A--Award of Solicitation W9113M-06-R-0001, Meteorological Support Services (MSS), for US Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site, was made 4 May 2007.

The United States Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site (USAKA/RTS) has a requirement for Meteorological Support Services (MSS). This effort will be a competitive set aside for small disadvantaged business pursuant to Section 8(a) of the Small Busin ess Act. A TOP SECRET facility clearance is required for this effort. Foreign participation will not be allowed at the prime or subcontract level. The planned period of performance is a 36-month basic effort with two option periods of 24 months each. The planned contract type is cost-plus-fixed-fee, level-of-effort. Release of the Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected in late May 2006. Contract a ward is planned for November 2006. These dates are for planning purposes only and are subject to change. USAKA/RTS is located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) approximately 2,100 nautical miles west-southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, 9 degrees north latitude and 167 degrees east longitude, approximately 700 miles north of the equator, in an intertrop ical convergence zone (ITCZ). USAKA/RTS is located west of the international dateline resulting in a normal government workweek of Tuesday through Saturday, which corresponds with the Continental United States Monday through Friday workweek. USAKA/RTS i s home for approximately 2,500 U.S. Government civilian, military, and contractor personnel who perform various roles in support of the missions of USAKA/RTS. USAKA/RTS provides substandard unaccompanied housing and limited family housing, limited dental and medical facilities, schools (preschool  12), dining facilities, department and grocery stores with limited choices, recreational activities and most of the amenities of a small town of comparable size. The primary mode of transportation is bicycle wi th no privately owned motor vehicles allowed. As a Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB), RTS is required to provide meteorology support as part of its test support capability. Consequently, RTS has a continuing need for MSS to collect, process, and interpret meteorological data; provide specialized weather forecasts; provide meteorological consultation services; provide operation and maintenance of meteorological equipment and instrumentation; provide systems engineering and integration; and improve ment and modernization. Additionally, the contractor is expected to perform the normal duties of a weather forecast office and meteorological observatory. Routine public service, aviation, and marine forecasts are issued and weather warnings and advisori es are disseminated as required. The required MSS effort is provided near the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), in an extremely corrosive marine environment (i.e., salt spray and periods of heavy rainfall). The contractor may be required to provide MSS on a campaign basis at remote locations outside Kwajalein Atoll, such as Wake Island and Aur Atoll in the RMI, as necessary to support KMR customer requirements. The contractor is expected to operate, and/or analyze/interpret data from, the following meteorological systems and instrumentation: Environmental Satellite Systems: Man-Computer Interactive Data Access System (McIDAS), suite of applications for analysis and visualization of complex meteorological data sets including satellite, radar, numerical model, and conventional observation data; CineSat, turnkey satellite analys is and forecast system provides real-time weather products including short-term predicted satellite images, cloud development maps, trajectories that predict the future movement of clouds, and positions, descriptions and predicted trajectories of convectiv e cloud cells; Meteorological Data Station AN/UMQ-13 (Mark IVB) to provide backup to the on-site readout imagery; Geostationary Satellite Data provides coverage reaching from the CONUS to the western Pacific; Polar-orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) d ata to include cloud heights, total ozone estimates, and atmospheric sounding retrievals. Weather Radar Systems: Kwajalein Polarimetric Radar (KPOL), Dual Polarized, Doppler S-Band Radar to detect, analyze and record precipitating weather systems; ALCOR/TRADEX Weather Scans to provide reflectivity from ALCOR/TRADEX radars. Upper Air Measurements: Meteorological Sounding System (MSS), auto-tracking telemetry system with ranging capability; International Meteorological Systems (IMET) Upper-air Sounding System to determine altitude, wind direction and speed; Radiotheodolite s ystem to provide wind data; Pilot Balloon (PIBAL) Observations to obtain low-level wind data; Meteorological Rocket and Robin Sphere Observations to provide meteorological data at altitudes higher than 100,000 feet. Conventional Ground Measurements: 3-cup rotor anemometer and spread-tail wind direction vane to perform wind measurements, H1063 Hygrothermometer to measure temperature, dew point, and relative humidity; Coastal Environmental Systems Precision Digital Baro meter to measure surface pressure; rain gauges to measure precipitation; laser ceilometer to measure cloud height, cloud ceiling, and horizontal visibility. Special Measuring Systems: IMPACT ESP lightening detectors to provide early warning of electrical storms over the entire atoll; acoustic tide gauge to measure sea water level. Additional acquisition information, as well as the RFP, when released, will be available at the USASMDC website, HYPERLINK http://www.smdc.army.mil/Contracts/Contracts.html. NO PAPER COPIES OF THE RFP WILL BE PROVIDED NOR IS A MAILING LIST BEING MAINTAINE D FOR THIS ACQUISITION AS THE RFP WILL BE POSTED ON THE ABOVE WEBSITE ADDRESS. Questions or correspondence should be directed to Ms. Patricia J. Vail, Contract Specialist, via email (contact@example.gov) or via fax +1 (555) 000-0000 and reference the RFP number W9113M-06-R-0001.