AA - Safety Boats for Training

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)Description1.1.  The Capabilities Development Directorate (CDD), Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps (Combat Development and Integration), (HQMC CD&I) in support of the Portfolio Manager for Ground Combat Element Systems (PfM GCES) is seeking information on how an interested contractor could provide an on-the-water safety vessel to provide rapid support to a Marine Corps amphibious vehicle and/or personnel in distress during the conduct of training exercises.  An interested contractor would have to provide the vessels, the transportation trailers, repair parts, consumables, licensed operators, maintainers, all required training, certifications, and safety equipment.1.2.  THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY.  This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future.  This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any

supply or service whatsoever.  Further, the Marine Corps is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.  Respondees are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense.  Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued.  If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on SAM.gov, the official U.S. Government system for contract opportunities, previously the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website.  It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this potential requirement.Background2.1. Planned Services:  The contractor shall provide safety boats, Emergency Medical professionals, and technically proficient and qualified personnel to operate and maintain the watercraft in support of amphibious vehicle training operations in protected and open water simultaneously at seven separate Marine Corps Base (MCB) and installations locations.  The contractor shall provide informal maritime instruction and safety briefs to support safe and effective free boat operations.  The U. S. Government will not acquire boats or equipment as part of this contract.  .2.1.1.  Safety Boats:Motor-powered boat of sufficient size to safely transport a boat crew of two, required equipment, an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), and at least one water safety swimmer (Open Ocean Life Guard) and be able to accommodate 16-21 additional rescued personnel, in support of an amphibious training event. The entirety of this effort consists of 28 safety boats in total and are broken down into  broken one safety boat in the water for 5 amphibious vehicles or less and two safety boats in the water for a unit of 6 amphibious vehicles or more at each seperate  training location listed in Section 2.3 below.Have the capacity to also embark 16-21 additional personnel in the event of a water mishap to support  a water rescue.  Operators must be licensed and the vessels must be certified to hold 20-25 personnel, including the crew.   Have the ability to enable communications, through GFP, via military communication networks (threshold); military and civilian maritime emergency networks (objective).Have the ability to operate during the day and night in a normal conditions and up to a Sea State 3.Initial estimate for equipment to support on-site training tempo is 28 Assault Amphibian (AA) Safety Boats, trailers, and associated equipment. All of the equipment and boat setup will be standardized/similar.  A boat team is two safety boats with the same required personnel and equipment on each.   Notional distribution is as follows:2nd AA Battalion:  3 boat teams (6 boats; 6 boat trailers; 24 personnel)3rd AA Bn:  3 boat teams (6 boats; 6 boat trailers; 24 personnel)Assault Amphibian School:  3 boat teams (6 boats; 6 boat trailers; 24 personnel)Company A, 4th AA Bn:  1 boat team (2 boats; 2 boat trailers; 8 personnel)Co B, 4th AA Bn:  1 boat team (2 boats; 2 boat trailers; 8 personnel)Co C, 4th AA Bn:  1 boat team (2 boats; 2 boat trailers; 8 personnel)Co D, 4th AA Bn:  1 boat team (2 boats; 2 boat trailers; 8 personnel)4th Marine Regiment / 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit:  1 boat team (2 boats; 2 boat trailers; 8 personnel)2.1.2.  Personnel:Sufficient trained personnel to support AA training requirements during the day, night, and in inclement weather.The estimated minimum required crew and equipment are per safety boat:One coxswain (provided by vendor)One assistant coxswain/safety assistant (provided by vendor)One certified medical personnel (EMT)One safety swimmer, Open Ocean Lifeguard, (or above) attired for immediate water entry.2.1.3.  Supporting Equipment at a minimum should include:One complete rescue litter assembly with flotation or floating backboardTrail line (also known as a drag line - for divers)   Communication radiosV-strap       Boat hooksSafety Gloves         Lifting slingsChemical lights with strapsSearch lightsOne level "A" medical kit” /EMT bag2.2.  Delivery Period:  The requested contract delivery period at this time is undetermined and request feedback from vendors on recommended period of performance and contract type.  2.3.  Limitations:  The intent is for contracted services that are able to be provided simultaneously at seven separate AA unit locations to include:MCB Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (2nd AA Battalion)MCB Camp Pendleton, California (3rd AA Bn and Assault Amphibian School)Navy Installation Little Creek, Virginia (Company A, 4th AA Bn)Navy Installation Jacksonville, Florida (Co B, 4th AA Bn)Navy Installation Galveston, Texas (Co C, 4th AA Bn)Navy Installation Tampa, Florida (Co D, 4th AA Bn)MCB Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan (4th Marine Regiment / 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit)*If the contractor is only able to partially meet the full seven site requirement, (i.e. only at a specific loation(s)) please indicate which sites are supportable and which are unsupportable.2.3.1.  AvailabilitySafety Boats will need to be available for Fleet Marine Forces training during normal weekdays (5 days a week) for 8-10 hours a day throughout the year.  The contractor must have the capacity to be on-call and surge support on weekends, nights, and holidays, potentially provide support longer than 10 hours (overtime or second boat crew).  An example of a high operational tempo day is a boat team of (2) safety boats providing support for a training unit on the north side of base during the morning and afternoon hours, while a second boat team of (2) safety boats provides support to a second training unit on the southern portion of base during the same morning and afternoon hours.  A third safety boat team of (2) safety boats would be providing support to a third training unit conducting basic training in the installations protected waters (Boat Basin, Bay, Inlet) in the afternoon to early evening. This scenario requires (6) safety boats in a single day at one of the locations specified in paragraph 2.3.  If a unit needs to extend training beyond an 8-10 hour day due to delays or unforeseen issues a fourth safety boat or crew could be required so that the supported unit can continue training.The USMC Reserve units have a much more predictable schedule, although a majority of the time it is during the weekends.  Coordination and planning support with these units will be at a much lower operating tempo. 2.4.  Security Requirements:There are no security requirements for this RFI.  The contractor will not need to access classified areas at any of the locations.2.4.1.  Base SecurityContractor shall comply with MCB and installations security regulations and policies.  The contractor’s staff shall be U.S. or naturalized citizens, whose military duty was not terminated by a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge, who are not subject to an outstanding criminal warrant, have no felony conviction, and no more than three criminal misdemeanor convictions within the last seven years, and no criminal misdemeanor or felony conviction for crimes of a sexual nature, crimes of violence, crimes related to gang activity or hate crimes, or crimes resulting from the possession or distribution of any illegal drug.All contractor personnel aboard MCBs and installations, with the exception of emergency personnel, shall wear a properly issued badge at all times.  Contractor employees shall comply with all emergency rules and procedures established for the MCB and/or installation.  All personnel aboard MCBs and installations are subject to random inspections of their vehicles, personal items and of themselves.  Consent to these inspections is considered to have been given when personnel enter the MCB or installation.2.4.2.  OPSEC RequirementsThe practice of OPSEC prevents the inadvertent compromise of sensitive unclassified and classified activities, capabilities, or intentions at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.  The contractor’s staff must adhere to all Government OPSEC measures currently in place at the Government facility.  The contractor shall provide OPSEC training to all contractor personnel supporting this effort.  Taking pictures from cameras or cell phones is not allowed while aboard the compound or in the test areas.Requested InformationThe government requests the following information in response to this RFI.Provide dimensions of the system (length, width, height (including height on trailer), gross weight);Provide certified payload capacity (i.e. personnel, fuel, gear, power equipment, etc.);Provide modes that the Safety Boat can be transported by (i.e. U.S. Navy vessel type, commercial shipping, air, etc.);Provide distance (in nautical miles) that the Safety Boat can travel on one tank of fuel;Provide sea operating conditions for the Safety Boat (significant wave height in feed and periodicity of waves in seconds);Provide sprint speeds the Safety Boat is capable of and how long it can sustain that (knots per hour);Provide how shift work would be conducted for USMC training missions over eight (8) hoursDescribe the capability regarding navigation, sensing, object recognition, etc.Describe subsystem capabilities (i.e. communication, navigation, command and control)Organization Name, Address and Point of Contact information:Business size for NAICS 449903: Boat and ship rental and leasing, except pleasure or 483114 - Coastal and Great Lakes Passenger Transportation or 488310 - Port and Harbor Operations  Please indicate if there are other recommended NAICS codes in support of this effort.  Also, indicate whether the company is 8(a) certified, disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, woman-owned, HUB Zone, Native American, or any other Small Business Administration approved designation;Business Status - Non-traditional Defense Contractor (NDC) or Traditional Defense Contractor in accordance with 10 USC Section 2371b;SAM Expiration Date;Facility Clearance StatusTotal estimate annual cost for contracted services;Estimated annual costs for contracted services by site/unit;Monthly and yearly production capacity;Material Description. Please identify which requirements the system meets;Existing contracts (i.e. GSA, other agency contracts, etc.) where the goods and services addressed in this RFI may be available.4.0 Responses4.1.  Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper.4.2.  White papers in Microsoft Word for Office 2000 compatible format are due no later than 18 August 2021, 17:00 EST.  Section 2 of the white paper has a page limit.  There is no page restriction associated with this RFI; however, an executive summary, not to exceed 10 pages, should accompany each submission and be submitted via e-mail to Ms. Shanna M. Laging at shanna.laging@usmc.mil and Ms. Kathleen E. Mullins at kathleen.mullins@usmc.mil.  Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED.  To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information.  Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. 4.3.  Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum:4.3.1.  Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact.4.3.2.  Recommended contracting strategy.4.3.3.  Either 1) copies of executed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with the contractors supporting CDD and MCSC supported PEOs and DRPMs in technical evaluations or 2) a statement that the respondee will not allow the Government to release its proprietary data to the Government support contractors.  In the absence of either of the foregoing, the Government will assume that the respondee does NOT agree to the release of its submission to Government support contractors. 4.3.4.  Business type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, very small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business) based upon North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 449903: Boat and ship rental and leasing, except pleasure or 483114 - Coastal and Great Lakes Passenger Transportation or 488310 - Port and Harbor Operations.  “Small business concern” means a concern, including its affiliates that are independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria and size standards in 13 CFR part 121.  Responders are cautioned, however, that this is a general description only.  Additional standards and conditions apply.  Please refer to Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR 19 for additional detailed information on Small Business Size Standards.  The FAR is available at http://www.arnet.gov.There is no page restriction associated with Section 1 of this RFI; however, an executive summary, not to exceed 10 pages, should accompany each submission.4.4  Section 2 of the white paper shall answer the issues addressed in Section 3 of this RFI and there is no page restriction associated with this section.5.0 Industry DiscussionsCDD and MCSC representatives may or may not choose to meet with potential offerors.  Such discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, especially any development and certification risks.6.0 QuestionsQuestions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to to Ms. Shanna M. Laging at shanna.laging@usmc.mil and Ms. Kathleen E. Mullins at kathleen.mullins@usmc.mil.  Verbal questions will NOT be accepted.  Questions will be answered by posting answers to Sam.gov website as an amendment to the RFI.  The Question and answer period will be open until 11 August 2021 at 17:00 EST.  Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information.  The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 11 August 2021 at 17:00 EST will be answered. 7.0 SummaryTHIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY to identify sources that can provide on-the-water safety vessel to provide rapid support to a Marine Corps amphibious vehicle and/or personnel in distress.  The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government.  The Marine Corps has not made a commitment to procure any of the items discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought.  All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.