Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) - PAE-MC, PM Training Systems

Authorized under 10 U.S.C. § 3458 and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) Subpart 212.70, this CSO enables PM TRASYS to competitively procure commercial solutions through a streamlined acquisition process, allowing for rapid award decisions. This approach underscores our mission to expedite the award and delivery of critical training capabilities, ensuring that the Government can leverage advancements in manufacturing, modeling and simulation, and training technologies swiftly and efficiently. By prioritizing speed in our contracting efforts, we aim to support timely integration of cutting-edge training technologies that advance operational readiness.

Contracts or agreements awarded under this authority will be structured as fixed-price, including fixed-price incentive fee. Through this initiative, the USMC will affirm its commitment to delivering superior training capabilities to our Warfighters in an expeditious manner.

Program Manager Training Systems (PM TRASYS) Portfolio
Program Manager for Training Systems (PM TRASYS) is the Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps (PAE-MC) executive agent assigned to manage acquisition and life-cycle support of Marine Corps ground training systems, devices, and training support services.

PM TRASYS consists of the following three (3) Product Manager (PdM) groups and two (2) direct-report teams, each with their own distinct capability sets and needs: Product Manager, Synthetic Training Systems; Product Manager, Range and Training Area Management; Product Manager, Force on Force Training Systems; Team – Synthetic Vehicle Training Systems; and Team - Warfighter Training Systems.

The mission of PM TRASYS is at the speed of relevance, deliver force design aligned ground training systems to our expeditionary force in readiness in order for the Marine Corps to master new missions, enhance lethality, and maintain the initiative between force planning and battlefield readiness. As such, the purpose of this PM TRASYS CSO, addressed in detail through individual Areas of Interest (AoIs), is to seek mature commercial capabilities and enabling technologies that can enhance Marine Corps training effectiveness, readiness, and warfighting advantage. This will support the PM TRASYS vision to ensure every Marine adapts to the changing character of war prepared, lethal, and victorious through access to solutions across the training continuum.

CSO Procedures

Program Manager Training Systems (PM TRASYS) seeks to award various contracts and agreements that may include but are not limited to: FAR contracts under FAR Part 12, Commercial Procedures; non-FAR agreements such as transaction agreements under 10 U.S.C. § 4022. The purpose is to acquire mature solutions and enabling technologies to influence and enhance the effectiveness of PM TRASYS’s missions.

This CSO notice is an umbrella CSO which covers multiple AoIs. For purposes of posting on SAM.gov, the primary North America Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541715 (domain of Research and Prototyping). In order to capture the broadest spectrum of emerging commercial technologies/solutions, this umbrella CSO is open to all responsible sources, including Non-Traditional Defense Contractors (NDCs), traditional defense contractors, large businesses, small businesses, and academic or research institutions. The targeted AoIs issued under this CSO may be issued with the most appropriate NAICS and may be restricted or set aside based on market research results.  

This CSO may result in awards to proposals for commercial technologies through 19 October 2031. The Government reserves the right to extend this CSO beyond the open until date and will issue an amendment if the authority is extended. The Government also reserves the right to close, amend, or suspend this CSO or any individual AoI at any time. This CSO may include awards for but are not limited to: immediately available technologies; commercially available technologies fueled by commercial or strategic investment; concept demonstrations; pilots; and agile development activities that can incrementally improve commercial technologies, existing government-owned capabilities, or concepts for broad defense applications.

The CSO solicitation process may include a multi-phased solicitation and evaluation approach that is dependent upon specific AoIs. The AoIs are focused topic(s)/categories specified in Section 5. The following phases may be used:

Phase 1 – Submission of solution brief,

Phase 2 – Pitch (if applicable), and

Phase 3 – Request for Commercial Solution Proposal (CSP)

The Government may add AoIs against this CSO at any time throughout its duration. Interested offerors are encouraged to frequently check www.SAM.gov for new AoI postings.

Please note this CSO is not like a traditional procurement under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). FAR-based competitive negotiation concepts such as opening, closing, discussions, clarifications, setting of a competitive range, proposal revisions, debriefings, etc., do not apply to this CSO. The Government will evaluate solution briefs on a revolving basis (i.e., as they are received). This means there is no set time for submission of solution briefs other than the period of time for receipt specified in a given AoI. Any solution brief submitted outside the period specified in the relevant AoI may, at the Government’s complete and total discretion, be rejected without further action by the Government or notice to the offeror. Further, in accordance with DFARS § 212.7004, the Government will not and is not required to perform any comparative evaluations between or among solutions briefs received in response to an AoI posted within this CSO.  Consistent with statutory competition requirements, this Area of Interest (AoI) is open to submissions from all interested offerors for Government evaluation. To maintain a highly streamlined and efficient review process, the Government does not anticipate providing post-submission feedback, formal debriefings, or unsuccessful offeror notifications, irrespective of the evaluation outcome. Submission of a solution brief serves as acknowledgment that individual notifications of non-selection will not be issued.

The process under this CSO may result in a two- (2) or three- (3) phase approach (solution brief, pitch (if applicable), and a request for a CSP):

Phase 1 Solution Briefs: A solution brief must be submitted as specified in Section 2.2 of this CSO. The Government will evaluate solution briefs against the criteria stated in this CSO. The Government will not reimburse offerors for the costs incurred for solution brief submissions.

Phase 2 Pitch (if applicable): Offerors whose solution briefs are evaluated to be of merit may be invited to provide a pitch following the instructions provided in Section 2.4 of this CSO. If the Government requires a solution demonstration in addition to a pitch, additional information will be provided in the specific AoI highlighting those procedures; otherwise, Phase 2 will be comprised solely of the pitch. The Government reserves the right to request additional technical and financial information to determine if a company has a viable solution for the Government’s specific AoI. The Government will not reimburse offerors for incurred costs associated with pitches, such as travel, unless otherwise stipulated.

Phase 3 Request for Commercial Solution Proposal (CSP): Those offerors that are evaluated to be of merit through Phase 1, Phase 2, or a combination of both, may be invited to submit a full written proposal following the instructions provided in Section 2.6 of this CSO. Requests for an AoI CSP under this CSO are subject to the availability of Government funds. The Government will not pay offerors for costs associated with developing submissions in regard to this CSO or resulting AoI, unless otherwise stipulated within the AoI.

NOTE 1: The Government reserves the right to forgo Phase 2 based on the individual merits of the solution brief. The Government also reserves the right to move expeditiously through the phases based on the merit of submissions if urgent requirements arise.

NOTE 2: During any step of the CSO, the Government may send written questions or comments for the offerors to address via email, or other suitable communication methods as determined by the Government. Costs incurred by the offeror in responding to Government requests will not be reimbursed.

See Attachment PMTRASYS Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) for additional details