New Tricare contract under development

The Army is looking for small businesses that can support the Tricare Management Activity’s enterprise infrastructure with acquisition and financial support services.

The value was not disclosed, but the work statement said that the government is looking for support as the Military Health Service Cyberinfrastructure Services evolves and incorporates more electronic health records, including integration with patient records at Veterans Affairs.

Contractors get second shot at $22.8B nuclear weapons contract

The Government Accountability Office has made a decision that will enable large contractors to have another shot at the $22.8 billion contract to maintain and secure the nation's nuclear weapons, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Think your teaming agreement's a contract? Think again

Is your teaming agreement enforceable? Maybe not, according to a recent federal court decision involving local contractors.

Before we address the particulars of the case, take a look below at some standard teaming agreement provisions. How many of these terms are in your agreements? 

Four smalls win $10M contract for natural resource-related services

Four small businesses have won a $10 million task order contract to provide natural resource-related services at various Navy, Marine Corps and Defense Department installations.

The winners are:

• Southwestern Natural Resources (also known as MultiMAC JV)
• Noreas Inc.
• Geomorph Information Systems
• Vernadero Group

$10M energy IT infrastructure contract awarded

3e Technologies International has won a $9.9 million contract modification to deliver a functional and efficient critical infrastructure control and monitoring system to the U.S. Navy.

Under the contract modification, the company will design, develop, implement, test, deliver and install the system. It is meant to increase infrastructure readiness and optimize critical systems, including energy and other systems, the Defense Department said in a release.

No funding was obligated at the time of the award, and the contract modification value will expire at the end of fiscal 2013.

Work will be completed in Rockville, Md., and is expected to be completed by May 2014.

Lessons my mother taught me

I feel very fortunate to have the parents I do, and since Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching, I thought I’d talk about some lessons my mom has taught me over the years.

The first, of course, is about love. It might sound a little gross, but when we were kids, my mom used to say: “I would take the food out of my mouth to feed you.” My mom came to the United States from Greece when she was 20, so it helps to hear that line with the appropriate accent -- and hand gestures.

Score one for diversity and good business

Usually, appointments to corporate boards aren’t real big news. If the company is big enough, and if the person well-known enough, we might write about it, we might not.

But the appointment of Vincette Goerl this week to the board of advisors of FedBid is noteworthy because, not only is FedBid getting someone with stellar credentials, but she also represents a milestone for Women in Technology, a professional group for women in the IT industry.

3 services contracts to support naval aviation

Three companies have won three contracts of varying values to provide professional, technical and administrative support services to the U.S. Navy.

The winners and base contract values are:

Wyle Laboratories -- $29.2 million
Delta Resources -- $23.2 million
National Technologies Associates -- $22.2 million

Is it time to revamp your software testing strategies?

Under the cloud of sequestration, IT contractors face the challenge of delivering large, highly complex software systems for the government and its agencies with increasingly limited resources. We are expected to maintain the same high standards while budgets tighten. The mission-critical nature of government software systems—including those for the Department of Defense—leaves no room for error.

VA T4 on ramp period comes to a close

Bids are due today (May 9) for veteran-owned small businesses trying to gain a spot on the Veteran Affairs Department’s lucrative IT contract known as T-4.

The $12 billion contract, with the full name of Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology, was awarded in 2011 to 15 companies, six service-disabled and veteran-owned small business and nine large businesses.