Dry Contracted Close Air Support

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION/SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS (RFI/SSS) Dry Contracted Close Air Support (CAS) HQ AFSOC/A7KQ; Hurlburt Field, Florida 19 December 2012 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION/SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS (RFI/SSS) FOR PLANNNING PURPOSES ONLY. THIS REQUEST IS NOT A SOLICITATION. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. REQUESTS FOR A SOLICITATION WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE. This RFI is being issued for the purpose of developing a potential viable solicitation that will best communicate the Government's requirements to industry. Response to this RFI is strictly voluntary and will not affect any Contractor's ability to submit an offer if, or when, a solicitation is released. However, we highly encourage your firm to respond. The subject RFI is for planning purposes only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. There is no entitlement to payment by the Government of direct or indirect costs or charges that arise as a result of the submission of information in response to this RFI. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any improperly identified proprietary information. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable Government regulations. Respondents of this RFI may be requested to provide additional clarification information/details based on their initial submittals. General and Project Information: Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, Specialized Contracting Branch (HQAFSOC/A7KQ), located at Hurlburt Field, Florida which supports the 720th Special Tactics Group (STG) seeks dry Close Air Support (CAS) and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) sorties to support AFSOC Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) initial and mission qualifications, currency and proficiency training throughout multiple CONUS locations. (Annex 1) The contractor would be required to provide all aircraft, personnel, equipment and support personnel required to perform these services. Dry CAS sorties would consist of operating and maintaining high performance tactically relevant aircraft for air-to ground tracking, targeting, and CAS/ISR operations, to include associated equipment systems that interface with various platforms and ground force personnel. Dry CAS would simulate multiple delivery profiles to include low angle strafe, high angle strafe, level, loft, pop-up, and dive. Again, this action is to conduct market research and identify potential offerors and industry interest in the effort as described herein. All interested and qualified sources are encouraged to respond with questions and suggestions for the Government in order to mitigate risk if a requirement was to materialize. This RFI/SSS does not constitute an invitation for bid, request for proposals (RFP), or request for quote (RFQ), nor does the issuance restrict the Government's acquisition approach. Potential companies shall not consider this request as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services nor as authority for the Government to enter into negotiations. Any information received is considered market research and may be utilized by the Air Force (AF) in developing its Acquisition Strategy, Performance Work Statement (PWS) and performance specifications and metrics. This market research will be used to assess the availability and adequacy of potential business sources prior to issuing an RFP. The Government will not respond to or conduct formal debriefings to businesses as a part of this RFI/SSS. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with submission of the information being requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responses to this RFI/SSS. Description: The 720th STG seeks support with Dry CAS sorties in order to facilitate JTAC initial and mission qualification and currency. Aircraft support will be conducted at multiple CONUS locations listed at (Annex 1). Training will consist of operating and maintaining high performance tactically-relevant aircraft for air-to-ground tracking, targeting, and dry CAS operations, to include associated equipment systems that interface with various platforms and ground force personnel. In addition, the contractor may provide aircraft, including but not limited to Alpha jets and A-4 aircraft for use on this task. When coordinated, the contractor will provide face-to-face mission debriefs to the JTAC instructors and trainees, focusing on Joint Publication 3-09.3, Joint Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Close Air Support (CAS) for training. The contractor shall provide all aircraft, aircrews, equipment and maintenance personnel to support dry CAS sorties flown. Instructions for Response: Capability package responses shall include the businesses interest, qualification information, and past performance experience. The packages must clearly present evidence that the interested party is fully capable of meeting the required services as described in the Scope of Services section of this RFI/SSS. Company brochures will not be considered adequate responses. As this is a RFI/SSS document, initial prospective business responses should be in the form of a Capability Statement. The Government recognizes that proprietary data may be submitted as part of this effort. If so, clearly mark such restricted or proprietary data. The Capability Statement should include the following elements in this format: 1. Prospective Business Identification a. Company Name and Cage Code b. Address c. Phone Number d. Fax Number e. E-mail f. Point of Contact Information g. A website address that provides additional information about the prospective business h. The highest security clearance that your company currently holds. i. Identify whether your company is a Large or Small, Small disadvantaged, 8a, Woman-owned Small Business (WOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Woman-owned Small Business (EDWOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and/or HUB Zone Business (HBCU/MI). j. Identify if you are a large or small business under NAICS 481219. k. Identify average annual revenue for the past 3 years and number of employees. 2. Describe your relevant capability to provide dry CAS listed at locations (Annex 1). A brief history of the prospective business, its experience and innovative approaches in providing the services listed above. 3. In terms of evaluating a company for a potential CAS effort, what critical evaluation criteria would differentiate companies' capabilities? Explain your rationale in detail. 4. If your firm were to put together a proposal for an effort of this magnitude, what would you provide that best demonstrates your company's experience and performance? 5. What page limitations would be adequate for a technical proposal for a potential CAS effort of this nature? 6. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this effort is code 481219. Please advise in your view, is the proposed NAICS code (481219) appropriate for this effort? 7. Size standard is $14.0M a. Identify size/socio-economic status and provide any other information that the AF should consider in reviewing the prospective business' response. b. Businesses responding to this announcement should indicate their business size. "Small business" means small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, WOSB, and EDWOSB. If your business size is transitioning to other than "small business" in the next nine months, you must indicate this in your response. 8. The responses shall be formatted as follows: a. Page size shall be 8.5 x 11 inches; foldouts are permitted, but will be assessed towards the total page count. b. Pages shall be single-spaced, single-sided. The Government considers each face of a sheet of paper containing information as a page. If a potential bidder provides material on both sides of a sheet, the Government will count this as two pages. c. The font shall be Times New Roman and the font size shall be no less that twelve (12) point. Use at least 1-inch margins on the top and bottom and - inch side margins. d. Prepared using Microsoft Office 97 or higher and shall consist of one cover page identifying general company information. The cover page shall not count towards the 10 page limitation. Questions regarding this RFI/SSS should be directed to the Contracting Specialist, Jaime Collins, jaime.collins@hurlburt.af.mil, and the Contracting Officer, Jonathan Cansdale, jonathan.cansdale@hurlburt.af.mil. When responding with questions to this RFI, populate subject line with: (Question/Suggestion) RFI/SSS FA0021-13-R-0002 Organizational Conflict of Interest: Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) as defined and discussed in Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 9.5, Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest, is a concern in all acquisitions across the Department of Defense. Early involvement with our industry partners is a key element of the OCI process, and it is critical for the Government to be able to identify any potential OCI issues as early as possible for an acquisition. This would allow ample time to address and evaluate any potential OCI issues, if required, prior to contract award with minimal impact to critical acquisition schedules. Additional information about potential OCI issues is provided in a link that can be found at FedBizOpps website located at http://www.fbo.gov Interested vendors are requested to evaluate your potential OCI issues with regard to this requirement for the required services, and the Vendor is encouraged to identify any OCI issues, as stated in FAR Subpart 9.5 to the Contracting Officer (CO). This will assist the CO in determining if the vendor will need to submit an OCI Mitigation Plan for any solicitation that might result from this notice. Due Date for Responses: Capability package responses are due not later than 12:00 P.M. Central Standard Time, Thursday, 31 January 2013, and shall be sent electronically to the Contracting Specialist, Jaime Collins, jaime.collins@hurlburt.af.mil and the Contracting Officer, Jonathan Cansdale, jonathan.cansdale@hurlburt.af.mil; Late responses may not be reviewed. Responses to this RFI/SSS will not be returned. When responding to this RFI, populate subject line with: RFI/SSS FA0021-13-R-0002. Again, THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION/SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS (RFI/SSS) ONLY. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. REQUESTS FOR A SOLICITATION WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE. It is intended for market research and for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in responses. Respondents will not be notified of the results. It is the responsibility of each company to monitor https://www.fbo.gov for any further information or releases (if any). All questions and/or suggestions will be considered in any potential requirement. Scope of Services: The primary focus of this RFI/SSS is to engage industry to provide questions and suggestions for possible dry CAS services for AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Florida. To reiterate the potential scope, the potential company shall supply all necessary aircraft, aircrews, equipment and maintenance personnel to support dry CAS sorties flown for multiple CONUS locations listed in (Annex 1) and comply with CAS tactics, techniques, and procedures outlined in Joint Publication 3-09.3, J-Fire, AFI 11-214, local range procedures, and any other specific operating instructions related to operation of aircraft. ? ANNEX 1 Potential Training Locations COMMON TRAINING LOCATIONS. The contractor should be prepared to provide aircraft for CAS training at any of these potential training ranges. Eglin Ranges, Eglin AFB, FL Gamecock A MOA, Elizabeth Town, NC Rose Hill MOA, Opp, AL AF/Navy Dare, Dare County, NC Concord Range, Ft. Benning, GA Yuma Proving Grounds, AZ Ft. Benning MOA, Ft. Benning, GA Rainier MOA, Ft. Lewis, WA Moody MOA I/II/III, Dupont, Homerville, Blakely, and Ft. Gaines, GA Gila Bend, Barry M. Goldwater Range, AZ Ft. Bragg Ranges, Ft. Bragg, NC Avon Park Air Force Range Avon Park, FL Poinsett Range, Sumter, SC Utah Test and Training Range, Utah Gamecock E MOA, Newton Grove, NC Pinecastle Bombing Range, FL