Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

US Army ready to roll out futuristic goggles to larger force

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After two years of development, the U.S. Army’s augmented-reality headset is headed for the big time.

The service announced on Tuesday a contract with Microsoft worth as much as $21.88 billion over the next ten years.  An Army statement said the award “transitions IVAS to production and rapid fielding to deliver next-generation night vision and situational awareness capabilities to the Close Combat Force.”  That’s at least 120,000 soldiers, AP reported. The contract is for ten years, with a five-year base and a five-year option.

Continue reading at:  Defense One

Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command briefing to industry March 22-26, 2021

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The Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) is hosting the first command-wide virtual Advance Planning Briefing for Industry (APBI).  This multi-day virtual event will be conducted in lieu of individual office APBIs, broadcasted on the Microsoft Teams platform, and will include presentations from MICC and Army Leadership, as well as an overview of projected MICC requirements and an Industry Day.  There will be an opportunity for questions and answers.  All questions and answers will be posted to beta.SAM.gov after the event.

For more information, check out MICC’s posting on beta.sam.gov here:  https://beta.sam.gov/opp/a7a729d2fa3544fc8f3edc5c7c554972/view

DATE AND TIME:

When: 22 March 2021 through 26 March 2021, 0830 to 1500 CDT.

Where: Virtually over the internet using the Microsoft Teams platform

This virtual outreach opportunity will allow Team MICC to reduce the barriers to competition and increase the transparency of information by expanding the knowledge of opportunities.  In addition, it will reinforce to the small business population that their capabilities and capacity are key to enabling Army Readiness and Modernization.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Large and Small businesses interested in doing business with the MICC.

ABOUT MICC:

To learn more about the MICC, please go to: https://www.army.mil/micc

Questions about the event should be directed to Team MICC at usarmy.jbsa.acc-micc.list.hq-sbs-2021-apbi@mail.mil.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!  

Please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/micc-fy21-apbi-registration-139883297709.

Registration will close on 12 MAR 21.

MICC is also partnering with the Virginia PTAC and is hosting an Industry Matchmaking Event on 19 -20 APR 21.

Please register at https://virginiaptac.ecenterdirect.com/events/3067.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with Team MICC and other government personnel!

Be sure to visit us at https://www.army.mil/micc#org-small-business.

Army drone rodeo takes place at Fort Benning, Georgia

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Textron Systems is preparing to show off its vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial system in an Army drone rodeo at Fort Benning, Georgia, for companies competing to replace the service’s RQ-7B Shadow.

The Future Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems, or FTUAS, Rodeo will run through the first week of March and feature troops demonstrating drone prototypes from four defense firms that have been under soldier evaluation for the past year.

After a fly-off event in 2019 involving 11 drone vendors, the Army selected four finalists — the Textron Aerosonde Hybrid Quad, Arcturus Jump 20, L3 Harris Unmanned Systems FVR-90 and Martin UAV V-Bat — to participate in a capability assessment involving brigade combat teams, or BCTs, from the across the service.

Continue reading at:  Military.com

Georgia Tech aerospace engineering graduate James McConville sworn in as Army’s top officer

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Gen. James C. McConville, 36th Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (U.S. Army photo by Monica King/Released)

A Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech is the new chief of staff of the U.S. Army.

Gen. James C. McConville took over as the Army’s top officer August 9.  He replaces Gen. Mark A. Milley, who was confirmed in July as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

McConville earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech in 1990.  A decorated helicopter pilot, McConville is the first aviator to serve as the Army’s chief.

“Armed with a master’s in engineering to go with decades of flying and maintaining helicopters, he brings a unique understanding of how to operate and support complex weapons and equipment,” said Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy.  “In this respect, no senior officer is better prepared to lead the Army as we undertake what will be a massive and, yes, risky and costly transformation towards more advanced weapons and war-fighting approaches.”

Continue reading at:  Georgia Tech News Center

Update: Fort Gordon open house and forecast forum scheduled for June 12th is now CANCELED

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Unfortunately, we were recently notified that the Fort Gordon open house and forecast forum scheduled for June 12th has now been canceled by the U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (“MICC”).  We received the following message from Rufus Gates, a Small Business Specialist with MICC:

“The Open House Forecast Forum has been cancelled due to other official duties.  I am having to go on temporary duty to support other installations during the month of June.  This event will be rescheduled for a date after 1 Oct 2019.  Thank you all so much for agreeing to participate in our event and we look forward to your future participation.”

You can find additional details at our original posting about the event here.

Update: Fort Gordon open house and forecast forum scheduled for June 12th CANCELED

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Unfortunately, this event has now been CANCELED.

We received the following message from Mr. Rufus Gates, a Small Business Specialist with MICC:  “The Open House Forecast Forum has been cancelled due to other official duties.  I am having to go on temporary duty to support other installations during the month of June.  This event will be rescheduled for a date after 1 Oct 2019.  Thank you all so much for agreeing to participate in our event and we look forward to your future participation.”

U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command (“MICC”) – Fort Gordon invites you to an open house and “forecast forum” to provide anticipated forecast opportunities for FY 2020 and FY 2021.  Additional presentations will be provided by:

  • Georgia District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”)
  • Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (“GTPAC”)
  • U.S. General Services Administration (“GSA”)

The open house and forecast forum will be held on: June 12, 2019 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET.

Sign-in will be from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. 

Location: Signal Theater Building (Building 21610), 21610 Barnes Avenue, Fort Gordon, GA 30905 (next to the indoor swimming pool).

**IMPORTANT**: If you have Military/DoD Civilian ID or CAC Card, you can gain access to Fort Gordon through any gate.  If you do not, you can only gain access through the Main Gate by way of Dyess Parkway and Gordon Highway.  You will need to show Auto Registration, Auto Insurance, Driver’s License and another form of ID.  Please allow extra time for background check and vehicle inspection.  Do not speed or use cellular phones without a hands-free device while driving on Fort Gordon.  All vehicles must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

Here is the official flyer:  ACQ Forecast Open House Flyer

For further information contact: ophelia.m.brown.civ@mail.mil

The Army will need traditional vendors’ help putting startup tech to use

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The Pentagon is increasingly embracing the startup community as means to expand its technological arsenal, but traditional defense contractors could still be the ones putting most of those new tools into practice, according to top military brass.

In August, the Army stood up the Futures Command, a four-star unit charged with overseeing the service’s decade long modernization effort. With a 500-person staff and an annual budget of $100 million, the group will work to build state-of-the-art weaponry, vehicles and communications networks.

Central to that mission is working with the small companies on the bleeding edge of artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other emerging technologies, said Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, director of the Army’s Futures and Concepts Center and deputy commander of the Futures Command.

“We want to be part of this ecosystem, and so we are embedding ourselves into it,” Wesley said recently at SXSW, speaking just a few blocks from the Austin-based startup incubator where Army Futures set up shop. “[The startup community] is the group we most need to be engaging with.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/03/army-will-need-traditional-vendors-help-putting-startup-tech-use/155428/

Pentagon requests voluntary refund of millions of dollars from contractor TransDigm

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The Army and Defense Logistics Agency will both seek reimbursement on millions of dollars from contractor TransDigm, following an Inspector General report into the company’s contracts with the Pentagon.

TransDigm, which produces specialized parts for aircraft such as pumps, valves and batteries,, earned “excess profit” 112 of 113 contracts reviewed by the IG’s office, per a report released last Wednesday. The IG found that the company received $16.1 million in excess profit between January 2015 and January 2017, with a cost that could go up due to spare parts in the future.

The 112 contracts, signed with the Army or DLA, had profit margins ranging from 17 to a whopping 4,451 percent; The IG’s office calls profit percentages of 15 percent or below to be “reasonable.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/02/27/pentagon-requests-voluntary-refund-of-millions-of-dollars-from-contractor-transdigm/

$3.6 million settlement resolves procurement fraud investigation involving 8(a) firm

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VMJ Construction, LLC (VMJ) and its owner, Colorado resident Michael T. Vigil, as well as Maryland-based Vigil Contracting, Inc. (Vigil Contracting) and its operations manager, John J. Vigil, have agreed to pay the United States $3.6 million to resolve allegations that they defrauded the Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program.

The SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program for economically and socially disadvantaged small businesses serves dual roles.

  • First, the program helps socially and economically disadvantaged small business owners gain access to valuable federal contracts, thereby promoting economic and social mobility.
  • Second, the program saves taxpayers money by spurring a competitive marketplace.  By promoting the development of small businesses, the 8(a) Program helps prevent the formation of monopolies that would stifle innovation and restrict consumers’ ability to negotiate lower prices.

It is important that the 8(a) Program is reserved only for companies that actually meet the program’s criteria because misuse of the program deprives legitimate 8(a) Program participants of valuable economic opportunities and undermines the integrity of the program.

There are several rules that businesses in the 8(a) program must abide by.

  • The socially and economically disadvantaged owner of the business must manage the day-to-day operations of the company and have responsibility for the long-term decision-making for the company.
  • 8(a) Program applicants must also truthfully disclose any affiliation with other businesses so that SBA may accurately assess whether the applicant meets the definition of a small business, and whether the applicant shows potential for success and the ability to perform the requisite percentage of the contracts secured through the Program.
  • Businesses also cannot remain in the 8(a) Program indefinitely; after nine years, they graduate from the program and are no longer eligible to bid on 8(a) contracts.

VMJ was accepted into the 8(a) Program in 2011.  Michael T. Vigil, who is Hispanic, was the 91% owner of VMJ, and was the socially and economically disadvantaged individual upon which VMJ based its application to the 8(a) program.  John J. Vigil was a 9% owner of VMJ.  John J. Vigil was also the operations manager of Vigil Contracting.  Vigil Contracting is a 2011 graduate of the 8(a) Program.  Since 2011, Vigil Contracting has not been eligible to bid for contracts reserved for 8(a) program participants.

The United States contends that VMJ made false statements to the SBA regarding its eligibility to participate in the 8(a) program.  Specifically, VMJ relied almost exclusively upon Vigil Contracting to bid on and complete the work awarded to VMJ under the 8(a) program.  VMJ used Vigil Contracting’s bonding, office space, employees, contractors, software, computers, and vehicles.  Vigil Contracting employees and contractors, including John J. Vigil, made the high-level business decisions of VMJ and managed the day-to-day operations of VMJ.   Michael T. Vigil did not control VMJ, did not set the long-term policy, nor manage the day-to-day management of the business.  VMJ knowingly misrepresented these facts to SBA, in both VMJ’s initial application to participate in the 8(a) program and in an annual update to SBA.  As a result of the deception, the Army, the Navy, and the Department of Agriculture awarded VMJ several federal government contracts set aside for 8(a) program participants.

“The United States uses these set-aside contracts for a clear reason — to help small businesses owned by economically and socially disadvantaged individuals.  This program continues the promise of the American Dream by helping new small businesses get on their feet, and with more businesses on their feet, our markets are healthier and more competitive,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. “When companies lie about their eligibility to get these contracts, they prevent other deserving small businesses from getting the assistance that Congress intended.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/36-million-settlement-resolves-procurement-fraud-investigation-against-colorado-and

Partner of military contractor sentenced to prison for bribery scheme related to contracts in support of Iraq war

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A former business partner of a U.S. military contractor was sentenced last week to 18 months in prison for his role in a years-long scheme to bribe U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at a U.S. military base in Kuwait during the Iraq War.

Finbar Charles, a citizen of Saint Lucia most recently residing in Baguio City, Philippines, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre of the Northern District of Alabama.  Chief Judge Bowdre also ordered Charles to forfeit $228,558 in illicit gains.  Charles pleaded guilty in July 2018 to one count of bribery of a federal official.

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Charles was a business partner of a former U.S. military contractor, Terry Hall.  As Hall’s business partner, Charles admitted that he facilitated Hall and others in providing millions of dollars in bribes in approximately 2005 to 2007 to various U.S. Army officials in exchange for preferential treatment for Hall’s companies in connection with Department of Defense (DoD) contracts to deliver bottled water and construct security fencing to support U.S. troops stationed in Kuwait and Iraq.

As part of his role in this criminal conspiracy, Charles admitted that he managed bank accounts in Kuwait and the Philippines that he used to receive DoD payments and transfer illegal bribes to various U.S. Army contracting officials, including Majors Eddie Pressley, James Momon, and Chris Murray.  All of those individuals, as well as at least 10 other co-conspirators, have pleaded guilty or been convicted of crimes relating to this scheme.  Charles admitted that he falsified loan and consulting agreements to conceal the true nature of the bribe payments to the Army officers, and that he personally received over $228,000 in illicit gains as a result of his participation.

This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, the FBI, and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in this matter.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-business-partner-us-military-contractor-sentenced-prison-bribery-scheme-related

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