GRDSecurityServicesJAREDACTION.pdf

W912ER-11-R-0034

Control #11-0004

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

1. CONTRACTING AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Middle East District P.O Box 2250 Winchester, VA 22604-1450

2. DESCRIPTION OF ACTION: The purpose of this Justification and Approval (J&A) is to request approval for a sole source acquisition for security support services in support of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Gulf Region District (GRD) requirements. The security services provided through the existing GRD Reconstruction Security Support Services (RSSS) contract are used to transport USACE Quality Assurance and Project Management personnel to construction sites and when necessary, provide protection. These construction projects include schools, prisons and hospitals – critical buildings which will facilitate the transition of Iraq to the Iraqi people and help ensure a timely withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Iraq. Therefore, it is in the Government’s best interest to award this new bridge contract for security services, in order to maintain critical security services. Failure to provide these essential security support services will result in a degradation of construction projects throughout Iraq, as USACE personnel would be unable to inspect critical construction efforts.

The current GRD RSSS contract (W91GDW-10-C-4004) is a five month bridge contract that was awarded by CENTCOM Contracting Command (C3), and administered jointly by C3 and Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) located in Iraq. The Period of Performance (POP) on the GRD RSSS contract expires 31 December 2010, and C3 informed GRD that 1) it was unable to extend the POP of the existing GRD RSSS contract to ensure a continuity of security services, and

2) it was unable to extend the current security contract under the authority of FAR 52.217-8 (Option to Extend Services) for days, as it had previously stated, so that services could continue through .

Re-solicitation of the security service requirement is being conducted by the Army Contracting Command Rock Island Contracting Center (RICC), Reachback Branch, Rock Island, Illinois, on behalf of C3, Baghdad, Iraq. The contract for the new security services contract was scheduled to be awarded by RICC on 30 November 2010, but on 26 October 2010, RICC revised its Milestone Schedule with an estimated award date of with full contractor performance as of

. As of 21 November 2010, the solicitation for this competitive action has not been posted to Federal Business Opportunities website, even though the Pre-solicitation Notice was published on .

As of 22 November 2010, forty days remain until completion of the current security contract, in which the acquisition process and transition of the existing workforce of positions under the current contract must be migrated to a new contract. Unless Middle East District (MED) awards a bridge contract, the result is a potential break in critical security services. Failure to provide these essential security support services would result in USACE personnel being unable to inspect critical construction efforts which would lead to substandard facilities and delays to projects for U.S. Government entities and host nation customers.

On 26 October 2010, a conference call was held with participants from RICC, C3, GRD, and MED to discuss the Milestone Schedule of the new security services contract. During that meeting, RICC stated that the award date for the follow-on security services contract was changed from RICC estimates a phase-in period of days; therefore, full contractor performance will occur on

Challenges: In order to avoid a break in these critical security services, which support the ongoing USACE construction missions in Iraq, it is imperative that MED award a new bridge contract for security support services by 17 December 2010 in order to achieve full contractor performance by 1 January 2011. A two week phase-in period is required for the incumbent contractor, as the incumbent will be required to process Iraq visas, United States Forces-Iraq (USF-I) badging applications, arming authorizations, CAC applications, Synchronized Personnel Operational Tracker (SPOT) Letters of Authorization (LOAs), and update all existing subcontract agreements. While it will be a challenge to accomplish all of the phase-in activities in two weeks, it is feasible given that the incumbent contractor has mobilized personnel with current arming authorizations, USF-I badges, CACs, and LOAs. Additionally, the incumbent contractor has the required equipment and materials mobilized to Iraq, which reduces the phase-in time required. A contractor without mobilized personnel, equipment, and materials would require a minimum of days to accomplish all of the required phase-in activities prior to full contractor performance.

Funding: FY 2011 Operations & Maintenance, Army (OMA) dollars will be used to fund this procurement and full funding will be received from the customer prior to awarding this contract.

The period of performance will consist of one, four and a half month base period and one, three-month option period. FAR 52.237-3, Continuity of Services, will be included in the solicitation as well as FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services and FAR 52.217-9, Option to Extend the Term of the Contract. The option clauses are included as a safety net, should RICC’s Milestone Schedule again slip to the right. The option clauses are exercised at the discretion of the Government.

These clauses will not be exercised if the follow-on security contract is awarded and the contractor is fully mobilized and at full performance. The estimated amount of OMA funds required for the 4.5 month base period and one, three-month option period is . The IGE costs were based on historical information and the burn rate of the current security services contract. While the IGE costs are based on history information, the burn rate for this bridge contract decreases on a monthly basis, due to the drawdown of GRD personnel and subsequently the requirement for security services. The NAICS for this contract action is 561612, Security Guards and Patrol Services, which has a Small Business Size Standard of $18M.

3. DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES OR NATURE OF CONSTRUCTION: The contract provides security services to transport and protect USACE military, civilian, and contractor personnel in the Iraq Theater of Operations (ITO) as USACE personnel travel throughout Iraq to monitor ongoing construction projects. The Contractor shall analyze threat information provided by Government sources and submit such analysis to the Government for review and action. The Contractor shall utilize Security Escort Teams (SET), Security Reconnaissance Teams (SRT), Personal Security Detail (PSD) services, and static guard forces to accomplish this mission. The contractor will not be required to perform any inherently Governmental functions.

4. AUTHORITY CITED: 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) and FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services will Satisfy Agency Requirements.

5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED: The current GRD RSSS contract was awarded by C3 on 1 July 2010 on a sole source basis to Aegis Defence Services LTD (Aegis) and required the contractor to provide security services in support of GRD’s construction mission. At the expiration of the GRD RSSS contract on , the intent was to transfer the security services requirement to the new competitively awarded security services contract which was to be awarded by RICC on and fully transitioned by

History of the follow-on security services contract:

Timeline Summary of RICC’s re-solicitation of security services

Date Event Projected Award

Projected Full Performance

17 Nov 09 RICC accepts GRD RSSS re-solicitation

10 Dec 09 1st Milestone released by RICC 31 May 10 01 Jul 10

18 Feb 10 2nd Milestone released by RICC 11 Jun 10 11 Sep 10

24 May 10 3rd Milestone released by RICC 30 Aug 10 30 Sep 10

17 Jun 10 Stated during multi-agency status conference by

RICC

25 Oct 10 30 Dec 10

On 17 November 2009, RICC accepted the new acquisition of the RSSS.

On 10 December 2009, the milestone schedule released by RICC for the follow-on security services contract action estimated a contract award date of 31 May 2010, with an estimated contract start date of 1 July 2010. From 2 July 2010 through 31 July 2010, through an extension of the current contract using FAR 52.217-8 (Option to Extend Services), the incumbent on the GRD RSSS contract, Aegis, and the awardee of the replacement security services contract were to complete a transition, if required.

On 18 February 2010, RICC released the first revised milestone schedule for the security services contract. The revised award date was 11 June 2010, with an estimated contract start date of 11 September 2010.

On 24 May 2010, RICC released a second revised milestone schedule for the security services contract. The revised award date slipped to 30 August 2010, with a contract start date of 30 September 2010. Under this revised milestone schedule, thirty days were provided for mobilization and phase-in.

On 17 June 2010, a conference call was held with participants from RICC and GRD. During that meeting, RICC stated that the new award date had slipped to 25 October 2010 with a phase-in period through 30 December 2010. This schedule slippage did not impact security services, as the GRD RSSS contract was extended through 31 December 2010. Under this revised milestone schedule, thirty days were provided for mobilization and phase-in.

On 19 October 2010, RICC released the fourth milestone schedule revision. The revised award date slipped to , with full contractor performance on This revised milestone schedule would result in a break in security services unless the existing contract awarded and administered by C3 could be extended to cover the gap in services beginning on

On 26 October 2010, a conference call was held with participants from RICC, C3, GRD and Middle East District (MED) to discuss the Milestone Schedule of the new security services contract.

During that meeting, RICC stated that the award date for the new security services contract was changed from to RICC estimated a phase-in period of days;

therefore, full contractor performance will occur on or about This phase-in period would allow the awardee of the security services contract time to acquire the equipment needed for security services and begin full operational performance on . This slippage of the award date of the follow-on security services contract would further exacerbate the gap in critical security services required by GRD to perform its construction mission.

On 01 November 2010, a conference call was held with participants from RICC, C3, GRD and Middle East District (MED) to discuss the impact of the extended award date and estimated phase-in period. C3 agreed to extend the existing security services contract by 31 days using the authority under FAR clause 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services. This would extend the POP from to . As directed by the TAD Commander, MED would award a bridge contract to ensure continuity of security services.

On 13 November 2010, RICC confirmed that the follow-on security services contract was on track for award on .

On 16 November 2010, MED approached C3 about potential solutions to ensure continuity of the security services. Unfortunately, C3 informed MED that it would be unable to extend its existing contract beyond the current approved J&A ceiling of $74.5M and contract end date of 31 December 2010.

In summary, the new Milestone Schedule released by RICC on 26 October 2010 has presented a gap of security services from through As of 22 November 2010, C3 has not processed a modification to extend the existing security services contract beyond 31 December 2010. In order to prevent a break in these critical security services, MED must award a bridge contract. The option periods are included in the event the award schedule for the follow-on security services contract slips further.

The delay of the new competitive award by RICC to is beyond the influence or control of MED. This leaves GRD, the end user of the services, in the untenable situation of facing a break in critical security services. This is the situation which has necessitated a bridge contract for a minimum 4.5 month base period.

Existing Contracts: MED researched other Government agencies, including the Department of State, to determine if there were existing contract vehicles from which MED could procure GRD’s security services requirement. This research resulted in no known contract vehicles. Additionally, on 22 November 2010, RICC released its draft solicitation for security services, and in the first paragraph of the Performance Work Statement it is clear that the follow-on security services contract to be awarded by RICC will support both the Department of Defense and the Department of State. The PDT concluded that no contract vehicles exist with other Government agencies that could satisfy GRD’s security services requirement.

Full & Open Competition: The Project Delivery Team (PDT) researched the possibility of conducting a full and open competition based on the requirement for continued security services as of 31 December 2010. The PDT carefully considered this option; however, due to the activities required to conduct the full and open competition and the timeframes involved, this option was eliminated. Below is an example of the minimum number of activities that would be required to conduct a full and open competition:

Milestone Schedule Timeframe Required Market Research 45 days Acquisition Strategy Preparation/approval 40 days Synopsis 15 days Request for Proposal 30 days Source Selection and Contract Award 60 days Mobilization of personnel 72 days Establishment of subcontract efforts for work currently being subcontracted 45 days Turnover of all Government Property from the incumbent contractor 30 days Preparation, submission and approval of Management Plan, Quality Control Plan, and Maintenance and Service Plans. 30 days

While a few of these activities can be performed concurrently, most of the above activities must be performed sequentially. The only activities that can be performed concurrently are the post-award activities. The minimum time necessary to complete these activities, which includes hiring experienced, specialized security personnel, is predicted to take a minimum of 6-7 months. Based on the above Milestone Schedule, award is estimated in the May 2011 timeframe. The result of conducting a full and open competition is a break in critical security services from 1 January 2011 through May 2011, which is not acceptable. The PDT determined that this option is not feasible.

Limited Competition: The PDT analyzed the possibility of conducting a Limited Competition. A Limited Competition is a competitive contract action where the provisions of full and option competition do not exist. Below is the Milestone Schedule for conducting a Limited Competition:

Milestone Schedule Timeframe Required Market Research 20 days Acquisition Strategy Preparation/approval 40 days Synopsis N/A Request for Proposal 15 days Source Selection and Contract Award 20 days Mobilization of personnel 72 days Establishment of subcontract efforts for work currently being subcontracted 45 days Turnover of all Government Property from the incumbent contractor 30 days

Preparation, submission and approval of Management Plan, Quality Control Plan, and Maintenance and Service Plans. 30 days

While the pre-award activities in the Milestone Schedule can be compressed to approximately 3 months, the post-award activities cannot be compressed from the 72 days required for contractor mobilization. As a result, both pre-award and post-award activities will require a minimum of 5.5 months to complete. In light of the fact that only forty days remain prior to the expiration of the existing contract the PDT determined that a limited competition could not be conducted in sufficient time to award a new bridge contract for security services by 17 December 2010.

Therefore, the only option remaining was a sole source contract with the incumbent contractor, Aegis.

Sole Source: As the Independent Government Estimate (IGE) for the new bridge contract is or one, four and a halfmonth base period and one, three-month option, the Acquisition Strategy will be approved by the PARC office. This J&A must be approved by the Director, National Contracting Organization (NCO). The sole source process for this acquisition will be conducted using negotiations with the incumbent. The below is a Milestone Activity analysis for this action:

Milestone Schedule Timeframe Required Market Research 16 days (completed) Justification and Approval 05 days Release of solicitation 01 day Acquisition Strategy/Acquisition Plan preparation/approval1 12 days Proposal preparation and submittal 12 days Contract Award 10 days Migration of personnel to new contract 14 days

The above timeline is aggressive, but feasible. This J&A is being expedited with the goal of receiving approval no later than 1300 hours Eastern Time, 24 November 2010 to meet the issuance of the solicitation by 1700 hours Eastern Time, 24 November. All of the above pre-award and post-award activities must be performed sequentially except for preparation of the Acquisition Strategy and Acquisition Plan which can be accomplished concurrently while the contractor is preparing the proposal. The minimum time necessary to complete these pre-award activities for this specific acquisition is approximately 44 days, which includes 16 days of Market Research.

Post award activities will be completed in 14 days.

a. Unacceptable delay:

In accordance with FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii), the required security services are available only from one responsible source, Aegis, for the continued provision of these highly specialized security services, as award to any other source would result in unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements. GRD cannot perform its mission without uninterrupted security services, and only the original contractor, Aegis, can assure uninterrupted continuation of necessary security services throughout Iraq.

1 PARC-WIN granted relief to release the solicitation prior to approval of the Acquisition Strategy and Acquisition Plan.

Only Aegis has the onsite capability to continue the minimum required services without mobilization to include security services. Additionally, Aegis has personnel knowledgeable in property administration and has the required property system in place to manage government furnished property (assets) valued at throughout Iraq. These security services directly affect the life, health, safety, and security of the soldiers and civilians working for GRD.

Without the critical security services, there will be degradation of the ongoing and critical construction projects throughout Iraq, as these armed security services personnel provide transportation and security to GRD Quality Assurance and Project Management personnel required to visit construction sites. These construction projects include schools, prisons, and hospitals—critical buildings which will facilitate the transition of Iraq to the Iraqi people and help ensure a timely withdraw of U.S. Forces from Iraq.

Only Aegis has the necessary subcontracts and agreements in place to continue uninterrupted security services. Aegis has the necessary personnel agreements in place to provide the required armed personnel that are vital for mission accomplishment. Aegis’ expatriate and third country national employees have the required security clearances and identification badges to be able to provide security services in the required Provinces/Regions throughout Iraq without delays resulting in an unacceptable break in service. Only Aegis has the required Iraqi visas, country specific accounts that support local national employee benefits, and technical licenses and certifications required to perform the proposed scope of work while avoiding a break in service.

Aegis possesses a current understanding of host nation laws, regulations, and inherent physical dangers where services are to be provided in Iraq. As the incumbent, Aegis has a mobilized staff with the knowledge and familiarity to process the paperwork required to update or renew required clearances, badges, and arming authorizations.

Uninterrupted contractor performance is critical to mission execution and soldier support, because a break in service will result in a need to perform security services with U.S. military personnel, a capability which is currently not available within GRD.

Finally, the schedule and operational requirements of the deployment and re-deployment of U.S.

forces is expected to continue to change through and beyond completion of this contract, requiring rapid critical mission adjustments. The security services contractor’s experience with Iraqi local laws and customs, knowledge of dangers and risks, and seasoned management and workforce assure a safe, responsible and reliable execution of a rapidly changing mission, until orderly and successful hand-off of the remaining GRD locations can be made to Government of Iraq.

6. EFFORTS TO OBTAIN COMPETITION: A Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted on 2 November 2010 to Federal Business Opportunities. The Notice of Intent to Sole Source stated the following: 1) MED intends to award a sole source contract for Security Services to support GRD in Iraq; 2) the contract type will be firm-fixed price; and 3) the POP will be one, two-month base period, and two, three-month option periods.

The notice stated that, if sufficient response is received from industry proving that companies have the ability to mobilize and obtain arming authorization within the timeframes stated in the notice, a Limited Competition may be performed. The required response date for the Notice of Intent to Sole Source was 1200 hours, Eastern Standard Time, 16 November 2010. If the Government determined it would be in its best interest to perform a Limited Competition, then only contractors who submitted evidence that sufficient personnel are available to staff the requirements as outlined in the notice would be included in the Limited Competition.

A total number of esponses were received by the deadline of 16 November 2010. A break-out of the responses received is listed below in Paragraph 9. It was only after the closing of this Notice of Intent to Sole Source on 16 November 2010 that MED was notified the 31 additional days, which would extend the POP to 31 January 2011, would not be executed by C3 to extend the existing security services contract, which therefore adds additional limits to the timeframe to get a new contractor in place before services expire (and accordingly makes it more difficult for any firm to demonstrate its ability to meet the Government’s time frame for achieving full performance).

The timelines do not support a Limited Competition, as the Milestone Schedule in paragraph 5 clearly indicates that a Limited Competition would take approximately 5 months for pre-award and post-award activities. This would result in an unacceptable break in critical security services.

Therefore, MED requests approval to award a bridge contract on a sole source basis to the incumbent contractor to prevent a break in security services.

7. ACTIONS TO INCREASE COMPETITION: The PDT concluded that a sole source contract is the only mechanism available to ensure continuity of GRD’s security services requirement. A break in service of these critical security services would be unacceptable, as these services are critical to GRD successfully completing its construction mission.

The intent is to transition the security services requirement from this bridge contract to the competitively awarded follow-on acquisition for security services. The latest Milestone Schedule published by RICC for this follow-on acquisition estimates an award date of , with full contractor performance on

8. MARKET RESEARCH: In addition to the responses from the Notice of Intent to Sole Source, an internet research resulted in the discovery of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq (PSCAI), which is a non-profit organization formed and maintained to discuss and address matters of mutual interest and concern to the industry conducting operations in Iraq. The site advertises twenty-four (24) members with direct hyperlinks to each Private Security Companies’ public website. It was determined there exist sufficient companies to provide documentation relating to the Private Security Industry in Iraq as it relates to personnel currently mobilized to Iraq, arming authorization, and an overall view of the capabilities of the Industry.

The Notice of Intent to Sole Source was released 2 November 2010 in an effort to determine if there are offerors capable of providing the required personnel for the security services in the timeframe outlined in the notice. Of the 24 members listed with PSCAI, only companies submitted a timely Capabilities Statement as either the prime contractor or as a member of a joint venture. Therefore, this reflects less-than-widespread interest in this bridge contract from firms specializing in security services in Iraq. Those firms that did respond are discussed in Paragraph 9 below and in more detail in the Market Research Report. The PDT concluded in Paragraph 5 that insufficient time remains to conduct a Full and Open Competition or a Limited Competition. GRD, as the requiring activity, conducted the advance planning required to ensure continuity of security services. Due to circumstances beyond GRD’s control, a sole source contract is the only mechanism available to ensure continuity of GRD’s security services.

9. INTERESTED SOURCES: Based upon the Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted to Federal Business Opportunities on 2 November 2010 and the results as described in Paragraph 8 above, MED received the following responses:

Based on the amount of time required to solicit the security services and an analysis of the Capabilities Statements from Industry, the Contracting Officer believes that none of the firms who responded with Capabilities Statements have adequate resources to perform this work and are unable to mobilize a sufficient number of personnel and obtain the required arming authorizations without a break in security services, with the exception of the incumbent contractor, Aegis.2 The incumbent contractor is mobilized to Iraq and has current USF-I badges, CACs and arming authorizations; those documents are only required to be updated and a two week phase-in period is a reasonable amount of time for Aegis to obtain the required updated badges and arming authorizations. It is not possible, given the shortened timeframe now available, for a new contractor to mobilize approximately personnel to Iraq, obtain USF-I badges, obtain

2 Although the FedBizOpps Notice indicated the requirement for a base period and the Government now requires a base period, the total requirement is now reduced from months to months. The Contracting Officer does not believe that the revised performance period would change the pool of interested firms. Therefore, the results of the market research still indicate that no other offeror would be ready to provide services by

CACs, and most important, obtain arming authorizations in the two week timeframe that is available for the phase-in period. No contractor provided evidence of an ability to provide the required personnel and resources in accordance with the timeframe established in the FEDBIZOPS notice. Therefore, a sole source solicitation is in the best interest of the Government and only one responsible source will satisfy agency requirements. Approval of this J&A is requested from the Director, National Contracting Organization in order to prevent a break in critical security services.

In accordance with FAR 6.305, once approved, this J&A will be made publically available within 30 days after award of the contract. All contractor proprietary data, references and citations as are necessary to protect the proprietary data will be removed prior to publication.

10. OTHER FACTS:

Procurement history: The GRD Reconstruction Security Support Service (RSSS) requirement was supported under a single award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded by C3 for non-personal, performance-based commercial services. The contract number was W91GDW-07-D-4021. The IDIQ contract was competed under full and open competition by C3, formerly known as Joint Contracting Command – Iraq (JCC-I). The contract contained one, twelve-month base period, and one, twelve-month option period. The GRD RSSS was awarded under Task Order 0002 with a POP of 01 February 2008 to 31 January 2009 and the follow-on requirement was awarded under task order 0005 with a POP of 01 February 2009 to 31 January 2010.

In January 2010, C3 utilized FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services, to extend the task order 0006 for six months, resulting in a POP expiration of 31 July 2010. The purpose of exercising the extension of services clause was to allow RICC sufficient time to solicit the RSSS requirement and to ensure sufficient time was available to transition in a new contractor’s workforce, if required.

On 25 February 2010, RICC published the follow-on security services requirements on the Federal Business Opportunities website as a Pre-Solicitation Notice for W52P1J-10-R-0129 -- Security Support Services - Iraq (SSS-I) formerly known as Reconstruction Security Support Services (RSSS). The notice stated:

Rock Island Contracting Center is seeking information for potential sources regarding industry service support available to provide Reconstruction Security Support Services (RSSS) to the Gulf Region District (GRD), United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The results of this sources sought will be utilized to determine if commercial services are available to meet the Governments needs and refine the PWS (Draft Attached). This information is needed prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of a Request for Proposal (RFP).

In June 2010, RICC published a change to the Pre-Solicitation Notice. This change stated the anticipated release date for the Request for Proposal is on or about 29 July 2010 and included the following verbiage:

This requirement has been expanded from Reconstruction Security Support Services (RSSS) to now encompass RSSS services, Personal Security Detachment (PSD)

Services, and Convoy Security in the Iraq Theater of Operations. This requirement will be issued on a full and open unrestricted basis. This requirement will be satisfied through the use of multiple award (up to three) Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) DoD Contract(s) for a base period of one year plus two (2) six-month evaluated option periods.

To ensure continuity of services after 31 July 2010, C3 awarded contract W91GDW-10-C-4004 as a sole source award to Aegis Defence Services on 1 August 2010 with a five-month period of performance expiring on 31 December 2010. The contract was awarded at