Land Mobile Radio Maintenance and Repair

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION LAND MOBILE RADIO SYSTEM MAINTENANCE CONTRACT (i) The AAC Operational Contracting Division, Eglin AFB, Florida intends to solicit and award a firm-fixed price contract for Land Mobile Radio System and related Equipment Maintenance as listed below. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6 & 15, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (ii) The solicitation is issued as a request for proposal (RFP). Submit written proposals (oral proposals will not be accepted) on RFP reference number FA2823-12-R-3000. (iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2005-59. (iv) This solicitation is a 100% small business set aside. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 811213 with a size standard of $10.0M. Please identify your business size in your response based upon this standard. (v) The requirement consists of the following items: CLIN 0001- LMR System Maintenance and Repair CLIN 0002-After Hour Call Out CLIN 1001- LMR System Maintenance and Repair Option Year 1 CLIN 1002- After Hours Call Out Option Year 1 CLIN 2001- LMR System Maintenance and Repair Option Year 2 CLIN 2002- After Hours Call Out Option Year 2 CLIN 3001- LMR System Maintenance and Repair Option Year 3 CLIN 3002- After Hours Call Out Option Year 3 CLIN 4001- LMR System Maintenance and Repair Option Year 4 CLIN 4002- After Hours Call Out Option Year 4 See attached Performance Work Statement for Technical Requirements (See Attachment 1) (vi) IAW FAR 52.237-1 A site visit will be held on Wednesday July 11, 2012, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. Eglin Air Force Base is located directly off Highway 85 in Valparaiso, FL. the purpose of this site visit will be to tour a sample RF site on Eglin AFB. The site visit is expected to last approximately four (4) hours total. Please limit your number of attendees to two. In order to attend the site visit you must submit the following documents via email to June Crockett ( june.crockett@eglin.af.mil ), phone: 850-882-0263, NO LATER THAN July 6, 2012, 4:00 p.m. Central Time: (1) Eglin Contractor Access Badge (CAB) Affidavit (See attachment 2) (2) You are required to submit your request for attendance using the attached Base Access Request Template (See attachment 3). The contractor shall submit, via email, a signed written request using the template enclosed on the Base Access Request Template. The letter must be on official company letterhead to the attention of June Crockett (june.crockett@eglin.af.mil). The letter must contain the NAME OF THE INDIVIDUAL, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, DATE OF BIRTH, DRIVER'S LICENSE NUMBER AND THE STATE OF ISSUE. The contracting officer will submit the letter to security forces for processing along with the completed Affidavits of those participating in the Site Visit. We will meet the interested parties for the site visit at the Eglin East Gate Pass and I.D. Office. Questions from the site visit must be submitted in writing within two (2) working (business) days after the site visit (July 13, 2012, 4:00 p.m. Central Time). Each question shall reference the specific section or attachment of the solicitation (as applicable) and the corresponding paragraph number. Remarks and explanations at the site visit shall not alter the terms and conditions of the solicitation unless the solicitation is formally amended. Any oral statements made by Government representatives shall not be binding upon the Government; all necessary changes will be made in writing by the Contracting Officer. (vii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-59 effective as of 10 May 2012. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): http://farsite.hill.af.mil - 52.203, Gratuities (Apr 1984) - 52.204-7, Central Contractor Registration (Feb 2012) - 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items (Jun 2008) - 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, Alternate I (Apr 2011) (Effective January 1, 2005, in accordance with FAC 2001-26, offerors are required to provide representations and certifications electronically via the BPN website http://www.bpn.gov); - 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items (Feb 2012) - 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items, (May 2012) incorporating the following: ? 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns (Jan 2011) ? 52.222-3, Convict Labor (Jun 2003) ? 52.222-19 Child Labor - Cooperation With Authorities and Remedies (Mar 2012) ? 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Feb 1999) ? 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Mar 2007) ? 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled, Veterans, Veterans fo the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Sep 2010) ? 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers With Disabilities (Oct 2010) ? 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (Sep 2010) ? 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer - Central Contractor Registration (Oct 2003) ? 52.233-2, Service of Protest (Sep 2006) - 52.219-28, Post-Award Small Business Program Representation (Apr 2012) - 252.212-7001, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Applicable to Defense Acquisitions of Commercial Items (May 2012) , incorporating the following: ? 52.203-3, Gratuities (Apr 1984) (10 U.S.C. 2207) ? 252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports (Mar 2008) (10 U.S.C. 2227) - 252-232.7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Report (Mar 2008) - 5352.223-9001, Health and Safety on Government Installations (Jun 1997) ? (viii) The following clauses and provisions apply to this solicitation and are included in full text: 52.212-1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS - COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JUN 2008) THIS SECTION IS FOR SOLICITATION PURPOSES ONLY. THIS SECTION WILL BE PHYSICALLY REMOVED FROM ANY RESULTANT AWARD, BUT WILL BE DEEMED INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. Addendum to 52.212-1(c), Period for Acceptance of Offers. The paragraph is tailored as follows: "The offeror agrees to hold the prices in its offer firm for 90 calendar days from the date specified for receipt of offers." ADDENDUM TO 52.212-1, PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS A. To assure timely and equitable evaluation of proposals, the offeror must follow the instructions contained herein. The proposal must be complete, self-sufficient, and respond directly to the requirements of this solicitation. The response shall consist of three (3) separate parts; Part I - Price Proposal, Part II - Technical Proposal, and Part III - Past Performance Information. B. The contracting officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition in this acquisition. Upon examination of the initial offers, the contracting officer will review this determination and if, in the contracting officer's opinion, adequate price competition exists no additional data will be requested and certification under FAR 15.406-2 will not be required. However, if at any time during this competition the contracting officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists; offerors may be required to submit cost data to the extent necessary for the contracting officer to determine the reasonableness and affordability of the price. C. Specific Instructions: 1. PART I - PRICE PROPOSAL - Submit original and one (1) copy - No page limitation (a) Insert proposed unit and extended prices in your proposal for each Contract Line Item Number (CLIN), including all option periods per CLIN breakdown below. The extended amount must equal the whole dollar unit price multiplied by the number of units. The proposal(s) must be submitted for a base year plus four (4) Option Years. i. For Firm-Fixed-Price CLINs 0001 (15 Sep 12 - 14 Sep 13), 1001 (15 Sep 13 - 14 Sep 14), 2001 (15 Sep 14 - 14 Sep 15), 3001 (15 Sep 15 - 14 Sep 16), and 4001 (15 Sep 16 - 14 Sep 17), submit a Firm-Fixed-Price monthly amount per the Performance Work Statement (PWS). ii. For Labor Hour CLINs 0002 (15 Sep 12 - 14 Sep 13), 1002 (15 Sep 13 - 14 Sep 14), 2002 (15 Sep 14 - 14 Sep 15), 3002 (15 Sep 15 - 14 Sep 16), and 4002 (15 Sep 16 - 14 Sep 17), a not-to-exceed total has been pre-determined for after-hours call-out as required in 7.2.1 of the PWS. Submit a fully burdened overtime labor hourly rate for the proposed labor categories listed in Table 1 (see below) and sum the totals to a Grand Total amount; submit separate tables for the Basic and each Option year. TABLE 1 Labor Hour (CLINs 0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, 4002) Occupation Title Hours Rate Total Electronic Technician Level 1 150 (b) Complete the necessary fill-ins and certifications in the applicable clauses listed in paragraph vii and viii of the combined synopsis solicitation and include them in your proposal. Submit only those pages that require a fill-in. The provision FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, shall be returned along with the proposal. (c) Separate pricing information shall be submitted for each year of the services specified in the solicitation. (d) Wage Determination: In accordance with the Department of Labor (DOL) and Service Contract Act (SCA), it is the contractor's responsibility to make a determination as to which categories are exempt from the SCA. It is not the Government's intent that all of the labor categories be subject to the SCA, nor does the Government intend to designate positions as either subject to or exempt from SCA. It is the offeror's responsibility to incorporate appropriate increases for Wage Determination labor category rates. 2. PART II - TECHNICAL PROPOSAL - Limited to no more than 40 pages. Submit original plus three (3) copies. The technical evaluation process will evaluate the offeror's qualification for the requirement as detailed in the PWS. The offeror's technical capability submission will be evaluated as acceptable/unacceptable. Only those offers determined technically acceptable, either initially or as a result of clarifications/discussions, will be allowed to continue in the evaluation process. Technical capability will be evaluated on the two (2) subfactors listed below. Each subfactor will be rated on an acceptable/unacceptable basis. If any subfactor receives an unacceptable rating, the entire proposal will fail the evaluation. (a) Subfactor 1 - Certification/Licenses The offeror will provide documentation substantiating their status as a Motorola Premier Service Partner and that technicians have Motorola certification on equipment and functions that make up the system to be supported and is certified to provide services in accordance with the standard of the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The offeror will have at least one technician with ASTRO'25 IV&D Quantar Repeater certification/training. Other technicians will have Motorola certifications/training in at least one of the following courses, or comparable legacy certifications: (i) ASTRO'25 IV&D Introduction to Radio System Management Applications (ii) ASTRO'25 IV&D Radio System Administrator Workshop (iii) ASTRO'25 IV&D Secure Communications Workshop (iv) ASTRO'25 IV&D Telephone Interconnect (v) Basic Trunking and ASTRO Concepts Newly hired technicians after award of contract or technicians without certification/training must acquire necessary training within 12 month of contract award (b) Subfactor 2-- Staffing Plan The Government will evaluate each plan to assure that it reflects a sound understanding of the contract staffing requirements. The offeror must fully describe how they intend to staff the shop to perform the work. The offeror must also demonstrate a capability to staff the shop in times of concurrent or simultaneous unscheduled maintenance events, multiple system outages and surge. 3. PART III - PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION - Limited to no more than 20 pages per contract listed. Only references for relevant contracts are desired. Submit original plus three (3) copies. (a) Quality and Satisfaction Rating for Contracts Completed in the Past Five Years: Provide any information currently available (letters, metrics, customer surveys, independent surveys, etc.) which demonstrates customer satisfaction with overall job performance and quality of completed product for relevant past efforts/contracts (similar in scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires). Offerors are encouraged to utilize Attachment 4 of this Combined Synopsis/Solicitation (Past Performance Questionnaire) by sending them to previous customer(s) and have them returned directly to the contracting office (may not be submitted directly by the offeror). In addition, explain corrective actions taken in the past, if any, for substandard performance and any current performance problems such as cost overruns, extended performance periods, numerous warranty calls, etc. (b) Performance Surveys: The government will evaluate the quality and extent of offeror's performance deemed relevant to the requirements of this RFP. The government will use information submitted by the offeror and any other sources of information available to the Government to assess past performance. Provide a list of no more than ten (10), of the most relevant contracts performed for Federal agencies and commercial customers within the last five (5) years. Relevancy of contracts is explained in paragraph C.3(d) below. The evaluation of past performance information will take into account past performance information regarding predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience, or subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement when such information is relevant to the instant acquisition. Furnish the following information for each contract listed: (i) Company/Division name (ii) Product/Service (iii) Contracting Agency/Customer (iv) Contract Number (v) Contract Dollar Value (vi) Period of Performance (vii) Verified, up-to-date name, address, FAX & telephone number of the contracting officer (viii) Comments regarding compliance with contract terms and conditions (ix) Comments regarding any known performance deemed unacceptable to the customer, or not in accordance with the contract terms and conditions. If a teaming arrangement is contemplated, provide complete information as to the arrangement, including any relevant and recent past performance information on previous teaming arrangements with same partner. If this is a first time joint effort, each party to the arrangement must provide a list of past and present relevant contracts. (c) Subcontractor Consent: Past performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime offeror without the subcontractor's consent. Provide with the proposal a letter from all subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement, consenting to the release of their past performance information to the prime contractor. ? (d) Past/Present Technical Experience. The Government will evaluate each past performance submission to determine that the offeror has experience, demonstrated proficiency and capability to support the work effort. Technical relevance will be based on: (i) The offeror's experience in supporting a Motorola ASTRO secure digital trunked Smart Zone LMR system, release 7.4, or newer (ii) Whether the offeror has previously successfully supported a large multi-site trunked LMR system; whether the offeror has previously supported a trunked LMR system in an industrial complex, on a military base, or similarly broad environment (iii) Whether the offeror has successfully supported a trunked LMR system with auxiliary systems, such as Global Positioning System, Key Management Facility, etc. (iv) Whether the offeror has experience and demonstrated proficiency with repairing subscriber equipment in-shop. DEFINITION OF RELEVANCY Very Relevant Based on offeror's recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a high expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. An example would be an offer that consisted of: - Offeror has successfully supported large multi-site trunked LMR systems. - Offeror has successfully supported a trunked LMR system in an industrial complex, on a military base, or similar environment. - Offeror has successfully supported a trunked LMR system with auxiliary systems, such as Global Positioning System, Key Management Function, etc. Offeror has successfully provided subscriber repair. Relevant Based on the offeror's recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a reasonable expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. An example would be an offer that consisted of: - Offeror has successfully supported a multi-site trunked LMR system. - Offeror has successfully supported a trunked LMR system. - Offeror has successfully provided subscriber repair. Somewhat Relevant Based on the offeror's recent/relevant performance record, the Government has a low expectation that the offeror will successfully perform the required effort. An example would be an offer that consisted of: - Offeror has satisfactorily supported a trunked LMR system. - Offeror has satisfactorily supported a trunked LMR system of any size. Not Relevant No recent/relevant performance record is available or the offeror's performance is so sparse that no meaningful confidence assessment can be reasonably assigned. D. Documents submitted in response to this combined synopsis/solicitation must be fully responsive to and consistent with the following: 1. Requirements of the solicitation (CLINs & PWS) and Government standards and regulations pertaining to the PWS. 2. Evaluation Factors for Award in the following Addendum. 3. Any limitation on the number of proposal pages. Pages exceeding the page limitations set forth in this solicitation will not be read or evaluated, and will be removed from the proposal. ? 4. Format for proposal Parts II and III shall be as follows: (a) The proposals will be 8 1/2" x 11" paper except for fold-outs used for charts, tables, or diagrams, which may not exceed 11" x 17". (b) A page is defined as one face of a sheet of paper containing information. (c) Typing shall not be less than 12 pitch (smaller pitch allowed for tables and charts). Single line spacing is acceptable. (d) Elaborate formats, bindings or color presentations are not desired or required. (e) Provide 1 copy of the proposal in electronic format (either MS Word or Adobe Acrobat Ver. 9 text format) on a CD or DVD (USB/Flash Media Devices are not allowed). (f) The proposal shall contain: a. Cover. The cover shall indicate the title of the proposal category, volume number, name and address of offeror, identification of copies bearing original signature. b. Table of Contents. The table of contest shall provide sufficient detail as to allow the important elements to be easily located. It is recommended to cross-index the proposal elements to the evaluation criteria. 52.212-2 EVALUATION - COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 1999) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the synopsis/solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: (1) Technical Capability (Pass/Fail) (2) Past Performance (3) Price Past Performance is significantly more important than Price when being evaluated. (b) Options. The government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the government to exercise the option(s). (c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. (End of Provision) ? ADDENDUM TO 52.212-2 EVALUATION - COMMERCIAL ITEMS BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD: This is a competitive best value source selection in which competing offerors' past performance history will be evaluated on a basis significantly more important than price. By submission of its offer in accordance with the instructions provided in clause FAR 52.212-1, Instructions To Offerors, the offeror accedes to the terms of this model contract and all technically acceptable offers shall be treated equally except for their prices and performance records. The evaluation process shall proceed as follows: Evaluate Technical, Rank by Price, Assess Performance until Proposal rated "Substantial Confidence" A. Technical Acceptability. Initially, the Government technical evaluation team shall evaluate the technical proposals on a pass/fail basis, assigning ratings of Acceptable or Unacceptable. The proposals shall be evaluated against the following sub-factors: 1. Subfactor - Certification/Licenses The offeror will provide documentation substantiating their status as a Motorola Premier Service Partner and that technicians have Motorola certification on equipment and functions that make up the system to be supported and is certified to provide services in accordance with the standard of the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The offeror will have at least one technician with ASTRO'25 IV&D Quantar Repeater certification/training. Other technicians will have Motorola certifications/training in one of the following courses, or comparable legacy certifications: (1) ASTRO'25 IV&D Introduction to Radio System Management Applications (2) ASTRO'25 IV&D Radio System Administrator Workshop (3) ASTRO'25 IV&D Secure Communications Workshop (4) ASTRO'25 IV&D Telephone Interconnect (5) Basic Trunking and ASTRO Concepts Newly hired technicians after award of contract or technicians without certification/training must acquire training within 12 month of contract award 2. Subfactor -- Staffing Plan The Government will evaluate each plan to assure that it reflects a sound understanding of the contract staffing requirements. The offeror must fully describe how they intend to staff the shop to perform the work. The offeror must also demonstrate a capability to staff the shop in times of concurrent or simultaneous unscheduled maintenance events, multiple system outages and surge. B. Price Evaluation. Next, all technically acceptable offers (and "unacceptable" proposals that are correctable) shall be ranked according to price, including option prices. An offeror's proposed prices will be determined by multiplying the quantities identified in the Pricing Schedule (See para C.1(a) of Addendum To 52.212-1, Proposal Preparation Instructions) by the unit price for each item to confirm the extended amount for each. Copies of the Pricing Schedule will be necessary in order to submit a proposal for each Option Year. C. The contracting officer shall seek recent and relevant performance information on all offerors based on (1) the references provided by the offeror and (2) data independently obtained from other government and commercial sources. Relevant present/past performance effort involved similar scope and magnitude of effort and complexities this solicitation requires. The government reserves the right to seek information on higher priced offerors if none of the lower priced offerors receive a "Substantial Confidence" performance assessment rating. The purpose of the past performance evaluation is to assess the degree of confidence the Government has in the offeror's ability to supply the Land Mobile Radio maintenance services that meet users' needs, based on the offeror's demonstrated record of performance. The assessment process will result in an overall performance confidence assessment rating of Substantial Confidence, Satisfactory Confidence, Limited Confidence, No Confidence, or Unknown Confidence as defined in DoD Source Selection Procedures, Table 5, Performance Confidence Assessments. Past performance regarding predecessor companies, key personnel who have relevant experience, or sub-contractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement will be considered as highly as past performance information for the principal offeror. Offerors with no relevant past or present performance history or the offeror's performance record is so limited that no confidence assessment rating can be reasonably assigned shall receive the rating "Unknown Confidence", meaning the rating is treated neither favorably nor unfavorably. D. In evaluating past performance, the government reserves the right to give greater consideration to information on those contracts deemed most relevant to the effort described in this solicitation. E. If the lowest priced technically acceptable offer is judged to have a "Substantial Confidence" performance rating and the offeror is determined to be responsible, that offer represents the best value for the government and the evaluation process stops at this point. Award shall be made to that offeror without further consideration of any other offers. F. If the lowest priced technically acceptable offeror is not judged to have a "Substantial Confidence" performance assessment, the next lowest priced offeror will be evaluated and the process will continue (in order by price) until an offeror is judged to have a "Substantial Confidence" performance assessment or until all offerors are evaluated. The Source Selection Authority shall then make an integrated assessment best value award decision. G. Offerors are cautioned to submit sufficient information and in the format specified in the proposal preparation instructions to permit a meaningful assessment of past performance. Offerors may be asked to clarify certain aspects of their proposal or respond to adverse past performance information to which the offeror has not previously had an opportunity to respond. Adverse past performance is defined as past performance information that supports a less than satisfactory rating on any evaluation element or any unfavorable comments received from sources without a formal rating system. Communication conducted to resolve minor or clerical errors will not constitute discussions and the contracting officer reserves the right to award a contract without the opportunity for proposal revision. H. The government intends to award a contract without discussions with respective offerors. The government, however, reserves the right to conduct discussions if deemed in its best interest. (End of Clause Addendum) 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 98) This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): http://farsite.hill.af.mil (End of Clause); ? 252.209-7999 REPRESENTATION BY CORPORATIONS REGARDING AN UNPAID DELINQUENT TAX LIABILITY OR A FELONY CONVICTION UNDER ANY FEDERAL LAW (DEVIATION 2012-O0004) (JAN 2012) (a) In accordance with sections 8124 and 8125 of Division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012,(Pub. L. 112-74) none of the funds made available by that Act may be used to enter into a contract with any corporation that- (1) Has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, where the awarding agency is aware of the unpaid tax liability, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government. (2) Was convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months, where the awarding agency is aware of the conviction, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government. (b) The Offeror represents that- (1) It is [ ___ ] is not [ ___ ] a corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, (2) It is [ ___ ] is not [ ___ ] a corporation that was convicted of a felony criminal violation under a Federal law within the preceding 24 months. (End of provision) 5352.201-9101 OMBUDSMAN (APR 2010) (a) An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the party to another official who can resolve the concern. (b) Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions). (c) If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, concerned parties may contact the Center/MAJCOM or AFISRA ombudsmen, Brig Gen David A. Harris, AAC/CV, 101 West D Avenue, Suite 116, Eglin AFB, FL 32542-5495, Commercial: (850) 882-5422, DSN: 872-5422. Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the MAJCOM/DRU or ARISRA level, may be brought by the concerned party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (703) 588-7004, facsimile number (703) 588-1067. (d) The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency. (e) Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer. (End of clause) 53...