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Report | April 29, 2016

The Air Force Processes for Approving Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Single-Award Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity Contracts Need Improvement

DODIG-2016-085

Objective

We determined whether the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) single-award indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts were properly justified in accordance with Federal and DoD procedures. In addition, we determined whether the delivery and task orders were within the scope of the contracts, in accordance with the Statement of Work and Performance Work Statement. We reviewed the eight single-award IDIQ contracts awarded by the AFLCMC from October 1, 2013, through January 27, 2015, with a total value of $2.5 billion. We also reviewed 76 task orders associated with the eight contracts, with a total value of $1 billion.

Finding

AFLCMC contracting personnel generally justified the eight contracts, valued at $2.5 billion, as single-award IDIQ contracts, and issued 76 task orders consistent with the scope of the associated contracts. However, the AFLCMC contracting officers did not:

  • support one contract with a required determination and findings (D&F).1 AFLCMC officials incorrectly used an initial estimated value that was less than the threshold.
  • obtain required approvals for three contracts. The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition (SAF/AQ), who is also the U.S. Air Force senior procurement executive (SPE), did not approve four D&Fs for three contracts because SAF/AQ officials incorrectly concluded that senior-ranking military officers, who were designated deputies of the SPE, could serve as proxies and be delegated the authority to approve the D&Fs.
  • provide a copy of the D&Fs for the eight contracts to the Director, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP), because the existing Air Force regulations did not specifically assign the requirement. As a result, AFLCMC contracting personnel improperly approved an IDIQ contract without adequate support; the U.S. Air Force SPE may have lacked full knowledge of current single-award IDIQ contracts within the Air Force; and DoD’s reports to Congress related to single-award IDIQ contracts may be incomplete.

Recommendations

We recommend that the SAF/AQ issue internal guidance clarifying that only the SPE may approve D&Fs for Air Force single-award IDIQ contracts; review the four D&Fs cited above and submit those contracts without proper approval to the SPE; issue a memorandum to Air Force contracting activities clarifying that it is the contracting officer’s responsibility to submit approved D&Fs to DPAP; and submit approved D&Fs pertaining to the single‑award IDIQ contracts to DPAP.

We recommend that the Commander, AFLCMC, issue a memorandum to contracting officers emphasizing their responsibilities to submit D&Fs to DPAP for each single-award IDIQ contract that will exceed the dollar threshold (presently at $112 million).2

Management Comments and Our Response

The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) and Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, addressed all specifics of the recommendations, and no further comments are required.


1 “Determination and Findings” is a special form of written approval by an authorized official that is required by statute or regulation as a prerequisite to taking certain contract actions.

2 The dollar threshold increased from $103 million to $112 million in October 2015.