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Contract Opportunity

Notice of Sole Source Intent. This requirement is for commercial items as defined in FAR 2.101 and will be prepared in accordance with the information in FAR Subpart 13.5, as supplemented with the additional information included in this notice. This notice of intent is not a competitive solicitation or request for quotes. No solicitation package is available.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USFS), intends to award a contract to Vigil America (Vigil) for II+c Military 2-pin AAD in automatic activation devices (AAD). The USFS has found Vigil to be the only reasonably available source to successfully supply the required AADs for smokejumper operations. The resulting contract will be for a 12-month base period and include four (4) additional 12-month option periods; to be exercised at the USFS’ discretion. Since the USFS’ initial market research indicates that only one responsible source can provide the AADs that will satisfy the Agency's requirements, a sole source justification is being prepared. The USFS anticipates award before 1 May 2023 with services to begin no later than 1 June 2023.

The Vigil II+c Military 2-pin AAD devices are proprietary to Vigil and there are no other authorized contractors approved to provide this USFS mandated piece of safety equipment. Furthermore, the Vigil AAD is the only waterproof AAD safety device authorized for use that has passed the stringent, controlled evaluation process for safety, strength, and deployment conducted by the Bureau of Land Management and adopted by the USFS following the results of said evaluations. Going outside of the USFS-approved equipment list could result in equipment damage, system failure, and extreme bodily injury and/or death to smokejumper operators. The only AAD with waterproof capability known to possess the required specifications (proven through extensive testing and evaluation) and meeting the needs of the smokejumper mission and safety needs is the Vigil II+c Military 2-pin AAD.

Contractors that have questions regarding the sole source nature of this requirement or contractors who believe they can provide the required AADs are encouraged to identify themselves and give written notification to the Contracting Officer. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the USFS. Any response to this notice must show clear and convincing evidence that competition would be advantageous to the Government. Responses to this notice can be emailed to Gwendolynn.Boyle@usda.gov.

All responses must include the contractor's Unique Entity ID (UEI) and Tax Identification Number (TIN). Contractors must additionally identify themselves as either a small business or other than small business under North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 334511 Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing. The applicable small business size standard is 1,250 employees. The Product Service Code is 4240 – Safety and Rescue Equipment.

A determination by the USFS not to compete this proposed action, based on the responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the USFS. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct a competitive procurement.

Any contractor interested in conducting business with the Federal Government must be registered and active in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) prior to submitting a response. SAM.gov is a FREE, Federal Government-owned and operated website at https://sam.gov/content/home. By submitting a response, the contractor is self-certifying that neither the principal corporate official(s) nor owner(s) is currently suspended, debarred, or otherwise ineligible to receive contracts from any federal agency. Failure to do so may represent grounds for refusing to accept the response. By submission of a response, the contractor acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee shall be registered in the SAM.gov database prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of any resulting contract. All invoices for this procurement shall be submitted through the Department of Treasury's Internet Payment Platform located at https://www.ipp.gov.

Any questions regarding this proposed action can be directed to Gwen Boyle at Gwendolynn.Boyle@usda.gov.

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