ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Companies interested in government business traveled to Davenport, Iowa, to learn more about the Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise, or EAGLE, contract program.
"The attendance has been just overwhelming," said Kathy Acree, Army Sustainment Command's Distribution Management Center deputy director. "We have more than 400 contractors representing 207 companies, which is a magnificent turnout."
EAGLE Program Industry Day took place May 17-18 at the Radisson Hotel. ASC and the Rock Island Contracting Center organized the event to reach the private sector for input into the new contracting strategy.
The meeting introduced industry to the new $50 billion contracting strategy that will support the Army's logistical requirements for global wartime sustainment missions.
The EAGLE contract replaces the Field and Installation Readiness Support Team, or FIRST, Program, which is approaching its funding ceiling, said Scott Welker, ASC deputy commander.
"We're walking them through the strategy, get their input and start partnering with industry up front, so they're not surprised when a (Request for Proposal) comes out for $50 billion," he said.
The draft RFPs will go out in September, Welker said. The final RFP is scheduled to be released in January 2011, with the contract expected to be awarded by January 2012. The contract has a base period of performance of two years with eight option years, he said.
The first day featured briefings on the Army's needs that the EAGLE Program will support. Representatives from ASC and the Joint Munitions Command informed the contractors on their requirements.
Carl Cartwright, executive director for Field Support, discussed ASC's many missions, including Army Prepositioned Stock, Reset, Property Accountability, the Directorates of Logistics, and LOGCAP. He stressed that there were plenty of opportunities for companies to work within the command.
Regarding the announcement that 77 Directorates of Logistics would transition to ASC from the Installation Management Command, Cartwright said: "What we want to do is be able to, as an enterprise, leverage capabilities that we already have versus adding redundant capability."
Cartwright also said that, through its property accountability mission, ASC now owns about 20 percent of the Army's equipment.
"It's many, many, many billions of dollars," he said.
Representatives from government contracting offices explained how the EAGLE Program is expected to work.
In her briefing, Jessica Dobbeleare, RICC procuring contracting officer, took the audience step by step through the procurement process and outlined the opportunities that will exist for small and large businesses in the EAGLE strategy.
Brig. Gen. Stephen Leisenring, commanding general of the Mission Installation Contracting Command, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, attended the event as one of the primary acquisition players in the pre-award planning, award and administration of the new contracting strategy. The MICC and the RICC are subordinate organizations to the Army Contracting Command.
"This enterprise contracting solution provides us a contracting tool to meet both the logistics side, the pure maintenance side, the core ASC functions as well as ... other non-core ASC functions that are currently being performed at the Directorates of Logistics throughout the United States," Leisenring said.
Day two focused on one-on-one meetings between the contractors and government representatives.
The workshop provided the organizers with the industry participation they needed to move ahead with EAGLE.
"The event was an excellent opportunity to unveil the EAGLE Program to industry and to launch this important Army acquisition," Dobbeleare said. "It surpassed our expectations for small and large business participation and we've received great feedback from industry on the concepts presented."
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