Quand l'USAF externalise pour 5 milliards de dollars de prestations

26.06.2015 par Philippe Chapleau - Lignes de Défense

L'AFCAP (pour Air Force Contract Augmentation Program) numéro IV (ce programme date de 1997 et l'appel d'offres pour le programme IV a été lancé en mars 2014. Voir ici) a été attribué hier aux sociétés suivantes:
- CH2MHILL, 
- Fluor-Amec II, 
- Exelis Systems Corp.,
- KBR,
- RMS, 
- PAE-Perini, 
- URS,
- DynCorp International

C'est un contrat de six ans, d'une valeur maximale de 5 milliards de dollars (lire ci-dessous). L'AFCAP III avait une valeur maximale de 10 milliards de dollars mais il avait été lancé alors que les opérations battaient leur plein en Afghanistan.

CH2MHILL, Englewood, Colorado, (FA8051-15-D-0001); Fluor-Amec II, Greenville, South Carolina (FA8051-15-D-0002); Exelis Systems Corp., Colorado Springs, Colorado (FA8051-15-D-0003); KBR, Houston, Texas (FA8051-15-D-0004); RMS, Panama City, Florida (FA8051-15-D-0005); PAE-Perini, Arlington, Virginia (FA8051-15-D-0006); URS, Cleveland, Ohio (FA8051-15-D-0007); and DynCorp International, Fort Worth, Texas (FA8051-15-D-0008), have been awarded a combined not-to-exceed $5,000,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program (AFCAP IV). The contractors will provide a full range of base life and operating support and logistical support on an as-required basis to support all programs with disciplines consistent with the AFCAP description of services. Requirements shall focus on contingency skills and resources to support the Air Force, any Department of Defense component, or any U.S. federal government entity operating in support of missions which could include National Command Authority, joint or combined U.S. military forces acting as part of or in concert with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or multinational forces utilizing U.S. government appropriations. Work will be performed at locations worldwide determined by individual needs effective Oct. 1, 2015, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2021. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition with 10 offers received. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders. The 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.

L'AFCAP, comme le LOGCAP de l'armée de terre US et comme le Construction Capabilities (CONCAP)de la Navy et le programme d'affrètements de navires civils du Military Sealift Command, est un "multiplicateur de forces" qui permet de faire appel aux capacités logistiques du secteur privé au profit des Forces en cas de contingency operations.

Les prestations demandées sont variées et nombreuses, ainsi qu'en témoigne cet extrait du Performance Work Statement:

"disaster response (man-made or natural), Global War, Irregular Warfare, Major Theater War(s), Small Scale Contingencies, Full Spectrum Threat Response, Deliberate Planning or Joint Chief of Staff Sponsored Military Exercises, Base Operating Support, humanitarian response/relief [including response due to man-made causes, (e.g. political unrest, nation building, peacekeeping, anti-piracy, counter narcotics, etc.], world-wide recovery operations, or political considerations, Foreign assistance support (developmental assistance, humanitarian assistance and security assistance (includes Foreign Military Sales)), deliberate planning exercises, infrastructure/facility demolition and base denial if required."

Comme le LOGCAP, l'AFCAP a été critiqué à cause du manque de suivi et de contrôle par l'USAF du travail des contractors. On lira ainsi un rapport du 28 janvier 2015 de l'Inspector General de la Défense intitulé "Controls Over the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program Payment Process Need Improvement".