By Greg Hazley
Fulcra Worldwide, the PR firm for the U.S.-led military force in Iraq, has received an extension of its work there after it filed three protests and a complaint when the pact was re-bid and awarded to competitor SOS International in June.
The extension brings Fulcra’s pact up to $5.3M providing media analysis, strategic communications and other PR tasks for the force based in Baghdad, now known officially as U.S. Forces-Iraq/Joint Fires and Effects Cell.
Fulcra’s multiple protests have drawn its pact, originally slated to expire in July, from $2.2M to the newly expanded level of $5.3M because the firm is entrenched and the work is deemed “critical” by the military and therefore must continue without interruption.
Fulcra, the current incarnation of the former Lincoln Group and Iraqex, declined to comment as the situation is now before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. SOSI has not yet been reached.
SOSI won the assignment to take over the contract on June 10 with 45 days to put its team in place. But Fulcra protested the award to U.S. Central Command’s contracting unit and a stop order work was issued to SOSI. The protest was denied three days later but Fulcra then filed a protest to the Government Accountability Office, which led to corrective action and the stop work order was rescinded on July 19. However, two days later Fulcra submitted a supplemental protest to the GAO leading to another stop work order on July 22.
Fulcra then filed a complaint at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which has deemed at least one of its grounds of protest to be “non-frivolous.” Military procurement officials said that while SOSI needs 30 days to put a team in place, lifting the stop work order could lead to a court injunction.
The USCFC expects a resolution in the matter by mid-December.
The latest extension for Fulcra runs through Jan. 22, 2011.
The 50,000 remaining U.S. forces in Iraq are engaged in Operation New Dawn, handling stability operations and training Iraqi security forces, among other tasks. |