W91CRB-25-C-A018-P00006 - Justification and Approval_Redacted.pdf

Control Number: JA-26-D-0339

JUSTIFICATION REVIEW DOCUMENT

FAR Part 6 Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition

Program/Equipment: Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) Support Services for Project Manager Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment/ Personal Protective Equipment (PM OCIE/PPE) under Capability Program Executive – Ground Soldier Systems (CPE Ground), located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia and Huntsville, Alabama.

Authority: Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) §3204(a)(2) as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2(a)(2)(b), where an unusual and compelling urgency precludes full and open competition; and delay in award of a contract would result in serious injury, financial or other, to the Government.

Amount: $10,000,000.00

Prepared by: Liesel Pattee Phone: 520-671-2282 Contract Specialist E-mail: lieselotte.h.pattee.civ@army.mil

Contracting Officer: Theresa S. Quick Phone: 520-671-3072 Contracting Officer E-mail: theresa.s.quick.civ@army.mil

Technical Representative:

Requirements Representative:

Reviews: I have reviewed this justification and find it adequate to support other than full and open competition.

Program Manager/Program Executive Officer:

FAR Part 6 Justification and Approval for Other than Full and Open Competition

1. Requiring Activity: Project Manager Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment/Personal Protective Equipment (PM OCIE/PPE) under Capability Program Executive – Ground Soldier Systems (CPE Ground), located at Ft. Belvoir, VA

2. Contracting Activity: Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal (ACC-DTA), 6515 Integrity Court, Building. 4310, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-3013

3. Description of Action: ACC-DTA on behalf of PM OCIE/PPE, requests approval to award a noncompetitive three (3) month cost plus fixed fee definitive extension to bridge contract W91CRB-25-C-A018 with DCS Corporation (DCS), CAGE:1P418, 6909 Metro Park Drive, Suite 500, Alexandria, VA 22310-3273 for SETA support. The contract extension will be incrementally funded using a combination of funds currently available for obligation and applicable to the contract requirements.

The proposed bridge extension is needed for the continuation of critical SETA support, which includes engineering, quality assurance, test support, acquisition support, business management support, logistics and fielding support, and operations support for PM OCIE/PPE currently being provided under the bridge contract (W91CRB-25-C- A018) for which the performance period expires on 15 June 2026.

The bridge contract was originally issued under authority granted under Justification and Approval #JA-25-D-0664, to maintain uninterrupted support after a Stop Work was issued on 14 August 2025 to the competitive replacement Task Order (W91CRB-25-F- A060) in response to two (2) Government Accounting Office (GAO) protests. The original Period of Performance for the bridge contract (W91CRB-25-C-A018) was from 16 September 2025 to 15 January 2026 and the Justification and Approval for the award is filed as #JA-25-D-0664. On 4 September 2025, the Government initiated corrective action in response to the protests received against the competitive replacement Task Order W91CRB-25-F-A060.

Between the dates of 1 October 2025 and 13 November 2025 Government employees were furloughed, as a result of the Government shutdown, which resulted in a halt of operations for federal employees. Due to delays caused by the Government shutdown as well as ongoing protest corrective actions for Task Order W91CRB-25-F-A060, ACC- DTA Contracting Officer, , executed a modification to extend the Period of Performance for the bridge contract (W91CRB-25-C-A018) from 15 January 2026 to 15 March 2026. At the direction of , Command Advocate for Competition for ACC-APG, a separate Justification and Approval was not filed for the extension as the action was executed under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.243-2 Alternate 1 Changes-Cost-Reimbursement.

Following corrective action and reevaluation of proposals, the SETA recompete Task Order (W91CRB-25-F-A060) the awarded to Amentum was upheld on 5 January 2026.

The first Stop Work was lifted with a new effective task order start date of 16 January 2026. On 26 January 2026, two (2) additional protests were received on the new award, and a new Stop Work Order was issued on 27 January 2026.

On 9 March 2026, in order to maintain services through Task Order (W91CRB-25-F- A060) protest corrective actions, Justification and Approval #JA-26-D-0183 was approved by Contracting Officer, which approved a three (3) month extension of the bridge contract (W91CRB-25-C-A018) to 15 June 2026. On the same day, a supplemental protest was filed with the GAO against task order W91CRB-25-F- A060 and the Government responded with a notice of corrective action which was filed with the GAO on 19 March 2026 and described the Government’s plan to reopen interchanges, re-evaluate proposal revisions, and render a new source selection decision.

On 20 April 2026 the Government issued Request For Proposal (RFP) Amendment 0004 to RS3-24-0006 for SETA Support Services as part of the 19 March 2026 corrective action and required final proposal submissions by 12 May 2026. On 30 April 2026 a protest to the corrective action was filed with GAO. The latest protest is currently under review and resolution by the Contracting Officer in cooperation with the Army Material Command Attorneys.

Due to the current protest filed on 30 April 2026, without this proposed bridge extension, there will be a lapse in support after expiration of the current period of performance that expires on 16 June 2026, under bridge contract W91CRB-25-C-A018.

The total new extension period is estimated to be approximately ninety (90) days, an estimated three (3) months, running from 16 June 2026 through 15 September 2026.

The proposed bridge contract extension would provide the Government with uninterrupted performance of critical services for the accountability, development, production and fielding of PM OCIE/PPE equipment.

4. Description of Supplies/Services: PM OCIE/PPE’s mission is to equip, clothe, and protect Soldiers to maximize performance today and provide enhanced capability tomorrow. PM OCIE/PPE’s products protect Soldiers and allow them to operate in any condition. Product Manager Holistic Health and Fitness (PdM H2F), Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (PdM SCIE) and Product Manager Soldier Protective Equipment (PdM SPE) are subordinate Product Offices in PM OCIE/PPE.

SETA support is needed for PM OCIE/PPE which includes engineering support, quality assurance and test support, acquisition support, business management support, logistics and fielding support, operations support, and administrative support during. The specific task areas include but are not limited to tasks for: program management analysis, planning, studies, liaison, and operations support, strategic communications, engineering and logistics support, new equipment training, system test and product fielding support, acquisition and contracting support, software development and system safety, studies and analysis and quick response support.

The Period of Performance for this contract extension consists of a three (3) month running from 16 June 2026 through 15 September 2026. The Independent Government Estimate (IGE) amount is which is based on a detailed analysis of the required labor level of effort and skill mix calculated against current and recent labor rates for the same or similar labor categories.

5. Authority Cited: Title 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) §3204(a)(2) as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.302-2(a)(2)(b), where an unusual and compelling urgency precludes full and open competition; and delay in award of a contract would result in serious injury, financial or other, to the Government.

6. Reason for Authority Cited: As described at 6.302-2(a)(2)(b), where an unusual and compelling urgency precludes full and open competition; and delay in award of a contract would result in serious injury, financial or other, to the Government.

a) Background: PM OCIE/PPE’s SETA contractor workforce provides critical support worldwide. Any break in service would have serious impacts and would negatively affect PM OCIE/PPE’s ability to accomplish its mission. One of PM OCIE/PPE’s most important missions is , which is performed primarily by SETA contractors. At any given time, numerous SETA contractors are conducting with

. These events are scheduled , requiring units to block time on their training schedules, and planning and preparation for shipping and storing equipment and the unit’s fielding sites.

The SETA contractor operates the PM OCIE/PPE fixed issue points in several

A fixed issue point is a PM OCIE/PPE operated facility where PM OCIE/PPE maintains stocks of critical equipment. It enables quick equipment issue and training for both individuals and small units who deploy. A break in services would require transfer of accountability of millions of dollars in equipment in a short period of time. Additionally, the contractors located in would have to exit the fixed issue point almost immediately in order to redeploy and out-process prior to the end of the contract Period of Performance.

Soldiers receiving equipment issued at these fixed issue points would experience a degradation in service as the fixed issue points would be undermanned, causing delays and longer wait times to issue equipment.

The PM OCIE/PPE SETA contractor is integral to the organization’s efforts to obligate funding that results in delivering lifesaving capability and survivability to Soldiers. The SETA contractors fill vital non-inherently governmental roles in acquisition support that entail preparation of documents for production contracts. A disruption of SETA support services for PM OCIE/PPE will put at immediate risk every contract award planned for during the extension period. Other technical functions, including engineering and quality control support, would also be disrupted.

This disruption would delay work on numerous projects that are critical to the development, production and fielding of PM OCIE/PPE equipment.

At the time of the award of the replacement task order W91CRB-25-F-A060, the existing task order W91CRB-19-F-0249 with DCS Corporation (DCS) and the newly awarded task order were only approximately thirty (30) days into their respective transition periods. The transition periods included a transition-out for the incumbent DCS under W91CRB-19-F-0249, and a transition-in for the awardee of task order W91CRB-25-F-A060, both of which began on 16 July 2025.

DCS (W91CRB-19-F-0249 task order holder and W91CRB-25-C-A018 contract holder) currently has its resources optimally allocated to serve the needs of the Government and has the current knowledge and understanding of the SETA support required. Another vendor would not be able to effectively replicate this positioning without the Government experiencing an unacceptable break in services.

b) Alternatives: If this justification were not approved, the Government’s alternative would be a long lead-time competitive acquisition and associated extended lapse in service which is unacceptable for the reasons explained in detail above.

Attempting to award a short-term contract for a three (3) month support period to any source other than the current contractor, DCS, would require an additional time-consuming procurement cycle, mobilization, and transition to a new contractor, resulting in unacceptable time delays, a gap in service, and thus mission failure.

Procurement action lead-time (PALT) indicates a separate competitive bridge acquisition of this size would take at least four (4) months.

Furthermore, there are no vendors other than DCS capable of having a team of contractors in place on 16 June 2026, fully on-boarded, qualified, and ready to perform the Performance Work Statement (PWS) tasks with no gap or interruption of services. DCS is the only contractor with the capability to provide uninterrupted service to the Government and continue/complete the work that is ongoing at PM OCIE/PPE. Any other contractor, regardless of overall capability, would require a minimum of sixty (60) days (the transition in period anticipated on the new competitive action) to develop a basic understanding of the current PM OCIE/PPE and successfully perform all requirements.

The Government is unable to split components of the PWS and issue separate competitive actions, due to the cross functional relationship of the services, and without threatening successful progress and resolution of critical in-process work.

c) Impact if not approved: Failure to approve this justification would result in unacceptable disruptions and degradation of the Army’s as well as . These disruptions would

Any interruption in the

. A break in SETA support beginning on 16 June 2026 would cause a short notice rescheduling of and would require SETA personnel

. This occurrence would not only impact the , but it would also

, as the property accountability function is performed by SETA contractors at both fielding and NET locations and at PM OCIE/PPE headquarters at Fort Belvoir. Other technical functions, including engineering and quality control support, would also be disrupted. This disruption would delay work on numerous projects that are critical to the development, production and fielding of PM OCIE/PPE equipment. Most importantly, training events would either not occur or would have to be executed at the unit level. This would increase the risk of

For example, NET trainers provide training on

Failure to

Likewise, . PM

OCIE/PPE recently took responsibility for the Health and Holistic Fitness (H2F) program. The majority of the H2F program staff is comprised of SETA contractors. A break in SETA support will stop most work on this program, which is the second highest priority program for the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army.

7. Efforts to Obtain Competition: In accordance with FAR 5.202(a)(2), the Contracting Officer need not publish a notice of this action as required by FAR 5.201 when the proposed contract action is made under the conditions described in FAR 6.302-2.

a. Effective competition: This action is for an estimated $10,000,000.00 bridge contract extension to obtain specific services that have been provided by DCS.

Based on the information in paragraph 5 above, a new competitive contract has been awarded but the Government received a protest in response to the corrective action response filed 19 March 2026, which is currently under review. A gap in service of approximately three (3) months will exist in support between the expiration date of the current bridge contract (15 June 2026) and the full performance of the newly awarded task order, W91CRB-25-F-A060 without the requested bridge contract extension. This gap in service is considered unacceptable as it would result in serious injury to the Government’s mission as described above.

12.Technical 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.

13. 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.

14. Fair and Reasonable Cost Determination: I hereby determine that the anticipated price/cost to the Government for this contract action will be determined realistic and fair and reasonable. This determination will be based on performing a cost analysis in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(c) and a cost realism analysis in accordance with FAR 15.404-1(d), and obtaining Certified Cost and Pricing Data in accordance with FAR 15.403-4.

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

Theresa S. Quick Contracting Officer

Approval

Based on the foregoing justification, I hereby approve the bridge contract extension to DCS for a value not to exceed $10,000,000.00 million to support the period from 16 June 2026 through 15 September 2026, on an other than full and open competition basis pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(2) Competition Requirements as implemented in Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 6.302-2 – Unusual and Compelling Urgency. The approval is subject to availability of funds, and provided that the supplies and/or services herein described have otherwise been authorized for this acquisition.

Theresa S. Quick Contracting Officer

ACC-DTA