V.  DEMONSTRATION THAT THE CONTRACTOR'S UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES THE USE OF THE AUTHORITY CITED ABOVE (APPLICABILITY OF AUTHORITY)

Provide, in narrative form, a detailed explanation supporting and clearly relating to the conditions described by the FAR for using the particular authority cited.  This section is normally the most detailed part of the justification as the essence of the justification is presented here.  For acquisitions that include both supplies and services, separately justify the use of the authority for the services and supplies.  

Contracting without providing for full and open competition shall not be justified on the basis of lack of advance planning by the requiring activity or concerns related to the amount of funds available (e.g., funds will expire)(See FAR 6.301(c)).  To assist you, the following information is provided:

a.  Only One Responsible Source (FAR 6.302-1) - In the case of a follow-on contract for continued development or production of a major system or highly specialized equipment/services, the rationale must first justify the supplies/services as being a "major system" or "highly specialized."  The rationale must then justify "either" substantial duplication of cost to the government that is not expected to be recovered through competition, or unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements, whichever situation applies.  If both of these situations apply, the rationale can be based on either of these two situations, or both.

Note: Discuss the use of restrictive brand name descriptions in requirements documentation here under Part V. An acquisition that uses a brand name description or other purchase description tospecify a particular brand name, product, or feature of a product, peculiar to one manufacturerdoes not provide for full and open competition regardless of the number of sources solicited. If there is going to be a brand name used, you will need to justify it and clearly explain why a specific brand produced by a single company is required as opposed to allowing free and open competition. The justification should indicate that the use of such descriptions in the acquisition is essential to the Government's requirements, thereby precluding consideration of a product manufactured by another company.

(Brand-name or equal descriptions, and other purchase descriptions that permit prospective contractors to offer products other than those specifically referenced by brand name, provide for full and open competition and do not require justifications and approvals to support their use.)

When using this exception, the first subsection of this section should:

(1) Describe the system or support element to which supply/service to be procured under the contemplated acquisition relates in terms of its purpose and its capabilities.  Describe how the contemplated acquisition relates to that system, or support element.  State what work the current contractor has been performing.  Include the current contract number, basis of award for that contract award (competitive/sole source), when the contract was awarded, and when the contract will expire.  If the work the contractor will perform under the contemplated acquisition is being done under an ACAT I or II program, state that designation.  If the work will not be done under an ACAT I or II program, provide a detailed explanation from a technical perspective as to why the supplies/services to be procured are "highly specialized."

(2) If the planned acquisition is a "bridge" effort, which contains options, so state and explain why options are necessary.

(3)  Add a concluding sentence to the end of this paragraph, suitably tailored; e.g., "Therefore, this acquisition will be a follow-on contract for the continued production of a major system," or "Therefore, this acquisition will be a follow-on contract for the continued development of highly specialized equipment," or "Therefore, this acquisition will be follow-on contract for the continued development of a major system," or "Therefore, this acquisition will be a follow-on contract for the continued production of highly specialized equipment," or "Therefore, this acquisition is for continued performance of a highly specialized service."  

When using this exception, the second subsection should describe in 3-4 sentences the contractor's unique/highly specialized capabilities and/or qualifications (e.g., facilities, personnel, special tooling acquired). (See FAR 6.303-2(a)(5).

When using this exception, the third subsection should begin with the following sentence, suitably tailored:  "The (XXX SPO, or XXX Wing) believes that award to any other source would result in substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the Air Force's requirements."  Then, discuss either or both of the following situations (although only one of these situations is needed; if the facts exist to support both, then provide that information):

(1) When the rationale is based on substantial duplication of cost, state the approximate cost and state that the cost could not be recovered through competition.  When FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii) is cited for follow-on acquisitions as the basis for the justification, include an estimate of the anticipated cost to run a competition offset by the amount of cost that would be duplicated. Include the rationale for the amount of cost that would be duplicated (e.g., training required so that another source could acquire the skills necessary to perform the effort, equipment, facilities) and how the estimate was derived (e.g., development costs incurred by the Government under the existing contract or similar programs). (See FAR 6.303-2(a)(9)(ii); SAF/AQC memo, 18 Oct 04).

(2) When the rationale is based on unacceptable delay, state how long it would take someone else to obtain this capability (e.g., months, years) and why, and provide a detailed explanation of the impact or problem caused by the delay.  For example, the impact of not adding additional quantities of launch support services staff-hours to an existing contract might cause a launch to not occur as scheduled, thus delaying the operational use of a spacecraft, thus reducing the constellation's operational availability - and thus reducing (or precluding) the ability of the warfighter to accomplish specific missions. (See SAF/AQC memo, 18 Oct 04).

When using this exception, the fourth subsection should include one of the following sentences, whichever is applicable:  "Accordingly, XYZ Corporation is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the U.S. Air Force experiencing substantial duplication of cost that could not be expected to be recovered through competition," or "Accordingly, XYZ Corporation is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the U.S. Air Force experiencing unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements," or "Accordingly, XYZ Corporation is the only firm capable of providing the supplies and services described in Section III above without the U.S. Air Force experiencing substantial duplication of cost that could not be expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling its requirements."

b.  Unusual and Compelling Urgency (FAR 6.302-2, 6.303-2(a)(9)(ii); DFARS PGI 206.302-2) - Contracting Officers shall contact SAF/AQCK as soon as practicable when contemplating an award under the authority cited in FAR 6.302-2 for J&As requiring SPE approval.  Provide an explanation why (1) the supplies or services are needed at once because of fire, flood, explosion, or other disaster, or (2) essential equipment or repairs to that equipment are needed at once, e.g., to preclude impairment of launch capabilities or mission performance of missiles or missile support equipment, eliminate imminent grounding of the XX fleet crucial to what mission of the USAF and Defense of the Nation.  In other words, identify the anticipated serious injury to the Government, the nature of the urgency, the reasons for it occurring and why it is "urgent and compelling" to preclude adverse impact to military readiness.  Merely citing a Force Activity Designator (FAD) rating, Program Management Directive (PMD)/Program Action Directive (PAD) guidance, or DX priority rating is not in and of itself sufficient reason to use this exception from the requirement to obtain full and open competition.  Note that only the minimum quantity required to satisfy the unusual and compelling urgency qualifies for this exception; thus, this exception might not suffice to justify option quantities.  

c. Industrial Mobilization; or Engineering, Developmental, or Research Capability (FAR 6.302-3) - The most important part of justifications citing this authority is demonstrating the need to maintain the capability possessed by the identified source(s). Some form of market survey may be critical in demonstrating the uniqueness of this capability.

d. Authorized or Required by Statute (FAR 6.302-5) - It is imperative to identify what is being acquired and the applicable statute authorizing other than full and open competition. Note: Some statutes do not require a written J&A.

e. National Security (FAR 6.302-6) - Provide the minimum essential information needed to establish validity of the justification. This information will make the J&A a classified document. Special handling procedures are required for processing such documentation to the approval authority. Only parties with a "need to know" and the proper level of security clearance should be permitted access to the documentation. Such acquisitions are also exempt from synopsis under FAR 5.202(a)(1).

f. Public Interest (FAR 6.302-7) - This authority may only be used when none of the other authorities is appropriate and may not be made on a class basis. Provide detail addressing the reasons full and open competition is not in the public interest and why no other authority is appropriate for use.