One senator and eight members of the House from Missouri have written the top DoD acquisition official asking for another look at what appears to be a recently changed Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) demilitarization acquisition process.
General Dynamics [GD] Ordnance and Tactical Systems Munition Services has been the prime program management contractor for the Army Joint Munitions Command conducting MLRS demilitarization work in Joplin, Mo., since 2008.
The congressional members wrote, “We respectfully request the US Army re-establish the MLRS Demil acquisition strategy as an ‘unrestricted, full and open competition’ which includes small business.”
In a Nov. 5 letter to Frank Kendall, undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, the members explained their concern–that in October a full and open competition changed to a small business set-aside, “with no known input from any of the relevant stakeholders in the Army.” This concerned them because they believed for 18 months there would be a full and open recompetition.
In 2011, Kendall’s office reviewed the acquisition processes, after a letter from the Missouri Congressional delegation. The original concern, the letter said, was that “we expected that this program would be recompeted in a full and open competition at the end of the current five year contract in 2013 as planned.”
The acquisition change came “with no apparent understanding of the complexity and dangerous nature” of the process of destroying obsolete and excess rocket cluster munitions, the letter said.
Meanwhile, responses are due today to the revised October 11 synopsis published inwww.fbo.gov, which states the MLRS demil requirement is a 100 percent small business set aside.
The letter “strongly supports” small businesses and encourages them to bid in free and open competitions.
However, the members said they were concerned “that excluding an operation like Joplin Operations is not in the interest of the taxpayer or the mission to destroy excess MLRS rockets.”
It would take small business a significant investment, they said, pointing out that a cost benefit analysis managed by Kendall’s office concluded it would cost “an estimated $40 million or more to acquire needed equipment and tooling to create a new MLRS demilitarization facility.”
That same study also pointed out there would be risks and a steep learning curve involved as well.
Allowing the Joplin facility to bid complies with DoD policy supporting full and open competition and multiple bidders, members wrote. “As the Joplin community continues to recover from one of the worst tornadoes in U.S. history, a policy change which needlessly eliminates jobs would severely hinder Joplin’s effort. We ask you again to please consider this additional unique factor.”