CARE Logistics Services Sources Sought

Notice to DiPSS LB contract holders - this sources sought is separate from the anticipated DiPSS LB action. It is not necessary for DiPSS LB contract holders to respond unless they prefer to do so outside of the DiPSS contract vehicle. This is a Sources Sought notice Only. This is Not a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This Sources Sought Notice is issued for information and planning purposes only as part of U.S. Department of State market research and does not constitute an RFP. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified vendors to provide the services outlined in the attached statement of objectives. Be advised that acquisition strategy and set-aside decisions may be made based on the information provided in response to this RFI. Background: - Title: Logistics Support Services - Agency: U.S. Department of State Office: Office of Acquisition Management Location: Worldwide Notice Type: Sources Sought - NAICS Code(s): 481211 Purpose: The purpose of this Sources Sought (SS) is to accomplish market research pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 10 in preparation for a DiPSS Large Business IDIQ solicitation. This is not a solicitation, nor is it a request for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations and does not commit the Government to issue a solicitation, make an award, or reimburse respondents for any costs associated with responding to this notice. The Government will treat each response submitted in confidence. The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of South Central Asia/Afghanistan (SCA/A) Office of the Coordinator of Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE), with the Bureau of Acquisition Management (AQM) is issuing this Sources Sought Notice as a means of conducting market research or as a market survey to determine the availability of potential qualified vendors to fulfill a contemplated requirement for Logistics Support services. Security Clearance: To be considered for award of this contract, interested offerors, including all entities which comprise a joint venture, and the joint venture itself, must possess a Defense Security Service (DSS) Final Secret facility clearance (FCL), issued in accordance with the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), DoD 5220.22-M. Contractor personnel requiring access to classified information or Controlled Access Areas (CAA) must possess a Secret or Top-Secret personnel security clearance issued by DSCA prior to performance on the contract. Response Requests: Minimum response requirements: 1. Experience performing commercial air service (CAS) per 2 FAM 816 in Afghanistan within the past three years from date of closing (Feb 10, 2023). 2. Offeror's plan to setup CAS in Afghanistan within 60 days of contract award. Desired response requirements: 1. Experience performing CAS in Afghanistan within the past twelve months from date of closing (Feb 10, 2023). 2. Offeror's plan to setup CAS in Afghanistan within 30 days of contract award. Responses should be limited to 10 pages or less and be submitted as a Microsoft Word Document or Portable Document Format (PDF). Font must be Times New Roman, 12-point font, with margins of 1 inch all around. No responses shall be accepted via US Mail or FAX. Note: Small businesses should include their socio-economic group, the company name, address, phone number, e-mail address, NAICS Code, http://www.sba.gov/size, certification of business size, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Responses should be concise, yet detailed. Firms should provide the following information: Due Date: Please submit your response no later than February 10, 2023, at 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), with electronic copies sent to Mr. Daniel Jackson at JacksonDJ@state.gov with a courtesy copy to DomingueJ@state.gov. Please enter "Logistics Support Services into the email subject field. - Daniel J. Jackson - Contracting Officer - JacksonDJ@state.gov Disclaimer: This Source Sought Notice is for market research purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal/Quotation; and it is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for any information provided; no basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this Sources Sought Notice. Regardless of the information obtained from this notice, the Government reserves all rights in any future acquisition process for this requirement. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information shall be included in a response to this Sources Sought Notice. ? Statement of Objectives (SOO) Logistics Support Services (LSS) for the office of the Coordinator of Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) Background: The office of the Coordinator of Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) has an immediate, and extended need for logistical support to efficiently execute the mission of safely and securely relocating personnel currently located in Afghanistan who are eligible to leave the country. Operations under CARE are being managed along five primary areas of responsibility: - Transportation within and out of Afghanistan - Transportation from third-country locations to Doha, Qatar, or other third countries - Third-country transit and processing outside of the United States - Transportation to the United States - Engagement and analysis Who is being considered for relocation activities: The universe of possible individuals eligible in all categories for relocation could be as many as 105,000. This value is an estimate, not a limit nor a limiting target for the CARE program office. It is imperative that individuals relocated by this contract include: - Only individuals specifically identified by CARE. These names will primarily be provided in - manifests for specific ground or air operations, but in limited circumstances names may be transmitted directly from CARE by other means. - No additional individuals outside of the manifest(s) - No additional individuals that have not been explicitly approved by CARE How individuals are identified and prioritized for relocation: Individuals are identified and prioritized for relocation using an independent process managed by the CARE program office through the collection of information from multiple data sources, centralized in a CARE specific Case Management System (CMS). The manifests are the essential output to facilitate personnel movement via air, and/or overland routes, and the essential output to gather and transition individuals through and out of Afghanistan. Objectives The Department of State has the following high-level objectives - Mission Integration and Management - Ground Transportation/Evacuation - Airport Terminal Operations - Air Transportation - Aerial Port of Embarkation (APOE) in Afghanistan to an official USG processing facility, or other third country - Air Transportation - RRC to the final Port of Entry in Philadelphia, PA, USA (optional) The contractor shall provide details of how they plan to meet the Government's objectives in a detailed cost and technical proposal that will be incorporated into the contract Objectives Detail: Mission Integration and Management - Utilize a secure data transfer mechanism for the exchange of the Government-furnished manifest information between the Government and the Contractor. - Provide the Government with a common operating picture during the execution of evacuation operations, including real-time mission and flight tracking. - Establish, staff, and maintain a 24-hour operations staff responsible for tracking the evacuation of eligible persons at the individual, cohort, and flight level across multiple missions in varying stages of planning and execution. - Establish procedures for receiving emerging threat information and adjusting ongoing or future evacuation operations to mitigate those threats. Ground Transportation - Provide ground movement, airport terminal processing, ground handling services, and flight operations during each evacuation operation to ensure evacuees remain in motion from initial pick up to final delivery at the RRC. - Establish the necessary operational infrastructure through service contracts in Afghanistan and elsewhere that provide the efficient movement of people and material through the evacuation pipeline. - Establish a reliable mechanism for forward movement of identity documents from the Government using inbound aircraft, through host nation customs, and via a vetted ground logistics provider to deliver sensitive documents to travelers currently lacking them that enables their evacuation. - Establish, maintain, refine, and employ a system for locating and collecting specific evacuees from designated locations across Afghanistan. - Develop and employ a system of verifying passenger identity and ensure that only those passengers listed on the approved flight manifest are accepted for movement to the airport on the day of a specific flight. - Maintain a schedule and format of reporting during ground movement operations that supports ongoing mission tracking and synchronization activities. - Establish, implement, and refine ground movement procedures that mitigate security risks inherent to the movement of at-risk evacuees within both urban and remotely austere locations within Afghanistan. - (Optional) Establish the capability to provide an alternative ground evacuation capability in the event weather or airport conditions prevent the movement of evacuees via air. Air Operations - Establish comprehensive flight ticketing and screening procedures using a validated protocol for identity verification. - Establish protocols with airport officials from immigration control to facilitate the safe and expeditious movement of manifested passengers through screening and security checkpoints, respecting the legal and regulatory requirements promulgated by the Government of Afghanistan and associated with international air travel. - Negotiate procedures to receive passengers from the selected ground transportation provider and to transfer passengers to the crew of the air transportation provider. - Establish durable access through relevant civil aviation authorities to the international airports in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. - Designate, equip, and staff an aircraft with not less than 210 available seats for movement of passengers from the APOE to USG-designated third country. - Provide cabin attendants that are trained and prepared to provide the final screening and manifest verification of passengers prior to boarding, to provide in-flight cabin security, and to render emergency medical care for passengers that suffer medical conditions during the boarding or flight period. - Safely operate the designated aircraft between the selected airports in Afghanistan and the RRC in Doha, Qatar in material compliance with the relevant flight regulations of the cognizant Civil Aviation Authority. - Develop, synchronize, and refine procedures for final screening prior to disembarkation of passengers Air Transportation - RRC to the final Port of Entry in Philadelphia, PA, USA - Safely operate the designated aircraft between the selected RRC and the final Port of Entry in Philadelphia, PA, USA (or other USA locations, to be identified) in compliance with FAA Part 121 and Fly America restrictions General Scope: The contractor shall provide logistics and security services to support the CARE program relocation efforts through the following service areas: - Relocation via air travel (from Afghanistan to third countries, between third countries to third countries, between third countries and to the United States) - Relocation via overland routes - Safe passage through check points and customs throughout all of Afghanistan - Other service area(s): o Document courier services o Ground support (including limited medical support) at arrival points o Food/water/diapers/baby formula Security environment considerations A critical element of this requirement is the ability of the contractor to be willing, and able, to operate in the challenging and dynamic conditions found in Afghanistan. The contractor must be able to work through the challenges presented by weather and terrain, along with the complex political barriers and physical threats found at checkpoints and across the country. Once provided the list of individuals from manifests identified above, the contractor shall definitively contact those individuals directly (via WhatsApp, Email, phone, or whatever means necessary), safely move those individuals to air departure points or across overland borders to locations in third countries. The contractor must be prepared to communicate with personnel in country to facilitate the movement of individuals through and outside of the country successfully, regardless of the shifting impediments or risks. A systems-based approach is needed that brings proven capabilities together with a well understood process for relocating evacuees with a consistently successful, repeatable, and auditable pipeline. Relocation via air travel The contractor shall provide relocation via air travel in the below air channels with options to expand as other become available. The primary anticipated air channels are: - Departures from Kabul International Airport (KIA) to Doha, Qatar with arrival at either the commercial terminal or the Al Udeid Air Base (AUAB) - Departures from the Kabul, Hamid Karzai International Airport to Islamabad, Pakistan, in order to conduct at a tail swap maneuver with a second, onward flight to Doha within 72 hours - Departures from the Kabul, Hamid Karzai International Airport to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in order to conduct a using a tail swap maneuver with a second, onward flight to Doha within 72 hours - Relocation of personnel already located within Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other third countries as required to other third countries and or the United States Secondary air channels include departures from regional airports in Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif Relocation via overland routes In addition to the primary air travel channels, the contractor shall provide transition services via overland route(s). As weather and environmental conditions degrade in Afghanistan and winter approaches, use of the overland routes may increase The U.S. Government envisions multiple overland routes will be available to the performing contractor, including movement of personnel to and through the Torkham and Spin Boldak gates bordering Pakistan, and other main gates bordering the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan with proper documentation. Other service area(s): Document courier services The contractor shall facilitate the movement and delivery of CARE/Department of State provided critical documentation in support of the relocation efforts. This includes delivering passports, visas, vaccination records, medical clearances, documentation waivers, and other documents essential for travel through and in/out of Afghanistan, and to the traveler's ultimate destination. This task includes the tracking of documents, and obtaining proof of delivery, but does not include generation of documents. Ground support (including limited medical support) at arrival points The contractor shall provide limited ground support to personnel once relocated outside of Afghanistan. Services are limited to basic life support to facilitate the continued movement of individuals to their final destination. Teaming partner and Subcontractor considerations The Government anticipates a single award to a responsible and responsive prime contractor with the ability to engage, and coordinate, the services of subcontractors to fulfill contract requirements identified above. It is noteworthy that the threat environment is dynamic, and relationships with facilitators, gate personnel, and other players that could potentially impede the safe and secure transition and relocation efforts must be developed, maintained, and continually refreshed. If, at any point, a subcontractor cannot support the objectives of the CARE office, it is incumbent on the prime contractor to seek a suitable replacement. Place of Performance: Afghanistan and other [South] Central Asia countries