Objective
Our objective was to determine whether officials from the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) properly administered and provided contract oversight for Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) task orders issued against the Warfighter Field Operations Customer Support (FOCUS) contract in accordance with Federal and DoD guidelines. In addition, the audit addresses three Defense Hotline allegations concerning administration of the contract.
Findings
PEO STRI officials did not properly administer $180.9 million in JMRC task orders for the Warfighter FOCUS contract. They did not select the most advantageous contract type to support the changing requirements of the exportable instrumentation system. Additionally, they did not adequately monitor and assess contractor performance. This occurred because PEO STRI officials believed modifying the firm fixed price contract would be too labor intensive and that it was easier to maintain the existing contract terms. Additionally, contracting officials did not develop an adequate quality assurance surveillance plan and did not clearly define and delegate quality assurance responsibilities. As a result, PEO STRI awarded $8.4 million to maintain and deploy the exportable instrumentation system which has not been fully deployed since 2009. Additionally, the Army does not have assurance it received the training support services it has paid for since 2007. We also substantiated one Defense Hotline allegation, partially substantiated another, and found a third to be unsubstantiated.
Recommendations
We recommend the Commander Operations Group, JMRC, review the exportable instrumentation system to determine whether the Army has a valid requirement for the system and its components. We recommend that the Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting at PEO STRI require the Warfighter FOCUS contracting officer to ensure the exportable instrumentation system contract line item number supports recurring known needs; revise the quality assurance surveillance plan in accordance with Federal regulations; and collaborate with JMRC quality assurance representatives to create specific reports for each performance work statement, and update their appointment letters accordingly.
Management Comments and Our Response
The Director, Internal Review and Audit Compliance for U.S. Army Europe, responding for the Commanding General, U.S. Army Europe, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement responding for the Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting at the PEO STRI fully addressed all specifics of the recommendations, and no further comments are required.