Threat Management Group, LLC

B-413729 Dec 21, 2016 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Threat Management Group, LLC (TMG), of Ladson, South Carolina, protests the issuance of task order FA4452-13-D-0001-0076 (TO 76), by the Department of the Air Force, to R3 Strategic Support Group, Inc. (R3), of Coronado, California, for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) support services at the Silver Flag site (Silver Flag), Tyndall Air Force Base (Tyndall), Florida. The protester alleges that training procured under TO 76 falls outside of the scope of R3's underlying indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract and that the Air Force violated the requirement in the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA) for full and open competition when it did not compete the requirement. See 10 U.S.C. 2304(a)(1). We sustain the protest. We sustain the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Threat Management Group, LLC File:  B-413729 Date:  December 21, 2016 J. Alex Ward, Esq., R. Locke Bell, Esq., and Damien C. Specht, Esq., Morrison & Foerster LLP, for Threat Management Group, LLC, the protester. Richard B. Oliver, Esq., Mary E. Buxton, Esq., and J. Matthew Carter, Esq., Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, for R3 Strategic Support Group, Inc., the intervenor.  Erika L. Whelan Retta, Esq., and Alexis J. Bernstein, Esq., Department of the Air Force, for the agency. Stephanie B. Magnell, Esq., and Amy B. Pereira, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest is sustained where the protester alleges that the agency issued an out-of-scope task order instead of competing a requirement, and the agency has failed to provide relevant documents addressing the scope of the task order, and where the limited documents available support the conclusion that some of the work is outside the scope of the underlying contract. DECISION Threat Management Group, LLC (TMG), of Ladson, South Carolina, protests the issuance of task order FA4452-13-D-0001-0076 (TO 76), by the Department of the Air Force, to R3 Strategic Support Group, Inc. (R3), of Coronado, California, for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) support services at the Silver Flag site (Silver Flag), Tyndall Air Force Base (Tyndall), Florida.  The protester alleges that training procured under TO 76 falls outside of the scope of R3’s underlying indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract and that the Air Force violated the requirement in the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA) for full and open competition when it did not compete the requirement.[1]  See 10 U.S.C. § 2304(a)(1). We sustain the protest. BACKGROUND On October 29, 2012, the Air Force awarded a single ID/IQ contract, No. FA4452-13-D-0001 (R3 contract), to R3 for EOD support services at various Air Force bases and locations, including Tyndall.[2]  R3 Contract at 60.[3]  As relevant to this protest, with regard to training services to be provided to Air Force personnel, the R3 contract performance work statement (PWS) provided as follows: 1.1 Scope.  The contractor shall provide EOD support services to USAF bases and Headquarter Staffs to include:  managing EOD training and training documentation [. . . .] *  *  *  *  * 1.2.1.8  Provide training in order to maintain EOD Flights’[4] proficiency for demolition and handling of explosives in accordance with DoD, Air Force (AF) and Air Force Office of Safety and Health (AFOSH) directives, and to Maintain Flights’ accountability for issue and destruction of materials in accordance with all governing directives.  PWS §§ 1.1, 1.2.1.8.[5]  Task orders issued under R3’s contract uniformly omitted a task order-specific PWS and simply described the scope of work as “EOD Support Services IAW [in accordance with] the PWS.”  See, e.g., Agency Report (AR), Tab 63 at 3 (TO 44); Tab 79 at 4 (TO 60); Tab 81 at 4 (TO 62); Tab 94 at 4 (TO 75).[6] On May 12, 2016, the Air Force issued a 4-month contract to TMG to provide contingency training services at Tyndall, at a fixed price of $79,739.20 per month.[7] Protest, Attach. C, TMG Contract, at 3-4.  TMG employed 13 individuals who not only provided training, but also provided support services such as vegetation control and inventory and repair of training aids.  Protest at 6; TMG Comments on Air Force Supp. Document Production, Nov. 28, 2016, Attach. 1, TMG Monthly Status Report, Aug. 16, 2016-Sept.