Interior set to issue new military support services contract

The Interior Department's acquisition services center is preparing to award the latest version of a comprehensive contract to provide active U.S. military members and their families with social, mental health and financial services ranging from child care to tax filing assistance.

On Aug. 20 the Acquisition Services Directorate within Interior's National Business Center, requested proposals from firms interested in Military One Source. The contract has changed management several times; this is the Interior directorate's first time handling it.

The services available through One Source have expanded significantly since the contract was first awarded for mental health counseling in 2003. The program now includes parenting assistance, help taking care of elderly family members and pets, and shopping services. It is available to members of all the military services, the Coast Guard and the Reserves, as well as Defense Department civilians.

The new contractor must be able to offer the services -- along with referrals for more serious, nonmedical issues such as finding protection from an abusive family member -24-7 via the Web, e-mail, phone or, occasionally, in-person visits.

In a draft statement of work released in May, the Defense Department explained that the global war on terror and repeated deployments of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan had placed extreme strain on military personnel and their loved ones. The result, the department said, was increased pressure on marriages and new demands on single parenting, spousal employment and fluctuating family income.

The contractor also must establish a call center dedicated exclusively to the education, career and employment of military spouses worldwide. For example, counselors will assist spouses in developing their résumés, locating relevant training programs and finding work.

And the contractor would be expected to hire military spouses to the maximum extent possible.

According to the solicitation, the new contract will have a one-year base with four option years. Although the notice does not put a dollar value on the size of the contract, it is expected to be a mainly fixed price award with some time and materials charges.

The government's contracting portal FedBizOpps noted that 13 companies, including incumbent Ceridian Corp. of Minneapolis, are vying for the new agreement. A bidder's conference is scheduled for Sept. 8.

Ceridian, which declined to comment about the new award, has been at the center of a number of controversies associated with the Military One Source contract dating back several years.

The original $229 million contract was awarded through the General Services Administration's now defunct Federal Technology Service to Titan Corp. of San Diego. Titan, which has since been acquired by L-3 Communications, was a military contractor with no previous counseling experience. Titan later chose Ceridian, which does have significant experience in mental health and counseling services, as its subcontractor.

But Ceridian's competitors alleged that military officials favored the company and steered the business toward the contractor. A draft copy of the request for proposals for the contract indicated that it was at least partially written by a Ceridian employee.

The contract also drew criticism from the GSA inspector general because the award was issued under a contract designed for information technology services, unrelated to the Military One Source requirements.

Partly because of the controversy, GSA officials let the contract expire in 2004 rather than renew it. Shortly after, the agency awarded a bridge contract to Ceridian to keep providing services while the new procurement was fashioned.

The following year, GSA announced it would no longer serve as the Pentagon's contracting arm for Military One Source. The contract later was passed to the Army's Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation and most recently to Interior's Acquisition Services Directorate.

The Defense Department declined to discuss the contract, which is expected to be awarded by the end of the year.