Special Operations Forces Training, Engineering and Maintenance Support IV (SOF TEAMS IV)

****THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE HAS BEEN AMENDED TO UPDATE THE NAICS CODE TO 541330 EXCEPTION 01 (MILITARY AND AEROSPACE EQUIPMENT AND MILITARY WEAPONS);  TO UPDATE THE PLACE OF PERFORMANCE TO FORT CAMPBELL, KY; AND TO ADD FOUR (4) ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED IN THE CAPABILITIES STATEMENT. OTHER MINOR CHANGES WERE ALSO MADE. VENDORS THAT PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED CAPABILITY STATEMENTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO RESUBMIT, BUT IT IS RECOMMENDED SINCE THE ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN UPDATED.****

PROGRAM TITLE: Special Operations Forces Training, Engineering and Maintenance Support IV (SOF TEAMS IV)

PURPOSE:  The U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), Product Manager Special Operations Forces (SOF) Training Systems (PdM STS) is conducting market research to determine the capability of industry to provide hardware and software maintenance, logistics, administration, and minor engineering enhancements to the Training Aids, Devices, Simulators, and Simulations (TADSS) that support the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (SOAR(A)), located at Fort Campbell, KY, and potentially other CONUS and OCONUS locations.

The Period of Performance for the current PdM STS Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) effort ends on 31 March 2024 and the support for the TADSS must continue.  The new CLS contract is intended to support all currently fielded and future fielded TADSS, which the 160th SOAR(A) utilizes for Mission Rehearsal and Training Support. With respect to this effort, the overarching priorities for the 160th SOAR(A) are to maintain a reliable fleet of Combat Mission Simulators (CMSs) capable of supporting high fidelity simulated/stimulated training under scheduled and unscheduled throughput conditions. In addition to the technical aspect of this effort there will be a significant amount of management, in terms of on-site coordination between the customer and contractor personnel.

The purpose of this Sources Sought is for PEO STRI to conduct specific market research and assess industry’s ability to support these devices under a multi-year services contract.  This effort will address the ability to provide adequate support for the required level of effort necessary for steady state and surge support usage of these devices.  Based on this assessment, PEO STRI intends to award a competitive contract.  Prospective contractor personnel must possess a minimum SECRET clearance and be United States citizens.  Any information provided to the Government in response to this sources sought shall be at the Offeror’s expense. 

REQUIRED CAPABILITIES:

1.  The vendor shall conduct all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on TADSS located on the 160th SOAR (A) Brown Compound and Sabre Army Airfield (SAAF) located at Ft. Campbell, KY.

1. The Government requires 7-day CLS coverage on the Brown Compound and 5 days a week (Mon-Fri) at SAAF.  The normal core training support hours are anticipated at 16 hours a day, 5 days a week (Mon-Fri).  Weekend shift hours anticipated at 8 hours a day (Sat & Sun).
2. Vendors shall comply with all applicable regulations.
3. Vendors shall provide a capability to expand support for additional fielded systems, both locally and other CONUS and potentially OCONUS installations.

2.  Vendor shall perform all logistics functions related to the services contract to include, but not limited to:

1. Tools and test equipment accountability, calibration, repair, and replacement.
2. Develop, maintain logistics database(s), incorporating the current and ongoing technical library, capable of managing multiple TADSS hardware/software configuration baselines, contract spares, special tools/test equipment and Government Furnished Information (GFI), Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Furnished Materials (GFM).
3. Repair and replace spares, repair parts and broken subcomponents.
4. Accountability and transition of all GFI, GFE and GFM.
5. Acquisition of hardware and software in support of growth or capital equipment replacement.
6. Maintenance, hardware and software engineering changes, maintenance actions, obsolescence, utilization, and reliability reporting.
7. Provide program consumables and expendables.
8. Provide TADSS configuration management.
9. Provide a plan for continual process/product improvement.
10. Develop, merge, and maintain internal, Government and 3rd party contractor documentation modifications.
11. Maintain, modify, and integrate Government source databases (Visual, Navigation, Avionics).
12. Maintain, modify, and integrate the databases that are part of the Regiment’s Common Visual Solution.
13. Develop, manage, and maintain a Cybersecurity program managed through the DoD’s Risk Management Framework.
14. Comply with all Security agreements and Security Regulations.
15. Perform advanced computer/network support.

3.  Vendor shall provide engineering support to perform limited hardware and software upgrades and modifications to provide enhanced capabilities as prioritized by PEO STRI.

4.  Transition with current vendor shall not exceed 2 months after contract award and be completed by 31 MAR 2024.

5.  Contractors are requested to provide a capability statement including a cover sheet. The cover page should include company name, address, and points of contact including phone numbers and e-mail addresses. The capabilities statement shall respond to the following areas of interest:

1. Briefly describe the applicable capabilities of your company and the nature of the goods and/or services you provide. Include a description of your staff composition and management structure.
2. Describe your company's past experience (no more than three examples) on previous projects similar in scope and complexity to this requirement in the last 5 years. Please provide Government POC contact information for the past experience.
3. Describe your company’s experience managing TADSS Government Furnished Information (GFI) (technical data, engineering drawings, manuals, and source code/media), Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Furnished Materials (GFM).
4. Describe your company’s experience with spare part repair activities, repair part replenishment, tools and test equipment maintenance and calibration and management of supply replenishment point levels.
5. Describe your company's experience at working collaboratively with another prime contractor.
6. Describe your company's experience managing subcontractors.
7. Describe your experience developing, managing, and maintaining TADSS Cyber Security through the DoD’s Risk Management Framework and associated documentation.
8. Describe your company's capabilities for, handling, updating, processing, and storing classified material and data.
9. Describe your past experience with providing engineering services or reach back capability to enable developing and fielding minor modifications to support Flight Simulator/aircraft concurrency. 
10. Describe your experience with site activation/startup at a new site for a newly fielded TADSS.
11. What experience do you have managing multiple CONUS locations at the same time and is the experience CLS-only, modification efforts, or both?
12. Describe your past experience providing TADSS CLS in a CLASSIFIED environment where proof of a security clearance is required.
13. Describe your experience with full motion rotary wing flight training devices.
14. Describe your experience supporting aircraft avionics hardware in the loop labs or aircraft avionics software integration labs.
15. Describe your experience with hybrid aviation simulators (especially rotary wing simulators) that combine aircraft avionics into full motion flight training devices.
16. Describe your experience supporting Common Avionics Architecture System, Air Management System, Digital Flight Control System, Active Parallel Actuator System, Degraded Visual Environment Pilotage System, and aircraft survivability equipment in flight training devices.
17. Contractors shall indicate if they are a large or small business under the NAICS code 541330 Exception 01 (Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons). If a small business, please indicate any applicable socio-economic status [i.e., 8a, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), HUBZone, Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), or Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)].
18. Please identify whether or not you have a GSA schedule.
19. If you plan on subcontracting or partnering with other companies to fulfill the requirements of this effort, please list the percentage of small business subcontracting anticipated for this effort.

ELIGIBILITY:

The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 541330 Exception 01 (Military and Aerospace Equipment and Military Weapons), with a Small Business Size Standard of $47.0M. The applicable Product Service Code (PSC) is J069 (Maintenance, Repair, and Rebuilding of Equipment- Training Aids and Devices).

*NOTE 01:  Effective 19 DEC 2022, SBA updated its Table of Small Business Size Standards to increase the small business size standards for monetary-based NAICS Codes by 13.65% to account for inflation since 2019.  Businesses must update their SAM.gov profiles in order to have their small business status updated based on the new size standards.  Until updated, the SAM profiles will continue to display the small business status under the old size standards.

*NOTE 02: In accordance with 13 C.F.R. 121.104, the current calculation for dollar (monetary) value based NAICS codes is average total receipts over the last five (5) completed fiscal years

VENDOR RESPONSES:

1.  Vendor Responses: Please keep your responses to under 20 pages, (8.5 x 11 inch).  Submit in PDF format, MS Word format Times New Roman 12pt Font single spaced. Every page should have the company name, header, page numbers, date and if applicable the version number. The cover sheet shall not be included in the 20-page limit.

2.  The Government has provided the current SOF TEAMS III Performance Work Statement (PWS) as an attachment to this notice. This document is provided solely for informational purposes and does not necessarily depict the total scope of requirements and performance expectations of the pending solicitation. Interested parties are urged to monitor www.sam.gov for any updates/ changes to this solicitation.     

DISCLAIMER: 

THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.  FIRMS RESPONDING TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WILL NOT BE INDIVIDUALLY NOTIFIED IF THE REQUIREMENT IS SOLICITED. SOLICITATIONS WILL OCCUR THROUGH THE WWW.SAM.GOV WEBSITE. AS PREVIOUSLY STATED, ACC–ORLANDO WILL USE THE RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION CONCERNING THE STRATEGY IT WILL PURSUE TO MEET ITS OBJECTIVE, INCLUDING DETERMINING SET-ASIDE OPPORTUNITIES.

*NOTE (LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING):  If you are a small business interested in being the prime contractor for this effort, please be advised that FAR clause 52.219-14 “Limitations on Subcontracting” (DEVIATION 2021-O0008) was updated in September 2021.  The current clause adds the definition of “Similarly Situated Entity” and the 50% calculation for compliance with the clause.  Small business prime contractors may now count “first tier subcontractor” work performed by a “Similarly Situated Entity” as if it were performed by the prime contractor itself. 

To assist in our market research and set-aside determination for this effort, if you are a small business interested in priming this effort and plan to utilize a “Similarly Situated Entity” to meet the Limitations on Subcontracting requirements, please identify the name & Unique Entity ID/CAGE Code of the specific firm(s) you intend to partner/subcontract with to meet the requirements as well as their SB size status under the NAICS that you as the prime would assign for their workshare.  Information regarding any planned “Similarly Situated Entity” should be included in answering any questions outlined in the SSN in order to assist the Government's capability determination.

RESPONSE REQUESTED:  Responses are due no later than 1600 EDT on 03 March 2023 to Mr. Justin Mauser, justin.r.mauser.civ@army.mil. Any questions or concerns should also be directed to Mr. Mauser.

PROGRAM TITLE: Special Operations Forces Training, Engineering and Maintenance Support 4 (SOF TEAMS 4)

SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES TRAINING, ENGINEERING AND MAINTENANCE SUPPORT 4 (SOF TEAMS 4) - SERVICES CONTRACT

U.S Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), Product Manager Special Operations Forces (SOF) Training Systems (PdM STS) is soliciting information regarding the capabilities of industry to provide services to support the hardware and software maintenance, logistics, administration, and minor engineering enhancements to the Training Aids, Devices, Simulators, and Simulations (TADSS) that support the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (SOAR(A)), located at Fort Campbell, KY, potentially other CONUS and an OCONUS location.

The Period of Performance for the current PdM STS Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) effort ends 31 Mar 2024 and support for the TADSS must continue.  The new CLS contract is intended to support all currently fielded and future fielded TADSS, which the 160th SOAR(A) utilizes for Mission Rehearsal and Training Support. With respect to this effort, the overarching priorities for the 160th SOAR(A) are to maintain a reliable fleet of Combat Mission Simulators (CMSs) capable of supporting high fidelity simulated/stimulated training under scheduled and unscheduled throughput conditions. In addition to the technical aspect of this effort there will be a significant amount of management, in terms of on-site coordination between the customer and contractor personnel.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this Sources Sought is for PEO STRI to conduct specific market research and assess industry’s ability to support these devices under a multi-year services contract.  This effort will address the ability to provide adequate support for the required level of effort necessary for steady state and surge support usage of these devices.  Based on this assessment, PEO STRI may award a competitive contract.  Prospective contractor personnel must possess a minimum SECRET clearance and be United States citizens.  Any information provided to the Government in response to this RFI shall be at the Offeror’s expense.  

REQUIRED CAPABILITIES:

1.  Vendor shall conduct all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance on TADSS located on the 160th SOAR (A) Brown Compound and Sabre Army Airfield (SAAF) located at Ft. Campbell, KY.

1. The Government requires 7-day CLS coverage on the Brown Compound and 5 days a week (Mon-Fri) at SAAF.  The normal core training support hours are anticipated at 16 hours a day, 5 days a week (Mon-Fri).  Weekend shift hours anticipated at 8 hours a day (Sat & Sun).
2. Vendors shall comply with all applicable regulations.
3. Vendors shall provide a capability to expand support for additional fielded systems, both locally and other CONUS and potentially OCONUS installations.

2.  Vendor shall perform all logistics functions related to the services contract to include, but not limited to:

1. Tools and test equipment accountability, calibration, repair, and replacement.
2. Develop, maintain logistics database(s), incorporating the current and ongoing technical library, capable of managing multiple TADSS hardware/software configuration baselines, contract spares, special tools/test equipment and Government Furnished Information (GFI), Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Furnished Materials (GFM).
3. Repair and replace spares, repair parts and broken subcomponents.
4. Accountability and transition of all GFI, GFE and GFM.
5. Acquisition of hardware and software in support of growth or capital equipment replacement.
6. Maintenance, hardware and software engineering changes, maintenance actions, obsolescence, utilization, and reliability reporting.
7. Provide program consumables and expendables.
8. Provide TADSS configuration management.
9. Provide a plan for continual process/product improvement.
10. Develop, merge and maintain internal, Government and 3rd party contractor documentation modifications.
11. Maintain, modify, and integrate Government source databases (Visual, Navigation, Avionics).
12. Maintain, modify, and integrate the databases that are part of the Regiment’s Common Visual Solution.
13. Develop, manage, and maintain a Cybersecurity program managed through the DoD’s Risk Management Framework.
14. Comply with all Security agreements and Security Regulations.
15. Perform advanced computer/network support.

3.  Vendor shall provide engineering support to perform limited hardware and software upgrades and modifications to provide enhanced capabilities as prioritized by PEO STRI.

4.  Transition with current vendor shall not exceed 2 months after contract award and be completed by 31 MAR 2024.

5.  Contractors are requested to provide a capability statement including a cover sheet. The cover page should include company name, address, and points of contact including phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

The capabilities statement shall respond to the following areas of interest:

1. Briefly describe the applicable capabilities of your company and the nature of the goods and/or services you provide. Include a description of your staff composition and management structure.
2. Describe your company's past experience (no more than three examples) on previous projects similar in scope and complexity to this requirement in the last 5 years. Please provide Government POC contact information for the past experience.
3. Describe your company’s experience managing TADSS Government Furnished Information (GFI) (technical data, engineering drawings, manuals, and source code/media), Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Furnished Materials (GFM).
4. Describe your company’s experience with spare part repair activities, repair part replenishment, tools and test equipment maintenance and calibration and management of supply replenishment point levels.
5. Describe your company's experience at working collaboratively with another prime contractor.
6. Describe your company's experience managing subcontractors.
7. Describe your experience developing, managing, and maintaining TADSS Cyber Security through the DoD’s Risk Management Framework and associated documentation.
8. Describe your company's capabilities for, handling, updating, processing, and storing classified material and data.
9. Describe your past experience with providing engineering services or reach back capability to enable developing and fielding minor modifications to support Flight Simulator/aircraft concurrency. 
10. Describe your experience with site activation/startup at a new site for a newly fielded TADSS.
11. What experience do you have managing multiple CONUS locations at the same time and is the experience CLS-only, modification efforts, or both?
12. Describe your past experience providing TADSS CLS in a CLASSIFIED environment where proof of a security clearance is required.
13. Contractors shall indicate if they are a large or small business based on NAICS code 541330 or 336413. If small business, please indicate any applicable socio-economic status [i.e., 8a, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), HUBZone, Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), or Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)] under NAICS 336413
14. Please identify whether or not you have a GSA schedule.
15. If you plan on subcontracting or partnering with other companies to fulfill the requirements of this effort, please list the percentage of small business subcontracting anticipated for this effort.

VENDOR RESPONSES:

1.  Vendor Responses: Please keep your responses to under 20 pages, (8.5 x 11 inch).  Submit in PDF format, MS Word format Times New Roman 12pt Font single spaced. Every page should have the company name, header, page numbers, date and if applicable the version number. The cover sheet shall not be included in the 20-page limit.

2.  The Government has provided the current SOF TEAMS III Performance Work Statement (PWS) as an attachment to this Notice. This document is provided solely for informational purpose and does not necessarily depict the total scope of requirements and performance expectations of the pending solicitation. Upon analysis of the data received from this notice and further refinement of the solicitation’s requirements, it is the Government’s expectation to provide a SOF TEAMS 4 draft PWS in the coming months. Interested parties are urged to monitor www.sam.gov for any updates/ changes to this solicitation.    

 DISCLAIMER: 

This Sources Sought is for informational purposes only. This is not a request for proposal. It does not constitute a solicitation and shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Responses in any form are not offers and the Government is under no obligation to award a contract as a result of this announcement. No funds are available to pay for preparation of responses to this announcement. Any information submitted by respondents to this technical description is strictly voluntary.

Firms responding to this announcement will not be individually notified if the requirement is solicited. Solicitations will occur through the www.sam.gov website. As previously stated, ACC – Orlando will use the responses to this announcement to make an informed decision concerning the strategy it will pursue to meets its objective, including determining set-aside opportunities.

*NOTE (LIMITATIONS ON SUBCONTRACTING):  If you are a small business interested in being the prime contractor for this effort, please be advised that FAR clause 52.219-14 (Limitations on Subcontracting) was updated in September 2021.  The current clause adds the definition of “Similarly Situated Entity” and the 50% calculation for compliance with the clause.  Small business prime contractors may now count “first tier subcontractor” work performed by a “Similarly Situated Entity” as if it were performed by the prime contractor itself. 

To assist in our market research and set-aside determination for this effort, if you are a small business interested in priming this effort and plan to utilize a “Similarly Situated Entity” to meet the Limitations on Subcontracting requirements, please identify the name & DUNS/CAGE Code of the specific firm(s) you intend to partner/subcontract with to meet the requirements as well as their SB size status under the NAICS that you as the prime would assign for their workshare.  Information regarding any planned “Similarly Situated Entity” should be included in answering any questions outlined in the RFI in order to assist the Government's capability determination.

RESPONSE REQUESTED: Interested contractors are requested to

respond by August 31, 2022 no later than (NLT) 1:00 PM EST to Mr. John M. Shaffer, john.m.shaffer.civ@army.mil. The submission of this information is for Market Research Planning Purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the government to procure any services, or for the government to pay for the information received. No solicitation document exists at this time. Any questions or concerns, please contact Mr. John M. Shaffer, Contract Specialist at john.m.shaffer.civ@army.mil.