JDSAT Inc. (N0018925QZ455)

B-423868 Jan 12, 2026 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights JDSAT, Inc., a service-disabled veteran-owned small business of McLean, Virginia, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. N0018925QZ455, issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, for professional services. The protester contends that the agency failed to properly determine whether the work described in the solicitation is within the scope of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) Operations, Plans & Readiness (OP&R) multiple-award contract (MAC). JDSAT also argues that the agency failed to correctly assess whether it was required to set the requirement aside for small businesses under the so-called "Rule of Two." We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. View Decision Decision Matter of: JDSAT, Inc. File: B-423868 Date: January 12, 2026 Lewis P. Rhodes, Esq., Reston Law Group, LLP, for the protester. Theresa S. Keenan, Esq., Department of the Navy, for the agency. Kasia Dourney, Esq., and Alexander O. Levine, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest asserting that task order solicitation for professional services exceeds the scope of its underlying multiple award contract is denied where the record shows that the requirement was reasonably encompassed within the contract's scope of work. 2. Protest asserting that agency failed to undertake a “Rule of Two” analysis prior to issuing a solicitation on an unrestricted basis is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction where the anticipated value of the task order is below the threshold for GAO jurisdiction. DECISION JDSAT, Inc., a service‑disabled veteran‑owned small business of McLean, Virginia, protests the terms of request for quotations (RFQ) No. N0018925QZ455, issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, for professional services. The protester contends that the agency failed to properly determine whether the work described in the solicitation is within the scope of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) Operations, Plans & Readiness (OP&R) multiple-award contract (MAC). JDSAT also argues that the agency failed to correctly assess whether it was required to set the requirement aside for small businesses under the so-called “Rule of Two.” We deny the protest in part and dismiss it in part. BACKGROUND The agency issued the RFQ on August 8, 2025, to holders of the Navy's BUMED OP&R MAC.[1] Agency Report (AR), Exh. 1, RFQ at 1. The task order solicitation sought quotations for professional services supporting the Naval Medicine Force Development Center through strategic communications, hybrid analytic solutions, technology innovation, and optimizing access-to-care standards for operational forces. Id. at 6-7. The RFQ was scheduled to close on August 29, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. Shortly before that deadline, JDSAT filed the instant protest. DISCUSSION JDSAT argues that the requirement at issue falls outside the scope of the BUMED contract. Protest at 3-4. The protester also contends that the RFQ is “an improper bundling of what should be a follow-on opportunity of an existing small business contract currently being performed by JDSAT.” Id. at 1. As such, according to the protester, the solicitation violates the so-called “Rule of Two.”[2] Id. at 4. We have reviewed the protester's allegations and find no basis upon which to sustain the protest.[3] The protester argues that the current requirement falls outside the scope of the BUMED contract because BUMED is “limited to analytic and advisory services.” Protest at 4. According to JDSAT, “[t]he work under this [s]olicitation is more in line with direct healthcare delivery policy and system modernization.” Id. The protester alleges that specific solicitation tasks are outside of BUMED's scope, including: “[a]ssessment of direct clinical operations and operations healthcare; management [information technology (IT)]/system modernization work,” and “[c]reating and institutionalizing Navy/[Defense Health Agency (DHA)] healthcare access standards.” Id. JDSAT also claims that BUMED does not specifically identify “[d]evelop[ing] and deploy[ing] [artificial intelligence (AI)]/ [machine learning (ML)] models to address identified gaps and opportunities for improvement,” a task contemplated by the instant RFQ. Opp. to Req. for Dismissal at 5. In response, the Navy contends that this protest ground “consists of bare allegations that lack the requisite factual basis to establish a reasonable potential that the protester's allegations may have merit.” COS/MOL at 2. The agency asserts that “even assuming the [p]rotester has managed to allege a legally sufficient basis for protest,” JDSAT's argument “lacks merit.” Id. at 3.