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JBSA News
NEWS | April 5, 2021

Contract allows for rapid augmentation of support services

By Mission and Installation Contracting Command Office of Small Business Programs

The recent award of a small business contract allows installations to more rapidly provide augmentation services in support of mobilization, deployments, redeployments and demobilization in the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico.

Contracting professionals from the Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Sam Houston contracting office in Texas awarded the multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract in support of the Installation Management Command.

Valued at $829 million over a base five-year ordering period with an option for an additional five-year ordering period, the contract was awarded to 16 service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses that will compete for individual contract task orders beginning in the coming months.

Deanna Ochoa, a MICC small business professional from Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, explained that through the use of the task order process, the Army can rapidly employ augmentation support for non-inherently governmental functions enabling Army expeditionary support typified by surges resulting from active and Reserve component operations.

The previous contract was solicited and awarded as a small business set-aside. The new contract was solicited and awarded as a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business set-aside. The MICC Office of Small Business Programs and JBSA-Fort Sam Houston small business professionals were key players in assisting the contracting office in conducting market research and determining the capability of interested contractors.

“Having discussions early in the market research phase with contractors about how the limitations on subcontracting requirement changed, enabled contractors to line up partners with the same socio-economic designation,” Ochoa said. “This made it very easy to support a further set-aside for such a large, complex and important requirement.”

Recent changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation concerning limitations on subcontracting aided in the further set-aside. Ochoa said changes to the limitations on subcontracting regulation now allow contractors to partner or subcontract with similarly situated entities so that at least 50 percent of the cost of personnel for contract performance is spent for employees of the concern or employees of other service-disabled, veteran-owned small business.

“Changes to the limitations on subcontracting requirements express the importance the federal government places on giving small businesses opportunities to compete and succeed in government contracting,” Ochoa said.

As the small business professional for MICC-Fort Sam Houston, she continues to seek opportunities for small business set-asides and, where possible, further set-asides in the HUBZone, woman-owned, service-disabled, veteran-owned, and 8(a) programs. Her efforts have contributed to the success of the MICC-Fort Sam Houston contracting office exceeding all of its fiscal 2020 small business goals and MICC exceeding all of its small business goals for six straight years.