JTAC and SUAS Program Management

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) and NOT a Request for Proposals (RFP) OR a commitment by the US Government. Offers or proposals will not be accepted. This is not a presolicitation, or solicitation. Additionally, this notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract and, it does not obligate the Government to pay for any bid and/or proposal preparation costs. PURPOSE OF NOTICE: The Air Force Installation Contracting Agency (AFICA) 765th Specialized Contracting Flight (SCONF) supporting Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command (HQ AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field, Florida anticipates releasing a Total Small Business Set-Aside Request for Proposal (RFP). Request for Proposal (RFP) under Solicitation Number FA0021-17-R-0002, with a draft RFP release anticipated in October 2016. The title for this solicitation is Joint Terminal Attack Control (JTAC) and Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) Program Management. This solicitation will provide JTAC, JTAC Instructor (JTAC-I), JTAC- Stan/Eval Examiner (SEE), Close Air Support (CAS) simulator operations, SUAS simulator operations and SUAS instructor duties for Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) units assigned with this mission. The anticipated, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for this acquisition is 611699, and the small business size standard is $11 million in annual gross receipts. INTRODUCTION: This FedBizOpps notice is an announcement seeking market information on vendors capable of providing the service requested as described herein. The information requested by this sources sought notice will be used within the Air Force to facilitate decision making and will not be disclosed outside the agency. 765th SCONF is currently conducting market research to locate qualified and interested potential businesses/sources with experience in Joint Terminal Attack Control (JTAC), and Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) services that express interest in performing these requirements. The information requested by this Sources Sought Notice will be used within the Air Force to facilitate decision-making, and will not be disclosed outside the agency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES: Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has a continuing need for assistance in managing programs and producing Combat Mission Ready (CMR) JTAC and SUAS operators, instructors and evaluators in order to meet current world-wide requirements, and to maintain the mandated deployed/sustained force. The Joint Terminal Attack Control (JTAC) and Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) Program Management contract will provide necessary assistance to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) units assigned with the JTAC/SUAS mission. Please refer to attached draft PWS for more information. CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS: In accordance with Air Force Instruction (AFI) 31-501, Personnel Security Program Management, the following is required for both classified and unclassified contracts. Unclassified TOs requiring access to the Non-Secure Internet Router Network (NIPRNet) will require a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) as a minimum. Classified TO's (Secret & Top Secret) require the contractor to have the minimum clearance/investigation National Agency Check, Local Agency Checks and Credit Check (NACLC) for Secret and SSBI for Top Secret (TS) access and TS/ Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access. Employees working TS/SCI tasks shall be capable of being cleared for applicable Special Access Program (SAP) in-briefs in limited time. Contractor employees requiring clearances must have the clearances in place prior to beginning work, or accessing classified information. The contractor shall submit a visit request to the using organization's security manager via the Joint Personnel Adjudication System (JPAS) system prior to start of the contract. 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 Acquisition 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, prior to contract award with minimal impact to critical acquisition schedules. Interested vendors are requested to evaluate any potential OCI issues with regard to this requirement for the required services, and the Vendor shall self-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. SUBMISSION DETAILS: Requesting Capability Summary/Statements to include the following: 1. Company name, cage code, address, point of contact, phone number, e-mail addresses 2. The highest security clearance that your company currently holds. 3. Identification of whether business is currently designated as a Small Business as defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR Part 19.1) and the appropriate category (that is, 8a). 4. Description of relevant capability to provide services IAW the PWS. A brief history of the prospective business, its experience and innovative approaches in providing the services relevant to PWS requirements. 5. In terms of evaluating a company for this effort, what critical evaluation criteria would differentiate companies' capabilities? Explain your rationale in detail. 6. 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? 7. What page limitations would be adequate for a technical proposal for a potential effort of this nature? Questions regarding this notice and the attached Draft PWS should be directed to the Ms. Lauren Sydnor, Contracting Specialist, at lauren.sydnor.1@us.af.mil or Ms. Maria Jaine A. Sipin, Contracting Officer, at maria_jaine.sipin@us.af.mil. Interested Small Business concerns must submit to the contracting officer their interest and capability (as described above) to satisfy the Government's requirement no later than 16 September 2016 at 12:00PM CDT. Capability package responses shall be sent electronically to the Contracting Officer, Maria Jaine A. Sipin at maria_jaine.sipin@us.af.mil. Late responses may not be reviewed. When responding to this RFI, populate subject line with: SS/RFI FA0021-17-R-0002.