HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- The Security Forces Tactical Security System team of the Electronic Systems Directorate recently received the Department of the Air Force Small Business Innovation Award at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center level.
Among the team’s accomplishments was the award of a $199 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase III indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract.
“We greatly benefitted from the daily collaboration of the entire team,” said Capt. Joshua Renick, contracting branch chief, Force Protection Division’s Modernization Branch. “Our functional experts in contracting, cyber, engineering, test and program management met daily, and some of our best solutions were brainstormed over lunch.”
The team also orchestrated a 10-month market research campaign and defended a Government Accountability Office-level protest. Their efforts led to the establishment of landmark case law that protects the streamlined acquisition pathway for procuring SBIR-derived technologies.
These developments helped redefine technical requirements, enabling the use of commercially available components and systems in the final SF-TSS solution.
“The trust we share in each other and the mission was a significant element of our team’s success,” said Renick.
Among the challenges the team faced was balancing the SF-TSS acquisition during Renick’s six-month deployment.
He helped defend the bid protest prior to deploying, an effort that contributed to him receiving the 77th Arthur S. Flemming Award for Legal Achievement, but additional work needed to be done in the months following his departure.
“Not long after Capt. Renick deployed, the GAO asked us to submit a Contracting Officer’s Supplemental Statement of Facts, so I created the initial draft,” said Andrew St. Maurice, contract specialist. “We also received valuable assistance from our legal counsel at the time, Katy Schwab, and from contracting officers Capt. Stephanie Hodges and Robert Gill.”
Team members said the trust they shared helped establish strong bonds and a team culture.
“Simply put, we overcame our challenges because none of us had to carry this burden alone,” Renick said. “Instead, we persevered thanks to the support delivered by a motivated team of acquisition professionals who never lost sight of the greater mission.”