Global Linguist Solutions, LLC (W911W4-17-R-ARCENT)

B-417015.19 Mar 20, 2020 Jump To FULL REPORT VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Global Linguist Solutions, LLC (GLS), of Chantilly, Virginia, requests that we recommend the Department of the Army reimburse it for the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the agency's decision to issue a task order to Valiant Government Services, LLC, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, under request for task order proposals (RTOP) No. W911W4-17-R-ARCENT. The Army issued the RTOP for linguist support services for the Army's Central Command area of responsibility. The protester contends that the agency failed to take prompt corrective action in response to clearly meritorious protest grounds. We grant the request. 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:  Global Linguist Solutions, LLC--Costs File:  B-417015.19 Date:  March 20, 2020 Luke W. Meier, Esq., Scott Arnold, Esq., Dominique L. Casimir, Esq., Michael J. Montalbano, Esq., and Carolyn Cody-Jones, Esq., Blank Rome LLP, for the protester. Robert B. Neill, Esq., Department of the Army, for the agency. Alexander O. Levine, Esq., and Jennifer D. Westfall-McGrail, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protester’s request that GAO recommend the reimbursement of protest costs is granted where the record shows that the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action in response to clearly meritorious protest grounds. DECISION Global Linguist Solutions, LLC (GLS), of Chantilly, Virginia, requests that we recommend the Department of the Army reimburse it for the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest of the agency’s decision to issue a task order to Valiant Government Services, LLC, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, under request for task order proposals (RTOP) No. W911W4-17-R-ARCENT.  The Army issued the RTOP for linguist support services for the Army’s Central Command area of responsibility.  The protester contends that the agency failed to take prompt corrective action in response to clearly meritorious protest grounds. We grant the request. BACKGROUND On September 21, 2017, the Army issued the RTOP under the Department of Defense’s Language Interpretation and Translation Enterprise II (DLITE II) contract vehicle.  The Army issued the RTOP to acquire linguist support capability in support of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, the Department of State Office of Special Cooperation-Iraq, and the U.S. Army Central Command.  The RTOP contemplated that the resulting cost-plus fixed-fee task order would have a 1-year base period and four 1-year option periods.  On July 31, 2019, the Army notified GLS that the task order had been issued to Valiant.  Following a debriefing, GLS filed a timely protest, which our Office docketed as B-417015.7, challenging the agency’s evaluation of Valiant’s cost and technical proposals, its failure to credit GLS’s proposal with additional strengths, its discussions with both GLS and Valiant, and its best-value tradeoff determination.  On September 18, the Army provided an agency report responding to these protest grounds. On September 26, GLS filed a supplemental protest (docketed as B-417015.13), arguing that the Army unreasonably failed to verify if Valiant could legally operate in the countries identified in the RTOP.  On September 27, the agency requested dismissal of the supplemental protest.  On October 3, our Office notified the parties that we intended to dismiss the supplemental protest. On September 30, the protester filed its comments on the agency report.  On October 2, the intervenor filed a dismissal request, asserting that the arguments raised in the comments amounted to untimely supplemental protests.  On October 3, we denied the dismissal request and requested the parties provide supplemental briefing on the arguments raised in the protester’s comments. On October 4, the Army announced it would take corrective action in response to GLS’s protest.  The agency stated it would reevaluate proposals and make a new source selection decision.  The agency also reserved the right to reopen discussions, if necessary, and solicit revised proposals.  Based on the corrective action, we dismissed the protests as academic.  This request for a recommendation on reimbursement follows. DISCUSSION Our Office may recommend the reimbursement of protest costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, if, based on the circumstances of the case, we determine that an agency unduly delayed taking corrective action in the face of a clearly meritorious protest, thereby causing the protester to expend unnecessary time and resources to make further use of the protest process in order to obtain relief.  Competition in Contracting Act of 1984, 31 U.S.C.