must apply for ITAR licenses for each exercise requiring multinational support. To avoid undue delays, associated with requiring the contractor to obtain an export license for each exercise, would the Government insert the following language in the contract award that will facilitate this requirement?

“In furtherance of the JMSC mission, and under the provisions of 22 CFR 126.4(a) and 125.4(b)(3), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the contractor and its subcontractors are hereby authorized to provide non‐personal engineering, technical, administrative and training defense services and technical data to_(list countries involved)_______ in ___(list country where the work will happen)___ .”

Per responses to Industry Day questions, the Government declines to add the recommended language to the PWS.

See PWS paragraph 1.2.2, "Per Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.224‐7048, the Contractor is responsible to comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding export‐controlled items."

‐ The DFARS PGI specifically instructs contracting officers not to answer contractor questions about ITAR compliance, rather to refer them to the Department of State ‐ ITAR is administered by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) at the State Department ‐ The Government looked at the language in 22 CFR and understand the contractor's point, but it's not the Government's call, its the Contractor's.

‐ The Contractor has to determine what is required for compliance, not the contracting officer or DoD ‐ If 22 CFR provides a legitimate exemption to the ITAR's export licensing requirements, the contract does not need to be modified to take advantage of the exemption.

020 5152. 204‐4003 ANIT‐

MAFIA LAW

REQUREMENTS

(ITALY) (JUNE 2016),

4. Submittal Requirement, page

RFP "(a) An original copy, un‐expired and not older than two months at the time of bid opening, of the Chamber of Commerce Certificate of Membership (Certificate di Iscrizione alla Camera di Commercio). The Certificate must include the statement transcribed below, required by art. 9 and of the D.P.R. no. 252 dated 3 June 1998: "Nulla osta ai fini dell’articolo 10 della Legge 31 Maggio 1965 n. 575, e successive modificazioni. La presente certificazione e’ emessa dalla CCIAA utilizzando il collegamento telematico con il sistema informativo utilizzato dalla Prefettura di Roma."

(b) Original copies, un‐expired and not older than one month at the time of the bid opening, of the Family Status and Residency Certificates of each and every member of the firm, as listed in the Chamber of Commerce Certificate of Membership (per Decreto Legislativo no. 490 of 8 Aug. 1994, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale no. 186 of Aug. 10 1994)."

1) Are these certifications required for a U.S. organization supporting this contract?

2) If these certifications are required, are they due at time of submission or will the Government accept them before the start of contract?

3) If required, are these certificates required from the Prime Offeror, or from the Prime plus any teammates with personnel in Italy?

4) When it states "Family Status and Residency Certificates of each and every member of the firm.."

does this really apply to all members of the affected companies? Or only of the employees working in Italy?

Clause 5152.204‐4003 Anti‐Mafia Law Requirement has been removed from the solicitation.

021 Attachment 0004 and Section L.3.3.2.b (page 63 of 74)

Section L "Attachment 0004 Past Performance Questionnaire cover letter states that the PPQs are due to be completed no later than November 17, 2016 , however Section L.3.3.2.b states the are due "must be received by the closing date and time of this RFP"."

Can the Government please clarify if they want the PPQs on the 17th or the 21st of November?

Attachment 0004 has been updated to reflect that PPQs should be received NLT 21 November 2016.

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Question # RFP Reference Document QUESTION ANSWER MCTS Draft RFP Questions

022 Section L ‐ Instruction, Conditions, and Notices to Bidders, Section L.3.2.2.1 ‐ Subfactor: Execution Plan (a. Transition during Phase In & Phase Out, i. Phase In paragraph 2, page

Section L "L.3.2.2.1 –SUBFACTOR: EXECUTION PLAN ‐ The offeror shall demonstrate the ability to fill the proposed positions under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Germany, the Shell Agreement with Italy through the DoD Contractor Personnel Office (DOCPER) and/or utilizing European business rules in the case of Ordinarily Resident (OR) employees."

If a U.S. Company is operating based on the Shell Agreement in Italy now, how does it apply to clause 5152. 204‐4003 Anti‐Mafia Law Requirements (Italy) (June 2006)?

Clause 5152.204‐4003 Anti‐Mafia Law Requirement has been removed from the solicitation.

023 L.1 SUBMISSION OF

OFFERS

L.1.2 Submission p., (page 59 of 74)

Section L p. Offeror must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and have a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code.

Is an offeror required to have BOTH a Commercial and Government (CAGE) Code prior to submission?

The acronym CAGE stands for "Commercial and Government Entity." This code is assigned by the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) to identify a commercial or Government entity. Each entity is assigned a single CAGE code.

024 TE 3 Estimated Workload Data

Workload DaTE 3 provides an estimated work load of supported exercises.

TE 3 and the RFP do not specifically address the possibility of overlapping exercise events.

Can we assume that, if there are overlapping large and medium exercises, there will be government funded surge support to make up the required exercise coverage?

No, there is no mechanism for external surge support. The vendors are expected to show how they will cover overlapping exercises within the fixed price in their technical approach. PWS 7.5, Attachment B, Surge Example, clearly shows requirement to support overlapping (simultaneous) exercises.

025 TE 3 Estimated Workload Data

Workload Data

References: TE 3 provides an estimated work load of supported exercises.

Issue: TE 3 lays out an appropriate estimate of the expected work load however it does not address what would occur if the number of exercises were exceeded.

Question: Can we assume that, if the number of exercises increases, there will be a contract modification or government funded surge support to support the required additional exercise events?

The estimate is based largely off the government's capacity to properly plan exercise support. These estimates are not guarantees, and the number of supported exercises may vary. As discussed in Question #24, there is no mechanism for surge support outside the fixed price. Offerors shall propose to the workload data provided. You should not assume that any increase in the number of exercises will result in a contract modification. Whether the contract will need to be modified is a matter of contract administration that depends on the facts and circumstances at that time.

026 PWS 5.5.1.3

Rotational Products

– TECHNICAL

FACTOR

PWS References: PWS page 74 (JMRC Planning Model) and page 81 / 82 (JMRC Exercise Design Planning and Preparation Product List)

Issue: These two documents conflict with dates of IPC (‐260 vs ‐160), MPC (‐180 vs ‐120, and FPC (‐ 90 vs ‐72).

Question: Which document takes priority?

See Response to Question #28; updated new JELC planning Cycle attached, and updated Attachment G

027 JMRC Personality Scenario Database –

TECHNICAL FACTOR

PWS References: Page 81 / 82 (JMRC Exercise Design Planning and Preparation Product List) and PWS

5.5.6.9 JMRC Personality Scenario Database

Issue: The JMRC Exercise Design Planning and Preparation Product List requires a HUMINT database while the PWS 5.5.6.9 JMRC Personality Scenario Database requires a personality database.

Question: Are these the same requirement?

See response to Question #28 and changes to PWS paragraph 5.5.6.9 and Attachment G

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Question # RFP Reference Document QUESTION ANSWER MCTS Draft RFP Questions

028 JMRC Biometric Database–

TECHNICAL FACTOR

PWS References: PWS 5.5.6.9 JMRC Personality Scenario Database

Issue: The JMRC Exercise Design Planning and Preparation Product List requires a biometric database on exercise role players.

Question: Which biometric aspects are inherent in the database? Where is this data resident?

Updated PWS Attachment G and Paragraph 5.5.6.9 – deleted reference to Biometric data and HUMINT Data, replaced with Role‐Player Data and Role Player Data Base.

029 Phase Out –

TECHNICAL FACTOR

PWS References: PWS 1.6.1.2 and Section M

Issue: The Phase Out period is addressed as an evaluated criteria for both pricing and contract responsiveness. There is no mention of the length of the Phase Out period.

Question: Can we assume there is a four month Phase Out to mirror the four month Phase In?

Phase out period will be dictated by the follow on contract PWS solicitation.

030 JMSC OPFOR

Support –

TECHNICAL FACTOR

PWS References: 1) PWS page 79, (7.9, Attachment F, JMSC Exercise Product List). 2) PWS page 89, (7.16, Attachment M, Government/Other Contractor Roles).

Issue: PWS Part 5 (Specific Tasks) makes no reference to MCTS OPFOR support to JMSC.

Attachment F, JMSC Exercise Product List (page 79) infers the requirement for delivery of the “OPFOR Concept/Order of Battle/Campaign Plan” to JMSC during the IPC. Additionally, Attachment M, Government/Other Contractor Roles (page 89) states that JMSC provides the function of “Intelligence planning and Opposing Forces for exercises (with support from the BST Contract). Our assumption is that BST refers to the previous name of the MCTS contract: “Battle Simulation Training”.

Question: Will the Government please clarify whether there is a requirement to provide OPFOR support to JMSC?

There is no expectation for JMSC OPFOR support other than shown for JMRC and gaming.

The references in Attachment M to the "BST" contract have been updated to

"MCTS."

031 PPQ Due Date –

PAST PERFORMANCE

FACTOR

Section L References: 1) RFP Paragraph L.3.3.2.b. reads in part “Completed questionnaires shall be emailed to both Mr. Aaron Schulz (aaron.m.schulz.civ@mail.mil) and Ms. Jana Bunch (jana.j.bunch.civ@mail.mil). PPQs must be received by the closing date and time of this RFP.” 2) Page 1 instructions on RFP Attachment 4 Past Performance Questionnaire read in part “Please complete the enclosure and return directly to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist no later than 17 November 2016. Please email the completed questionnaire(s) to Mr. Aaron Schulz, aaron.m.schulz.civ@mail.mil and Ms. Jana Bunch, jana.j.bunch.civ@mail.mil.”

Issue: RFP indicates PPQs must be received by closing date and time of this RFP (21 November 2016) and instructions on PPQ indicate no later than 17 November 2016.

Question: Will the Government please clarify whether the PPQ’s must be turned in by 17 November 2016 or 21 November 2016?

Attachment 0004 has been updated to reflect that PPQs should be received NLT 21 November 2016.

032 Missing CLIN Numbers on Attachment 5 –

PRICE FACTOR

Att 0005 References: RFP, Attachment 5, Cost – Matrix, MS Excel File, Cost‐Price Matrix Worksheet, Column A.

Issue: Column A for CLIN Number is not included in the print area of the of the Attachment 5 MS Excel File.

Question: Will the Govt modify the print area of the Attachment 5 Cost‐Price Matrix Worksheet so that the CLIN numbers in Column A are visible on the printed copy of Attachment 5?

Attachment 0005 has been updated so the CLIN numbers are included within the print area; however, please note hard copies of Attachment 0005 are not required or desired. IAW L.1.2(c)(ii), hard copy proposals are only required for Volumes II (Technical) & III (Past Performance).

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Question # RFP Reference Document QUESTION ANSWER MCTS Draft RFP Questions

033 Anti‐Mafia Law Requirements

RFP References: RFP, 5152‐204‐4003 Anti‐Mafia Law Requirements (Italy) (June 2016), Paragraph 4, Submittal Requirements, Page 51 of 74.

Issue: RFP requires two original copies of specialized certificates. Certificates are not included in the RFP that are to be signed by offerors.

Question: Will the Government please provide the certificates that offerors are required to submit?

Clause 5152.204‐4003 Anti‐Mafia Law Requirement has been removed from the solicitation.

034 Calculations on Attachment 5 –

PRICE FACTOR,

Att 0005 References: RFP, Attachment 5, Cost – Matrix, MS Excel File, Cost‐Price Matrix Worksheet, Cells F37 and G37; Cells F37 to L37; and Cells L7 to L37; and Cell L41.

Issue: a. It appears that the spreadsheet overstates the value of the proposal by the amount of phase‐in costs. It appears when doing actual calculations that phase‐in costs in cell F37 are also somehow included in cell G37 for the Base Year even though not visible to the offeror. The sum of cells F37 through K37 should equal the value of L37 and the sum of L7 through L35 should also equal the value of L37.

b. It appears that cell L41 column width needs to be increased so that the amount calculated for cell L41 will appear on the printed version of Attachment 5, Cost‐Price Matrix.

Attachment 0005 has been updated to correct the calculation error in cell G37 and to adjust the size of cell L41; however, again (reference answer 032) please note hard copies of Attachment 0005 are not required or desired.

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