Local Guard Services- U. S. Mission Bamako

***** BEGIN AMENDMENT A002 *****

The purpose of this amendment is to extend the due date for the submission of proposals.
The current due date of January 31, 2018 at 10:00am eastern time has been changed to no later than February 2, 2018 at 10:00am eastern time.  No proposal submissions will be accepted after 10:00am eastern time on January 31, 2018.

Additionally, this amendment is to provide a revision of the solicitation to address the follow;
-Change the proposal due date in Section L.5 to reflect the new due date of NLT 10:00am ET on February 2, 2018
-Revise Section L to correct typographic errors and provide clarifications
-Revise Section M to clarify the evaluation factors
-Revise Section J to remove Exhibits J and U
-Revise Exhibit Q for clarification

The Government responses to vendor questions are included as part of this amendment posting as SAQMMA16R0396 Resp to Vendor Questions

***** END AMENDMENT A002 *****

***** BEGIN AMENDMENT A001 *****

The purpose of this amendment is to extend the due date for the submission of proposals.
The original due date of January 10, 2018 at 10:00am eastern time has been changed to no later than January 31, 2018 at 10:00am eastern time.  No proposal submissions will be accepted after 10:00am eastern time on January 31, 2018.

***** END AMENDMENT A001 *****

Notice Type:               Pre-Solicitation - SAQMMA-16-R-0396
Agency/Office:            Department of State/Office of Acquisition Managemen
Title:                            Local Guard Services - U.S. Mission Bamako

Description:

Synopsis:

ALL INTERESTED OFFERORS WILL NEED TO COMPLETE AND RETURN A RESTRICTED ACCESS REQUEST IN ORDER TO BE GRANTED ACCESS TO THIS REQUIREMENT

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has a requirement for a qualified Contractor to provide Local Guard Services to support the U.S. Mission in Bamako. The Government requires a secure environment to conduct their mission. The Contractor shall provide the organizational structure, management, and qualified staff at levels adequate to meet or exceed the requirement contained in the Performance Work Statement. The Contractor shall be required to provide services in a manner that prevent loss or injury to U.S. personnel, dependents, property; destruction of assets; to prevent unauthorized access; and deter potential terrorist attacks. Anticipated period of performance is one base year and four one-year options (to be exercised at the sole discretion of the Government).

All contracted personnel, regardless of nationality, will be required to pass a background investigation conducted by the Contractor and a separate background investigation conducted by the U.S. Government to certify their suitability for employment under this contract.

The approximate acquisition schedule is as follows: The synopsis will be posted for approximately fifteen (15) days. No paper copies will be mailed. Once the solicitation is posted on FedBizOpps, the offerors will have approximately thirty (30) days to submit proposals. All dates are subject to change and any change will be posted on this site.

Site Visits of the U.S. Mission facilities in Bamako will be scheduled and detailed in the solicitation. A firm date of this site visit will be included in L.1 of the solicitation. Offerors are responsible for entry visa, all travel arrangements, local transportation, and accommodations. Due to space limitations, only two (2) representatives from each firm will be allowed for the site visit.

Offerors are requested to provide notice of their interest in the solicitation (i.e., name of representative, name of firm, address) to William Todd at toddwe2@state.gov and William Schaeffer at schaefferwt@state.gov.

PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

Offerors shall have an active registration on the System for Award Management at https://www.SAM.gov. Offerors shall ensure that the point of contact (POC) on the Restricted Access Request form provides his/her full name, including first, middle (if applicable), and last name. The POC's full name shall be identical to the full name in the FBO.gov database.

The Offeror must also ensure that the submitting POC's full name, including first, middle (if applicable), and last name, are identical in SAM.gov as the names appear in FBO.gov.
In accordance with 22 U.S.C. § 4864, the Government will give preference to offerors qualifying as U.S. persons or U.S. Joint Venture Persons. The contract will be awarded to the best technically acceptable proposal with the lowest evaluated price.

Notice Type:               Source Sought - SAQMMA-16-R-0396
Agency/Office:            Department of State/Office of Acquisition Managemen
Title:                            Local Guard Services - U.S. Mission Bamako

 Description:

 The Department of State is conducting market research to determine the degree of
interest and capability by small businesses only in providing local guard services at the U.S. Embassy Bamako, Mali.

The Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security plays an essential role in ensuring that foreign policy missions are accomplished in a safe and secure environment.  The primary mission of the local guard service is to provide protection for United States personnel, facilities, and equipment from damage or loss due to violent attack and theft.  The local guard services shall prevent unauthorized access; protect life; maintain order; deter criminal and terrorist attacks against employees, dependents, and property; and prevent damage to all U.S. assets.  The NAICS code for these services is 561612.

 Responses must clearly demonstrate capabilities through examples of previous and/or current guard security contracts or experience closely related thereto. 

 Vendors must specifically address the following capabilities:

• 
  
• Current licenses, work authorizations in compliance with host country law required for the execution of work, including firearms permits and licenses. Licenses must be in the name of the U.S. small business.
  
• Knowledge of and compliance with host country labor law which may require bonuses, specific minimum wage levels, premium pay for holidays, payments for social security, pensions, severance pay, sick or health benefits, childcare or any other benefit 
  
• Knowledge of and compliance with host country tax law
  
• Ability to provide all types of insurance coverage required by host country in performance of services, such as automobile liability, comprehensive general liability, worker's compensation, employer's liability, etc.
  
• Furnishing, operating, and maintaining a radio network, including acquiring all licenses and permits that may be required for frequencies and the operation of all communications equipment     
  
• Familiarity or experience with associated security equipment such as Guard Electronic Monitoring System (GEMS), Central Alarm Monitoring systems (CAMS), closed-circuit television systems, x-ray and explosive detection equipment
  
• Furnishing guard force equipment such as uniforms, vehicles, and weapons
  
• Ability to overcome language barriers
  
• Capability of instructing, providing, and qualifying personnel in the use of firearms, as well as x-ray equipment and radio equipment, including obtaining the access to a firearm training facility
  
• Ability to maintain a guard staff on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis with the ability to immediately backfill vacant positions due to resignations, rotations and illnesses due to a variety of reasons such as flu and food poisoning
  
• Capability of dealing with organized actions by direct labor personnel such as strikes (anticipated and unanticipated) and labor unrest (work slowdowns and/or organized failure of employees to report for shift changes)
  
• Ability to hire and train, including English language training and weapons training, if required, a guard staff consisting of host country nationals
  
• Ability to provide trained equipment technicians for all vehicles, radios and weapons required in the performance of the contract
  
• Ability to train a sizeable workforce to adapt quickly to unfamiliar laws and customs as well as the ability of company officials to gain quickly information regarding the laws and customs needed to maintain and equip such a workforce
  
• Experience or capability of getting contractor-furnished equipment and goods through customs and/or similar governmental agencies of the host country
  
• Understanding import and export regulations 
  
• Understanding  and familiarity of  the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) and the capability of complying with both by the performance date of any contract awarded requiring the execution of this Statute (22 U.S.C. 2778-2780)
  
• Managing smooth contract transition efforts.
  
• Ability to safely keep and track Government-Furnished Property
  
• Ability to screen personnel to meet suitability requirements for guard force positions
  
• Strong skill in instant, situational decision-making, e.g., response to threats
  
• Organized billing and invoicing procedures
  

It is requested that all interested parties submit their capabilities by e-mail to Nikki B. Burley at burleynb@state.gov addressing each of the above requirements by 12:00 EST, July 6, 2016.  Interested parties shall also complete the attached Contractor Information Sheet.

If you have any questions or comments, please reference this Sources Sought Notice when emailing.      

At this time, the U.S. Department of State does not guarantee that any future contracts may be awarded covering the aforementioned duties and responses to this Sources Sought notice do not bind the U.S. Department of State to any agreement with the responder, be it explicit or implied.