Protective Security Services - Somalia

Added: Sep 01, 2017 12:03 pm

In September 2015, the Department of State (DOS) formally launched the U.S. Mission to Somalia, based out of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. In June 2016, the first US Ambassador to Somalia was sworn in after 25 years. With the increasing operations at the Mogadishu International Airport (MIA) and the expansion of Chief of Mission (COM) personnel to be permanently based in Somalia in late 2017, a more robust security force is required to ensure the life and safety of COM personnel in Somalia.

As the Department is newly establishing COM presence in Somalia, there are no other contract vehicles serving Somalia under which these services could be acquired. Diplomatic Security (DS) seeks to establish a sole source task order under WPS II for urgent security services in support of U.S. Mission Somalia. This task order will provide mobile security services to support the Chief of Mission and its employees in and around the Mogadishu, Somalia area, with logistical support provided out of Nairobi, Kenya. Critical areas of mission support include, but are not limited, to the following requirements:

• Protective services (PRS)
• In-country PRS training /annual refresher training
• Recruitment, screening, and selection of qualified personnel
• Emergency medical services
• Tactical Operations Center services
• Logistical support / Inventory control
• Communications
• Contract administration
• Maintaining required manning levels and staffing key personnel positions
• Reporting and administrative tasks at the places of performance

Critical Factors:
1. Licenses: Host nation licenses are often the source of significant delays, especially when mobilizing for new work. The prime must be licensed to provide security services in Somalia and registered to conduct business in Kenya. Having both these licenses mitigates the substantial risk of performance delays due to approval of new licenses.

2. Clearances: Bio-approvals and SECRET level security clearances for newly hired personnel can exceed ninety days. Vendors without an actively employed, approved, and cleared labor pool have a much higher risk of failing to meet the mobilization timeline.

3. Training: The first step for any non-performing WPS II vendor selected for this requirement would be to submit training curricula to the Department. The Department would have to approve these curricula (a minimum of one week) and to have instructors reviewed and approved (one to two weeks), and then begin training. Completion of training requirements varies but can extend to several months.

4. Availability: Required resources must be readily available for deployment.

Due to the urgent need to stand up operations in Somalia by September 1, 2017, an award date of no later than August 2, 2017 was critical to the success of the U.S. Mission in Somalia.