A U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville Base Operations Program (BASEOPS) maintenance and operational services contract is poised to take on one the most strategically important locations in the world —Alaska.
The $9.5 million Single Award Task Order Contract (SATOC) was awarded June 3 to Aleut Facilities Support Services (AFSS) of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“This contract is different for us because we aren’t just ensuring facility maintenance support for Fort Wainwright garrison; we’re ensuring facilities’ support on some of the most important training ranges within in the Department of Defense,” said Xavier Thigpen, Huntsville Center Base Operations Program project manager.
The contract calls for maintenance and operational services for all facilities and subsequent facility systems, components and equipment on Fort Wainwright, Alaska, as well as the 670,000 acre Donnelly and 260,000 acre Yukon Training Areas that are part of the 67, 000 square mile Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) .
Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and other multi-national military forces utilize the JPARC to conduct training during joint mission exercise programs such as Northern Edge and Red Flag-Alaska.
Although most of the training areas are vast wilderness, they are spotted with range control and support facilities, storage facilities, observation towers and other structures associated with carrying out large-scale, military exercises.
The contract also supports the 3,807acre Black Rapids Training Site that is used in support of Army Northern Warfare Training Center operations and includes a barracks, classrooms and dining facility.
Thigpen said although the contract is similar to other BASEOPS contracts, this may be the most challenging taken on to date because of not only the vast areas of the ranges, but also because of interior Alaska's rugged climate.
Temperatures vary significantly as 85 degree July days give way to temperatures plummeting to -40 averages in January. In the winter months, frost heaves--an upwards swelling of soil during freezing conditions caused by an increasing presence of ice can buckle foundations. In the summer months, uneven sinking of the ground in response to permafrost thaw can also add significant costs to the maintenance and repair to buildings.
“It’s an inhospitable climate for much of the year, but we are customer-focused and dedicated to ensuring obligations are met,” Thigpen said.
Thigpen said when it came down to it, the services offered by BASEOPS were perfect for the Garrison’s Department of Public Works’ specific needs.
“They were looking for a facility maintenance and service contract to support preventative and corrective maintenance and operations of certain facility components, and our contracting vehicle was exactly what they were looking for,” Thigpen said.
John Wentz, Fort Wainwright Department of Public Works Engineering Design Branch project manager, said his department came upon the BASEOPS program while working with the Huntsville Center’s Utility Monitoring and Control Systems Center of Expertise.
“In working with Huntsville (Center) we began noticing Huntsville (Center) had a lot of programs capable of tackling very complex technical projects so we began asking about installation support capabilities and we found out about Huntsville Center’s BASEOPS program,” Wentz said.
Wentz said the base operations contract procured under Fort Wainwright Mission Installation Contracting Command didn’t encompass all the scope requirements needed to support the installation.
“We were looking to fill that void. We were looking for a one-stop-shop to perform preventive and corrective maintenance rather than disjointed requirements on IDIQ (indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity) contracts,” Wentz said.
“Huntsville Center’s BASEOPS service order process provides this ability for us along with providing a quick response time.”