CSRA prevails in fight for $744M Army contract

The Government Accountability Office has denied ManTech's protest, clearing the way for CSRA to take on a $744 million task order to support Army C4ISR systems.

The Government Accountability Office has weighed in, and it looks like ManTech International has lost a $744 million contract to continue supporting the Army’s Communications and Electronics Command.

ManTech and CSRA held separate contracts to provide a variety of technical and logistics services, but when those contracts came up for recompete, the Army consolidated the work under one OASIS task order.

When CSRA won the task order, ManTech filed its protest with GAO. GAO issued its decision denying ManTech’s protest on Dec. 16. The details of the decision are not publicly available.

ManTech officials were not available for comment. Because this is a task order, there is no appeal beyond GAO.

Under the task order, CSRA will support C4ISR systems used by the U.S. Army and coalition forces globally. The contract has a one-year base and four one-year options.

Some of the work to be done includes mission-essential logistics, maintenance and sustainment work on C4ISR systems and equipment. Work will take place in all Army Field Support Brigade regions, according to CSRA.

A request for information document described more than 50 different systems that the task order would support.

“CSRA is meeting the challenge of delivering worldwide C4ISR systems maintenance and logistics support by investing in the people, technology and tools required to efficiently and effectively support FSSD’s sustainment mission,” said Ken Deutsch, CSRA executive vice president, Defense Group, in a company statement.

The company has been support CECOM in various ways for 30 years, the company said.

CSRA won the contract in late August and ManTech filed its protest on Sept. 12. It argued that GSA, which manages OASIS, and the Army didn’t properly evaluate proposals. A proper evaluation would have resulted in a ManTech win.

It’ll be interesting to see more details behind that argument once the GAO decision is released. The document is under a protective order as GAO, ManTech, the Army, GSA and CSRA work out a public version.

That ManTech lost its protest isn’t a complete surprise. GSA’s FEDSIM office, which runs OASIS, has a high success rate in defending itself in protests.