Collaborative Testing Services (CTS) Proficiency Testing Supplies

This notice announces the intent by the Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity (DHACA) Fort Detrick, Maryland, 21702, to award a sole source Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) Contract to Collaborative Testing Services (CTS) under the statutory authority 12.102(a). The contract is for the purchase of Scheduled proficiency tests shipped at specified dates (vendor dependent) to include testing materials (bloodstains, dried body fluid stains, dried saliva samples) for the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES), Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL).

Collaborative Testing Services, LLC (CTS) is the only responsible source capable of providing the highly specialized proficiency testing supplies and services required to maintain the accreditation and operational integrity of the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFMES/AFDIL). While four proficiency testing providers are recognized by laboratory accrediting bodies—Collaborative Testing Services, Bode Cellmark Forensics, College of American Pathologists (CAP), and Serological Research Institute (SERI)—comprehensive market research and technical evaluation confirm that only CTS satisfies the agency’s minimum operational, throughput, and scientific requirements. The remaining three providers present critical technical deficiencies that make them unsuitable for AFDIL’s casework requirements: Bode Cellmark Forensics offers infrequent testing schedules that cannot support AFDIL’s staffing capacity or rolling test intervals; SERI imposes compressed completion windows that are incompatible with the extended processing times required by AFDIL’s advanced testing technologies; and CAP utilizes a manual, scan-based submission process that introduces an unacceptable risk of data transcription errors. In contrast, CTS uniquely provides the validated test substrates, electronic reporting infrastructure, and staggered distribution schedules necessary to efficiently test personnel on a continuous basis without disrupting critical forensic operations. Procuring these tests from any other source would jeopardize compliance with time-sensitive accreditation standards, compromise the validity of future casework, and introduce substantial risks to the laboratory's mission. CTS is the sole provider that meets all required sample matrices, capacity requirements, and distribution intervals.

Delivery Date: 01 November 2026

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is 334516 and the size standard is 1,250 Employees. 

This is a notice of intent to issue a contract on a sole source basis. This notice of intent is NOT a request for quotations (RFQ). Any other firms desiring consideration must fully identify their interest in and capability to provide these services to the individual listed below. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. If no written responses are received by the expiration date listed in this notice, which reflects at least fifteen (15) days after the publication of this notice, the award will be issued as sole source.

All questions and responses concerning this notice shall be emailed to Mr. Christopher L. Cook at christopher.l.cook68.civ@health.mil.