Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source - TLETS Upgrade

The Department of the Air Force has issued a Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source for a comprehensive upgrade and maintenance project of the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications Systems (TLETS) infrastructure at Sheppard Air Force Base. The procurement is being conducted by the 82nd Security Forces Squadron (82 SFS) and will be awarded without competitive bidding. This special notice was posted on March 4, 2026, with a response deadline of March 7, 2026. The project encompasses equipment upgrades, workstation assembly and installation, and removal of existing equipment used across the Base Defense Operations Center, Visitor Control Center, and Investigations section. The NAICS classification for this opportunity is Electronic Computer Manufacturing (334111), and it falls under the IT and Telecom services category (PSC 7E20).

The objective of this sole source procurement is to upgrade and maintain TLETS infrastructure that is critical to security operations, enabling personnel to conduct instant criminal background checks and verify driver's licenses and vehicle registrations. The Air Force has determined that TSM Consulting Services, Inc. is the only suitable contractor due to its 20 years of exclusive experience servicing these systems since 2006, and the justification argues that any alternative vendor would create unacceptable mission degradation risks and costly delays. The acquisition requires compliance with terminal-owning agency requirements under DAFMAN31-103v1, including T-0 waiver compliance for NCIC terminal operations, training, physical protection, and system validations. Since this is a sole source award rather than a competitive procurement, traditional contractor eligibility criteria and competitive participation opportunities do not apply. The decision to award without competition was based on the unique technical knowledge and operational continuity that TSM Consulting has developed over two decades of service to Sheppard Air Force Base.