Attachment_4_Industry_QA.pdf

Source Question Government Response

1 RFP Section L, c, 3, (a), vi, Business Licenses Our company is a subsidiary of a larger parent company and on our System for Award

Management site they are identified as our parent company. Each of the wholly-owned subsidiaries is able to use the same parent company Afghanistan Investment Support

Agency (AISA) Investment License for execution of current contracts with work in

Afghanistan. This AISA license is issued in the name of the parent company.

Will the Government accept this license as proof of an AISA license for the subsidiary as an offeror despite the license being in the parent company’s name?

Licensing is now part of the Afghanistan Central

Business Registry and Intellectual Property

(ACBR), which requires all companies operating in Afghanistan to have a business license.

At this time, the Government is requiring any any company performing in Afghanistan to have a business license. The burden of proof to use a parent company's license is placed on the subsidiary and must be provided at the time of proposal submission.

2 PWS para 1.2.7 and 1.2.7.1

RFP Seciton L, c, 3, (a), iii, Factor 2

Will the government clarify the only key personnel for this solicitation is the Program

Manager, which is the only resume required in the proposal?

Correct, the only Key Personnel for this requirement is the Program Manager. The Program

Manager's resume should be included in accordance with solicitation instructions.

3 PWS para 1.2.7 and 1.2.7.1

RFP Seciton L, c, 3, (a), iii, Factor 2

What is considered 'Acceptable' experience for the PM? Is there a specific number of years required for demonstrated experience? Any other requirements?

PWS para 1.2.7.1 has been updated to include a minimum of 6 years of demonstrated program and personnel management experience.

ISRMAT SUPPORT

SOLICITATION: W911S0-18-R-0001

Industry Questions & Answers

4 PWS 5.2 (page 15) and Attachment_3_ 911S0-18-R-

0001_Pricing _Worksheet (all tabs)

Context: PWS Section 5.2 indicates that the ITC Support and SOCEUR support are optional tasks and “The work is considered by the government to be separate from the above requirements as the level of need and funding have yet to be determined." The

Attachment_3_W911S0-18-R-0001_Pricing_Worksheet appears to require values for these tasks. QUESTIONS: Are contractors required to provide an estimate for these services? If so, while the staffing expectation is provided by the PWS, what duration or number of hours should contractor’s use?

Yes, the contractors are required to provide a price for these optional services.

The optional tasks in PWS para 5.2 require full-time equivalents for 2 SMEs for SOCEUR and 2

SMEs for ITC Support.

Section H has been updated to include additional information regarding Optional Support.

5 RFP Section B CLIN: X005 (RFp pg 4) Context: ODCs (DBA, Hazard/Uplift, Other ODCs) CLINs: In the Supplies and Services narrative it states that the NTE amount is inclusive of the contractor's G&A/Handling Fee;

however, there is not a NTE amount for the CLINs.

QUESTION: Will the Government provide a plug number, similar to what is provided for the Travel CLIN, since the requirements for these expenses are currently undefined as noted in PWS 1.2.15?

Not-to-exceed amounts are provided for 'Other

ODCs' only as the DBA & Hazard/Uplift pay is proposed by the contractor.

6 RFP Section I Clauses, RFP pg 34 Context: Section I includes FAR clause 52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards May

2014.

QUESTION: Since this is a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract, will the Government add FAR clause 52.222-43 Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Labor Standards - Price

Adjustment (MAY 2014) to the Solicitation?

This clause has been added to Section I.

7 PWS 5.1.2 ISRMAT Afghanistan, PWS pg 14, para

5.1.4

Will CONUS support include JIIM partners or only DoD? (i.e. DHS, FBI, DEA, JRIC support)

Only DoD Support is anticipated

8 PWS 5.1.5 ISRMAT, PWS pg 14, para 5.1.4 Will TRADOC allow alternative authorized methods of completing OCONUS in-processing requirements?

This is dependent on timeframe. All OCONUS contractors MUST process through CRC. For weapons qualification, this portion can be done at any military installation with Qualified Range

Personnel upon coordination with the COR.

9 PWS pg 14, para 5.1.4 Does the government require a face to face turn over for ISRMAT SMEs while OCONUS? The government prefers a face to face turn over for

ISRMAT SME's when feasible. This is to ensure the mission is never without support and there is a turnover between the outgoing and incoming SME.

10 PWS 5.2.2 Optional Support, PWS pg 16, para 5.2.2 Where are these ISRMAT positions in the USAREUR DOCPERS Process? Are these positions DOCPERS approved?

This process has not been finalized.

11 Attachemnt 1 - PWS (1.2.7 Key Personnel) and

Section L (L.c.3.(b) iii (5) Factor 2: Management and

Staffing Plan)

PWS 1.2.7 states that, “Certain experienced professional and/or technical personnel are essential for successful accomplishment of the work to be performed under this contract.”

Factor 2 also identifies the requirement to propose a “methodology for maintaining 95% staffing throughout the life of the contract…” Given that even one open position places the contract at or below the 95% threshold thereby jeopardizing performance, should not all proposed staff be key personnel requiring offerors to submit résumés and letters of commitment for all proposed staff? Will the Government designate all staff as key personnel consistent with the requirement to demonstrate a plan for maintaining 95% staffing levels?

The Government will not designate all personnel as key. The Government has an expectation that the vendors understand the importance of maintaining the deployable staff and has a method to maintain these staffing levels.

12 Attachment 1 - PWS (1. Scope) and NATIONAL

DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL

YEAR 2017 (Sec. 813 (c) Avoidance of Use of Lowest

Price Technically Acceptable Source Selection Criteria in Certain Procurements)

PWS 1.1 states that “ISRMAT … personnel… provid(e) direct over-the- shoulder advising/coaching/mentoring assistance to tactical U.S. and Coalition units. Deployed teams provide support to the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) Joint Command

(Afghanistan), Combined Joint Land Forces Component Command-Iraq (CJFLCC-I) and within other Combatant Commands (COCOM) as required.

The cited public law states that “To the maximum extent practicable, the use of lowest price technically acceptable source selection criteria shall be avoided in the case of a procurement that is predominately for the acquisition of…knowledge-based training or logistics services in contingency operations or other operations outside the United States, including in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Inasmuch as the PWS states the knowledge-based support to US contingency operations nature of this procurement and that the use of lowest price technically acceptable source selection falls contrary to the expressed will of Congress, we respectfully request that this procurement be evaluated using Best Value Tradeoff procedures.

This is a well-defined requirement with no or minimal additional innovation anticipated. The lowest price technically acceptable approach has been deemed suitable in accordance with the FAR and DFARS.

13 Section L (3. (a) vi. TAB E, Business Licenses; 3. (d) ii; 3. (d) iii) and IRS Fact Sheet “Understanding

Employee vs. Contractor Designation”

(https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/understanding-employee-vs-contractor-designation)

The cited paragraph states that “Afghanistan Business Licenses shall be required for all

Offerors and their teaming partners and/or subcontractors.”

In the ‘Breakdown’ tabs, the Offeror shall identify the staffing (by Labor Category, Labor

Hours, Contractor Manpower Equivalents (CMEs), and their associated fully burdened rates) that will be used by the Offeror and its subcontractors/partners to perform each functions/service within the PWS. The (price) narrative should also include a list summarizing the proposed subcontractors, team members, joint-venture partners, etc. to include their CAGE code and socio-economic size standard. Very specific IRS guidelines classify workers as employees or subcontractors. Control over the worker’s time, work methods, and output determine if that person’s compensation should be reported on a Form

W-2 (an employee) or 1099-MISC (a subcontractor).

In accordance with Section L paragraph 3, do we correctly assume that any proposed staff whose compensation will be reported on form 1099-MISC…

(a) should be treated as a subcontractor,

(b) should have an Afghanistan Business License,

(c) should have costs reflected in the “breakout” tabs of the price response, and

(d) should be documented in the price narrative to include CAGE code and socio-economic size standard?

In accordance with the National Industrial Security

Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) dated

February 2006 incorporating Change 1 on March

28, 2013, a consultant (1099-MISC) shall not be assigned outside the United States with responsibilities requiring access to classified information (Section 6, 10-601(c)).

14 PWS Para 1.2.8 and 5.1.1 What is the place of performance and duty description of SME’s when not deployed

OCONUS?

The duty description for CONUS SMEs remains unchanged at para 5.1.1. The place of performance has been added to para 5.1.1.