Nolen Independent Management LLC

Nolen Independent Management LLC, a woman-owned small disadvantaged business headquartered in Black Hawk, South Dakota, delivers emergency medical services, ambulances, rescue equipment, and medical support units to the U.S. Forest Service and allied federal agencies as a prime contractor competing predominantly in full-and-open (non-set-aside) markets, though holding multiple total-small-business set-aside indefinite-delivery contracts with the National Interagency Fire Center.

Nolen's capability portfolio centers on rapid-deployment emergency medical technician and paramedic support, advanced and basic life support ambulance services, specialized medical support units (MESU), rapid extraction support (REMS) modules, rescue vehicles, and utility terrain vehicles in support of wildland firefighting, forestry, and all-hazards incident response. Representative work includes a $514,231.53 purchase order from Forest Service Region 3 for rescue and medical services supporting the Calf Canyon incident in New Mexico (May 2022); a $451,197.62 purchase order from Region 6 for three ambulances to support emergency response in Double Creek, Oregon (September 2022); a $448,879.50 purchase order from the Indian Health Service for 90-day urgent paramedic services at Eagle Butte, South Dakota (April 2023); and a $7.5 million multiple-award blanket purchase agreement from the National Interagency Fire Center for mobile fire incident COVID-19 testing services running through May 2027. Recent 2026 awards span ambulance procurement ($66,206.90 to Region 1, $69,857.79 to Region 3), medical support units ($105,840.33 to Region 6), and emergency medical services delivery orders ($120,750 to Region 6, $353,503.99 to Region 6).

Customer concentration sits heavily with the Forest Service across regions. The top five funding entities account for 78% of award volume: Forest Service Region 6 (Pacific Northwest) leads with 24 awards valued at $2.7 million; Region 4 (Intermountain) follows with 17 awards at $2.2 million; Region 5 (Pacific Southwest) holds 14 awards at $1.1 million; the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) spans 8 awards but anchors $10.3 million in potential value via multiple IDCs; and Region 2 (Rocky Mountain) carries 7 awards at $453 thousand. By potential value, the top five reach 91% coverage, with NIFC's $10.3 million dominating dollars while Region 6's award count reflects frequent task-order issuance under indefinite-delivery vehicles. NAICS concentration reflects the service mix: 38 awards in ambulance services, 23 in support activities for forestry, 18 in miscellaneous ambulatory health care services, and 6 in vehicle rental and leasing.

Vehicle holdings sit on three Indefinite Delivery Contracts issued by NIFC: a $250,000 REMS (Rapid Extraction Module Support) IDC awarded July 16, 2026, running through July 16, 2029; a $500,000 Emergency Medical Responder contract for Region 13 nationally, awarded February 6, 2026, through June 27, 2028; and a $750,000 Advanced and Basic Life Support Ambulance Service contract for Region 13 nationally, awarded February 6, 2026, through June 12, 2028. Nolen also holds a $7.5 million multiple-award blanket purchase agreement for mobile fire incident COVID-19 testing. Additionally, three Forest Service VIPR (Virtual Incident Procurement) IDCs, each with $250,000 ceilings, support emergency medical responder and ambulance-service delivery across regions through 2027–2028. Task orders under these IDVs drive significant volumes: 9 task orders under one IDC at $566 thousand, 6 task orders under another at $166 thousand, and 6 task orders under a third at $755 thousand.

Activity has grown year over year from 9 awards in 2022 to a peak of 24 in 2024, with 14 awards in 2025 and 16 in 2026, indicating sustained demand. Combined potential value across 90 awards reaches $19.5 million, with $9.9 million obligated (51% realization). The vendor operates exclusively as a prime contractor — 100% of awards are prime; no sub-award activity appears in the source. SCI-reported invoiced revenue for federal service contracts above the $150,000 threshold totals $514 thousand in FY2022 (1.7 FTEs), with no SCI reportable activity in FY2025, reflecting the small-dollar transactional nature of most Forest Service purchase orders and delivery orders below SCI thresholds. Government-paid hourly rates on SCI-reportable records run $146.09/hr (median). Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, zero percent of contractor hours were performed by subs, indicating Nolen builds and deploys its own teams.

Nolen competes in full-and-open markets for most purchase orders and delivery orders but maintains teaming relationships through its seat on NIFC multiple-award IDCs reserved for total small businesses. The vendor does not appear as a sub to larger primes in the source data. The company's federal footprint is almost entirely within USDA Forest Service and allied civilian emergency-response agencies; no Department of Defense or intelligence-community work appears. The compressed performance timelines on most awards — often completion within one to four weeks of issuance — reflect the seasonal and incident-driven nature of wildland firefighting support, where rapid deployment of medical capability is the primary service driver.