--Modify contract number DAMT01-98-D-1005 to extend the contract for three months with three additional one month options for a total maximum extension of six months for the Defense Travel System (DTS) with Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS).

1. Contracting Activity: US Army Contracting Agency, Information Technology, E-Commerce, and Commercial Contracting Center (ITEC-4), 2461 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22331-1700. This notice is being published as required by FAR 5.201 and any bids or proposals received in response to it shall be considered. See Government-Wide numbered note 22. 2. Background: The Defense Travel System (DTS) is an Acquisition Category 1AM (ACAT 1AM) system that has been procured by the Department of Defense (DoD) for the management of travel within DoD. The system is mission critical and requires adequate sustainm ent of operation to enable official travel within DoD. DTS is now the officially designated system to be used by DoD for commercial temporary duty travel. Over thirty-five financial systems have been adapted to use DTS, and travel business processes of all services and agencies have been modified to eliminate the historical paper systems used to process travel vouchers and reimburse travelers for out-of-pocket expenses. The Program Management Office - Defense Travel System (PMO-DTS) is the management authority for the program. System Operations and Maintenance, Development, Training, and Help Desk activities are currently carried out under contract number DAMT01-98-D-1005 with Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) in Fair Lakes, VA. This contract expires on 02 April 2007, and PMO-DTS is in the process of competitively awarding a new contract for the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Development portions of the current c ontract. The new competition has been delayed and award of a follow-on contract is not expected until May 2007 at the earliest. Consequently, the current period of performance does not allow sufficient time for a transition to a new contractor if require d. 3. Proposed Contract Action. The government intends tomodify contract number DAMT01-98-D-1005 (Contract) to extend the contract for three months with three additional one month options for a total maximum extension of six months for the Defense Travel Sy stem (DTS) with Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) to obtain the following requirements: " Operations & Sustainment of the DTS to include: o Procure additional system hardware and infrastructure to accommodate the growing user community o Maintain the GEX interface " Development o Complete Tech Refresh o Implement Change Proposals (CPs) in support of approved changes o Provide management required for the above " Testing o The testing task includes designing and conducting software tests to verify that the software meets all specified and functional requirements " Site Fielding Support o Provide personnel support to aid Government teams in fielding DTS to the remaining DoD Agency sites " Commercial Travel Office (CTO) Support o Validate Passenger Name Records (PNRs) in support of fielding activities to enable CTOs to provide ticketing and other travel services " Travel Expense Reimbursement o Provides for reimbursement of expenses incurred by contractor personnel in traveling as needed to carry out contract tasks The Government envisions the following transition activities within the six-month extension period: Transfer of all relevant documents describing the Defense Travel System from the transition contractor to the new contractor, and review by appropriate technical staff. There are 329 hardware configuration items, and 672 software configuration items. Work performed by teams staffed by the transition contractor and the new contractor on O&M and development tasks, with sharing of effort and transfer of knowledge between contractors. This will include assigning system problems to new contractor teams for resolution, with personnel from the transition contractor available for consultation. This is envisioned to enable the identification of areas needing more time or more work, that present particular difficulty in the transition to the new contractor. Pro blem areas will be documented for particular management attention, and, if necessary, appropriate training will be provided to contractor personnel. Hardware transition will begin during this period. Trouble-shooting tasks carried out by the new contractor with gradually decreasing oversight by the transition contractor, to ensure that needed knowledge is transferred and capabilities are being developed. As the new contractor personnel gain expertise, and demonstrate their ability to resolve problems and keep the system operating, the transition contractor support level will decline. Hardware transition will be completed during this period, and the system will be turned on and operating in the new envir onment. 4. Contractor Qualifications: The transition contractor must (1) possess system design expertise and have the ability to trouble-shoot and fix DTS system problems; and (2) be able to transfer DTS knowledge and expertise to a new contract awardee upon the award of a new contract for DTS O&M and development, within a period of six months or less. The following are the Points of Contact (POCs) for this action. All communications concerning this notice must be sent to both POCs: Christos Daoulas, Contracting Officer, contact@example.gov; Carolyn D. Ross, Contract Specialist, contact@example.gov;