ESC announces $800 million support services contract awards

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • ESC Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, MASS. --  The U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center has awarded eight contracts, worth a total ceiling value of $800 million, for Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS) to eight companies: Abacus Technology Corporation, Business Technologies & Solutions, Inc., Gemini Industries, Inc., Oasis Systems, Odyssey Systems, PESystems, Inc., Quantech Services, Inc. and Sumaria Systems, Inc. 

The contracts, collectively known as Professional Advisory Support Services (PASS), will provide non-technical acquisition support to the center for the next five years. Those services will be provided to ESC at its headquarters here and at its geographically separated units throughout the country. 

Each of these small business contractors is now eligible to compete for approximately 26 task orders in individual work areas. The selected contractors will provide a wide range of non-technical acquisition support services, including support of research, development and production activities at ESC and its geographically separated units. The scope of work includes acquisition support, financial management, contracting support, and administrative and human resources. 

PASS is the second component of a three-part effort to replace the current vehicle used to provide A&AS support, the $1.4 billion Information Technology Services Program (ITSP) II, which currently constitutes nearly 40 percent of the ESC work force. ITSP II is set to expire June 30. The first component, the four-year, $88 million Specialized Cost Services, was awarded in November 2006. The final component, the $480 million, three-year Engineering and Technology Acquisition Support Services, known as ETASS, is expected to be awarded to a single contractor team by the end of May. 

For PASS, the government will award the first three of 26 task orders within the next few weeks. This work covers support to the 753rd Electronic Systems Group, the 850 ELSG, and the ESC Center Staff.

"This award marks another major milestone for ESC," said the center's director of Contracted Support Management, Linda Jean. "However, this is not the time to rest on our laurels. We now begin an orchestrated plan to compete and evaluate the remaining 23 task orders among the eight awardees, which means over 180 proposals might be received." 

To handle the expected workload and effect smoother transitions to PASS, task orders will be released in groups of seven to eight at a time in a series of three phases. The full transition is expected to be complete by the fall. 

To cover support throughout the transition, ESC is putting in place temporary "bridge" support by awarding upwards of 100 short-term task orders to the existing ITSP II incumbents. This was necessary to ensure continued contracted support beginning July 1 and ending with the transitions to PASS and ETASS.


CONTACT: Chuck Paone, (781) 377-5078, charles.paone@hanscom.af.mil