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Increment 0626 May 2027Airfield / PortDecision

Cargo Pier site-visit questions

During the $38.40 million Cargo Pier MACC competition, trainees discover that Diamond Dogs privately received the east-apron availability schedule from an LRS site-visit representative.

Scenario descriptions

The situation, for each audience

Keep the trainer context out of trainee packets and read-aloud materials.

Trainee facing · Read aloud

Current situation

The 713th Contracting Squadron (713 CONS) is conducting an organized preproposal site visit for the $38.40 million Cargo Pier Fender and Corrosion Repairs task order under SM-MACC-01. Representatives of SM-MACC-01 holders attend. During the walkthrough, you notice a Diamond Dogs Civil Works, LLC representative has pulled SSgt Olga Gurlukovich of the Logistics Readiness Squadron (713 LRS) aside for a private conversation near the east cargo apron.

When you ask what they discussed, SSgt Gurlukovich explains that Diamond Dogs asked when the east cargo apron would be available for crane staging, material laydown, and contractor equipment. She says she merely told the representative that the apron will be unavailable from 14 through 25 June 2027 for the summer sealift but available on the other contemplated staging days, subject to ordinary daily Port Operations controls. That schedule does not appear in the task-order solicitation.

Trainer only · Do not issue

Facilitator context

Release as a short standalone inject at Increment 6. SSgt Gurlukovich's schedule is accurate; the defect is the unequal Government disclosure after solicitation release. The schedule affects means and methods, crane reservations, sequencing, price, and the technical approach. RFO FAR 15.101(d) says acquisition information necessary to prepare proposals that is disclosed to one or more potential offerors should be made publicly available as soon as practicable to avoid an unfair competitive advantage. RFO FAR 16.507 supplies the MACC fair-opportunity rule.

The strong response is to immediately provide the same schedule through the common task-order channel to every SM-MACC-01 holder while proposals can still account for it. Release N-04 only if trainees ask for the exact schedule or its accuracy. N-02 and M-03 already identify the complete MACC pool, so no separate distribution-list handout is needed. No draft notice is needed and trainees do not prepare one.

If trainees leave the exchange alone, Diamond Dogs later wins. A disappointed holder's postaward FOIA request reveals the private disclosure, and Diamond Dogs' technical approach aligns precisely with the unpublicized schedule. The holder files a timely GAO protest alleging a prejudicial breach of fair opportunity. The $38.40 million value places the modeled DoD order above the task-order protest threshold; the Government takes corrective action and reopens the competition, delaying the pier work and incurring protest and reevaluation effort. Keep this consequence within [N]; no later branch follows.

Trainer clue bank

Regulatory signposts

5 sources

Direct trainees to a citation when they need a narrower clue. Have them apply the contract’s actual clauses, current thresholds, local policy, and the facts before treating any signpost as dispositive.

Release 01

Give initially

3 records

These establish the decision without answering the factual questions trainees should identify.

N-01

Cargo Pier site-visit and solicitation brief

Combines the organized-visit rules with the $38.40 million task-order competition, proposal deadline, anticipated performance period, and common written-question channel. The solicitation does not state the east-apron availability dates.

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy
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N-02

Site-visit attendance record

Shows that only some eligible SM-MACC-01 holders attended and identifies Diamond Dogs Civil Works, LLC, without implying that the private exchange reached the other attendees.

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy
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N-03

Cargo Pier site and staging plan

Identifies the east cargo apron as a logical crane-staging and laydown area without displaying its operational availability schedule.

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy
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Release 02 · Oral inject

Trainer addition

2 prompts

Give only after trainees have read and discussed the event. Use it to narrow attention without disclosing the answer.

After trainees discuss the private exchange, ask: ‘How do fair-competition concerns affect Government exchanges with one or more contractors, and what regulation states the relevant proposal-information principle?’ This is fishing for RFO FAR 15.101(d). If needed, direct them to that paragraph, then have them connect it to the MACC fair-opportunity procedures in RFO FAR 16.507.

After some further discussion, ask: ‘Can the fairness problem be cured by telling the rest of the site-visit attendees, so everyone there has the same information?’ If the team says yes, have it compare N-02 with M-03. Equalizing only the attendees still excludes eligible SM-MACC-01 holders that did not attend and therefore does not cure the fair-opportunity problem.

Release 03

Give only after trainee prompting

1 record

Use the prompt as a release gate; close-enough trainee questions should count when they seek the same underlying fact.

Prompt / triggerHandoutExercise purpose
PromptAsk exactly what SSgt Gurlukovich disclosed, request the underlying schedule, or ask whether her dates were accurate
HandoutN-04
East cargo apron availability schedule
Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy
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PurposeConfirms that the east apron is unavailable from 14 through 25 June 2027 for the summer sealift and otherwise available during the contemplated staging period, subject to ordinary daily Port Operations controls.

Facilitation lens

What a strong analysis should surface

  1. The organized site visit is a fact-gathering opportunity, not a separate channel for private Government interpretations or undisclosed material proposal assumptions. RFO FAR 52.236-3 still places reasonably ascertainable site conditions within an offeror's investigation responsibility, but it does not authorize unequal disclosure.
  2. The pier order exceeds $7.5 million. RFO FAR 16.507-5 requires fair notice of a clear requirement, a reasonable response period, and disclosure of the significant evaluation factors and their relative importance to all eligible MACC holders; material staging information should reach the whole pool through the common ordering channel.
  3. RFO FAR 15.101(d) supplies the proposal-preparation principle: acquisition information necessary to prepare proposals that is disclosed to one or more potential offerors should be made publicly available as soon as practicable to avoid an unfair competitive advantage. Apply that principle consistently with the MACC's RFO FAR 16.507 procedures.
  4. The problem is not that every onsite conversation is forbidden. It is that a Government representative already gave one competitor accurate, nonpublic dates that materially affect staging, crane reservations, schedule, and price. The cure is immediate common disclosure before proposals are due.
  5. The $38.40 million modeled order is above the applicable DoD task-order protest jurisdiction threshold. If the Government leaves the unequal disclosure uncorrected, Diamond Dogs' schedule-perfect technical approach supplies a concrete prejudice theory rather than mere speculation.
  6. N-04 is the only prompt-initiated handout. N-02 and M-03 already identify the complete MACC pool, so a separate distribution-list handout is unnecessary. The FOIA production and protest are consequences of the weak response, not additional trainee handouts or later events.

Trainer-controlled decision menu

Available response options

2 options

Offer options in plain language and accept equivalent trainee analysis. Do not reveal the assessment labels. Use each availability gate before accepting a contextual response, and use the trainer line to redirect a superfluous answer immediately.

How to run this node: SSgt Gurlukovich has already disclosed the accurate schedule to Diamond Dogs alone. Offer only leaving the exchange alone or immediately giving the same schedule to every SM-MACC-01 holder. Require the team to explain why and do not ask it to draft the notice.

N1Weak

Leave the private Diamond Dogs–LRS exchange alone.

Available when
Initially available
Trainer line
“Diamond Dogs later wins. A disappointed MACC holder obtains the site-visit record through a postaward FOIA request and sees that the winner's technical approach aligns perfectly with the unpublicized apron schedule. It files a timely GAO protest alleging a prejudicial breach of fair opportunity. The record supports corrective action, so the Government reopens the competition, delays the pier work, and incurs protest and reevaluation effort.”
Leads next
Describe the FOIA, protest, and corrective-action consequence and close [N]; no later event follows.
N2Strong

Immediately provide the east cargo apron availability schedule to every SM-MACC-01 holder through the common task-order channel.

Available when
Initially available; N-04 is released only if trainees request the exact schedule or ask whether the disclosure was accurate
Trainer line
“RFO FAR 15.101(d) and 16.507 support prompt equal disclosure of material proposal-preparation information and fair consideration of every eligible holder. Every holder learns about the 14-25 June sealift closure before proposals are due and can plan crane staging, sequencing, schedule, and price from the same facts.”
Leads next
The competition proceeds on equal information and [N] closes without the modeled fair-opportunity protest.