Space and Missile Defense Initiatives Support III (SMDIS III) Scientific, Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) Program.

The purpose of this announcement is to publish Amendment 0004 to W91260-09-R-0002 for Space and Missile Defense Initiative Support III SETA Services which provides clarification to amendment 0003 (posted on 7 May 2009) regarding PDF format and to answer a question concerning section L-10, Volume IV - Cost/Price.

Offerors are also advised; that due to technical limitations (number sequences of amendments) in the ASFI posting system, the ASFI Amendment 0001 correlates to the final released request for proposal documents; ASFI Amendment 0002 correlates to the Government's posting of solicitation Amendment 0001; ASFI Amendment 0003 correlates to the Government's posting of solicitation Amendment 0002; ASFI Amendment 0004 correlates to the Government's posting of solicitation Amendment 0003; and ASFI Amendment 0005 correlates to the Government's posting of solicitation Amendment 0004. To date, there are four amendments associated with this solicitation.

The purpose of this announcement is to advise offerors that Amendment 0001 to solicitation W91260-09-R-0002 for SMDIS III, SETA Services was posted to the Army's Single Face to Industry (ASFI) and FedBizOpps on Tuesday, 28 April 2009. The amendment incorporated minor language changes in sections J, L, and M of the solicitation and revisions to various attachments referenced in section J. Offerors were also advised that questions regarding any of the changes resulting from solicitation Amendment 0001 should be submitted in writing not later than 3:00 PM Mountain Time on 29 April 2009. A revised Past Performance Volume submission date of Monday, 4 May 2009, 4:30 PM Mountain Time has been established as a result of changes defined in Amendment 0001.

Offerors are also advised; that due to technical limitations (number sequences of amendments) in the ASFI posting system, the ASFI Amendment 0001 correlates to the final released request for proposal documents, and ASFI Amendment 0002 correlates to the Government's posting of solicitation Amendment 0001. To date, there is only one amendment associated with this solicitation.

Offerors are also reminded to ensure they review all solicitation document sets to ensure the most current documents are being used to develop proposals.

The purpose of this announcement is to advise interested offerors that an amendment is forthcoming that will incorporate offeror questions and answers, and changes to the solicitation and attachments as necessary. As a result of the forthcoming solicitation amendment, a revised Past Performance Volume submission date will be published and included with the solicitation amendment.

Based on some of the questions received, offerors are advised to review and confirm that they are basing proposals from the most current set of documents available for the SMDIS III, SETA acquisition. The most current document set is the final released solicitation package published on April 15, 2009 which can be accessed by clicking on the link directly under the phrase "Amendment 1". Offerors will find the most current document sent under Government User Uploaded Solicitation Files with an upload date of 15 April 2009.

Offers should also be advised that the Government has no privity of contract with subcontractors. Therefore, the Government will not complete past performance questionnaires unless the requesting party was a prime Government Contractor.  Offerors who supported prime contractors as subcontractors on previous Government contracts should request past performance questionnaires be completed by their respective Prime Contractors.

The anticipated final solicitation release date posted in pre-solicitation amendment on March 30, 2009, 1:36 p.m. is changed from April 10, 2009 to April 17, 2009.

The anticipated final solicitation release date posted in pre-solicitation amendment on March 20, 2009, 2:45 p.m. is changed from March 31, 2009 to April 10, 2009.

The purpose of this amendment is to correct the Small Business Set-aside language in the initial pre-solicitation announcement, to post the draft solicitation for the SMDIS III, SETA Acquisition for industry review and comments, and to provide specific guidelines for responding to the Government with any comments industry may have regarding the draft solicitation and attachments.

1. The statement 100% Small Business Set-aside referenced in this initial pre-solicitation announcement is changed to read Total Small Business Set-Aside. The SMDIS III, SETA Acquisition is a Total Small Business Set-Aside.

2. Draft solicitation W91260-09-R-0002 is posted, with attachments, for industry review. Interested offerors are encouraged to provide comments and/or recommendations about the draft solicitation and attachments. Please send comments and/or recommendations by email to both Ruth Schklar, Contract Specialist at ruth.schklar@smdc-cs.army.mil, and S. Brian Gaines, Contracting Officer, at sven.gaines@smdc-cs.army.mil not later than 4:30 PM Mountain Daylight Savings Time, on Thursday, March 26, 2009. Questions/comments/recommendations will not be addressed by telephone, nor will the Government entertain any requests for one-on-one meetings regarding this acquisition.

3. The Government anticipates release of the final solicitation on or about Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Due to an administrative error, the Contracting Officer phone number was posted incorrectly. Please change the following sentence from: Questions may be addressed to the following: S. Brian Gaines, Contracting Officer, 719-554-1969, sven.gaines@smdc-cs.army.mil; to: Questions may be addressed to the following: S. Brian Gaines, Contracting Officer, 719-554-1962, sven.gaines@smdc-cs.army.mil;

The US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC)/Army Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) intends to solicit and award multiple Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF), Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), contracts for Scientific, Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) for the Space and Missile Defense Initiatives Support III (SMDIS III) Program. This procurement is a follow-on to the current multiple award CPFF IDIQ contracts for the SMDIS II Program which expire on September 30, 2009. USASMDC/ARSTRAT anticipates that two or three contracts will be awarded as a result of this 100% small business set-aside. The resultant contracts will have the capacity to provide support to all Government agencies involved in the Space, Homeland Defense, and Missile Defense arenas and shall support all functional areas of the contract Performance Work Statement (PWS), which include, but are not limited to: vision statements and doctrine; development of architectures; and, program support (e.g., planning, development, fielding documentation, modeling and simulation, system analysis and integration, integrated logistics support, development of strategy, support to the war fighter, contingency and mission support, program oversight, independent verification validation and test evaluation, prototype development, sustainment and operation, and analysis of emerging technologies). Support shall primarily focus on the five core USASMDC/ARSTRAT mission areas, which are: Space, Missile Defense, Information Operations, Global Strike and C4ISR. Potential areas of growth include: Infrastructure, Organization Analysis, and Evaluations; Intelligence Requirements; Systems Engineering and Systems Integration Analysis; Simulation and Modeling Development; Rapid Prototyping and Limited Development; Software Development, Network Development, and Information Systems Support; Integrated Logistics Support; Emerging Technologies Analysis; Quick Response Support; Meetings and Conference Organization Support; Staff Support; and Blue Force Tracking. When posted, the draft PWS, draft solicitation, applicable attachments and exhibits, and other historical SMDIS II documents and related information will be posted to Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI). An initial round of one-on-one meetings were held with industry on November 19 and 20, 2008. These one-on-one meetings were held as a market research mechanism to help determine best commercial practices, to maximize competition, and achievement of cost efficiencies in the acquisition process. Questions and answers related to the one-on-one sessions and the draft PWS were not posted or released; however, recommendations that the Government considered relevant were incorporated into the solicitation. A draft solicitation and associated supporting documents will be posted to ASFI in a follow-on notice. At that time industry will be provided the opportunity to review the draft documents and specific instructions for providing comments/feedback. Due to time constraints, a second round of one-on-one sessions will not be held. The final RFP will be posted to the ASFI after consideration and incorporation of relevant feedback/comments. All interested parties are encouraged to regularly monitor the website for all pertinent acquisition information ASFI will be the official the only means for SMDIS III information dissemination. The NAICS Code for this solicitation is 541712 and the small business size standard is 1,000 employees. The resultant contracts will establish a five-year ordering period starting on October 1, 2009 and ending on September 30, 2014. Individual task order duration will be determined by the type of appropriations available for funding and may be issued on a 12 month basis or may include a base period of performance plus options. The total contract maximum value will be $450 million for each contract awarded. However, the total negotiated value of all contracts awarded may not exceed the total program ceiling of $450 million. Questions may be addressed to the following: S. Brian Gaines, Contracting Officer, 719-554-1969, sven.gaines@smdc-cs.army.mil; Ruth Schklar, Contract Specialist, 719-554-8488, ruth.schklar@smdc-cs.army.mil; or David McAdam, Program Manager, 719-554-1832, david.mcadam@smdc-cs.army.mil. When the formal solicitation is issued, all communications shall be directed to the Contracting Officer or the Contract Specialist only.