ACC-RI interns supporting the Army’s enterprise infrastructure goals

By Liz Glenn and David GannonJune 22, 2020

(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Some of the newest Army Contracting Command-Rock Island (ACC-RI) employees are playing a big role in supporting the Army’s enterprise infrastructure goals by working on the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-3 Services (ITES-3S) contract vehicle.

ITES-3S is the Army’s premier source for Information Technology (IT) services that features decentralized ordering with no access fee charges, and is open to the Army, Department of Defense (DoD), and all other federal agencies. Moreover, the Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity IDIQ contract vehicle has all the required IT regulations for the DoD to ease the execution at the order level.

After the first year of performance, the team is seeing an average of four to five responses from industry to a Request for Proposal. The ITES-3S scope is wide with eight major task areas: cyber-security services; program management support; cloud hosting; IT services; business process reengineering; enterprise design, integration, and consolidation; network/systems operation and maintenance; and telecommunications/systems operation and maintenance.

ITES-3S offers a full range of innovative, world-class information technology support services and solutions at a reasonable price. ITES-3S enhances Army net-operations/net-centric capabilities and holistically supports Army customers by providing a common look and feel for Army applications at all levels of both the strategic and tactical Army enterprise. It complies with existing DoD and Army standardization and interoperability policies, and strives to enhance Army capabilities by supporting implementation and partnering in Network Enterprise Technology Command’s Networthiness program.

ITES-3S consists of 135 IDIQ contracts, including 85 small business contractors, with a nine-year period of performance, and a ceiling value of $12.1 billion.

ACC-RI’s Intern Homeroom’s (IHR) initial introduction to ITES-3S was when they were tasked to draft the first wholesale modification to the base contract, in support of the IT Directorate. As there are 135 base contracts, each member of IHR2 was able to gain valuable Procurement Automated Data and Document System (PADDS) experience by completing four to five modifications.

The IT Directorate-aligned IHR Team under Dave Gannon, contracting officer, assumed administration of ITES-3S in the fall of 2019. Gannon and Jennifer Mueller, lead contract specialist, have been working on building the contracting skills of intern contract specialists Chelsey Love, Johnna Sebben, Drew Owens, Matthew Westfall, and John Thodos.

Westfall said that being exposed to the Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) contract vehicle, especially ITES-3S, as a new contract specialist, has been very helpful in developing his and other interns’ understanding of the contracting field.

“Being exposed to real procurements from the floor not only prepares us for our upcoming rotations, but also aids in our understanding of [Defense Acquisition University] DAU course materials,” said Westfall.

The first major engagement the interns participated in was the 2019 Annual Vendor Status (AVS) meetings. Between October-December 2019, there were up to five virtual meetings per day. All of the specialists were able to participate, with intern contract specialists learning and enhancing skills for leading and hosting meetings between clients and contractors on a major program.

During the AVS meetings, the team initiated the second modification to the base contract, which changed terms and conditions, and added the regulatory changes. Each specialist was responsible for a set of modifications, the Paperless Contracting File (PCF) cabinet, and distributing the executed award. These actions further enhanced their experience with PADDS and the overall contracting process.

The team was also introduced to the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS) by analyzing each submitted ITES-3S Individual Subcontract Report (ISR), comparing the goals to the subcontract plan, and communicating any ISR issues to the vendors.

The team has also been gaining experience performing post-award administration actions such as novations; name/address change mods; reviewing consent to subcontract packages; and reviewing monthly/quarterly vendor reports.

Chelsey Love, intern contract specialist, said working on the ITES-3S vehicle has offered her and her teammates many opportunities that many specialists don't see in their first year on the job, and has already resulted in personal skill building on her part.

“In total, every member of our team was designated to take the administrative duties of about 30 vendors each,” said Love. “I personally came from a previous career where email was not our main mode of communication, so working with the 3S contractors helped me realize very quickly just how imperative an organized inbox is to my day.”

Leveraging the center’s varied workload in providing on-the-job training for its newest employees successfully enables the center to execute contract actions, while enhancing individual employees’ knowledge and skills, in which they will contribute to ACC-RI’s future as a premier acquisition center.