This is a Sources Sought Synopsis Only The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Directorate of Procurement, on behalf of the US Natick Soldier Research and Development Center (US Army - NSRDEC), Natick MA, is performing marketing research to identify potential sources for a Commercial off the Self (COTS) Maritime Assault Suit System (MASS). Interested sources shall provide product information and if requested by the Government product samples for testing. The purpose of this sources sought notice is to identify potential/possible sources throughout industry to fulfill the requirement described below. This notice is published for market research purposes only to identify interested parties and current BERRY COMPLIANT material capabilities. The Berry Amendment (10 U.S.C. 2241) requires affected items to be domestic (i. e. of domestic origin and wholly of domestic content). Responses to this sources sought notice will be used by the Government to determine a material baseline. This notice invites all interested parties to submit the data listed below indicating their interest in supporting this requirement. Responses to this notice will NOT be considered as offers and will NOT be used by the Government to form a binding contract. This program is seeking the following COTS surface dry suit variants: (1) Maritime Assault Suit System (MASS) and (2) Lightweight MASS (L-MASS); each consisting of an over-garment with neck ring, repair kit and user manual, which can be used as a combat suit in maritime, land, airborne, shipboard, and transitional environments of the US Navy. To keep the user comfortable, the MASS and L-MASS shall provide the greatest degree of water vapor management and must be durable enough for rugged field use. The MASS and L-MASS shall keep the operator dry in maritime and terrestrial extremes and all weather conditions without interfering with typical mission movements or compromising range of motion for activities including, but not limited to swimming, running, assault movements and weapons manipulation. Both versions must be lightweight, fit comfortably and must be able to keep the operator dry while immersed in water without significant weight gain. The MASS, L-MASS and all components and design features shall be compatible with individual equipment (load bearing equipment, body armor, headwear, hand wear and footwear/fins) used in combat operations and training. The neck ring, neck and wrist gaskets shall be comfortable, shall not interfere with individual clothing or equipment and shall be adequately protected from weather conditions and physical damage. The MASS and L-MASS must have front entry and relief zipper, integrated socks, non-fixed optional use internal suspender design, easily accessible and an adequate number of shoulder, thigh and calf pockets. The suits must be designed in a manner that reduces the effects of abrasion on key garment stress areas, be adequately quiet during typical mission movements with ease in donning and doffing. Face fabric must be capable of being dyed with a subdued color if specified by the Government. The MASS shall have a standard operational life of at least three (3) years. The L-MASS shall have a standard operational life of at least one (1) year. Both must be repairable and the contractor shall be capable of providing repair services for components typically damaged by routine wear and tear. Interested parties should respond via medium which best describes capabilities (i.e. brochures or literature). After reviewing submissions, USSOCOM will request product sample for testing and evaluation. Reminder: this is not a Request for Proposal. Mail Literature by 29 May 2009 to: PM-SOF Survival Systems, RDNS-WPS (Attn: Jonathan Rich), USSOCOM/NSRDEC, Kansas Street, Bldg. 4 Rm D017, Natick, MA 01760-5019,
[email protected] Responses shall include the complete name and address of the interested party, CAGE Code, DUNS, and the name, phone number and email address of at least one point of contact. This sources sought notice will be used by the government to determine how the solicitation will be issued (i.e. full and open competition or a set-aside). The final decision will be made based upon the results of this sources sought notice. The NAICS code for this effort is 315299, the SIC code is 5699, the FSC is 8415, and the small business size standard is 500 employees. The Contracting Officer for this effort is SMSgt Dorothy Lewis,
[email protected] (813)826.3005, and Contract Specialist is Ms. Leatrice Frederick,
[email protected] (813)826.6513. All questions for this effort should be directed to the Contract Specialist. This request for information does not constitute, implied or otherwise, that a procurement action will be issued. This notice shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal or as an obligation on the part of the Government. No entitlement to payment will arise as a result of the submission of contractor information. No other program information related to total dollars available, total quantity authorized or timeline for official solicitation is available at this time. USSOCOM will post that information in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to FedBizOpps after finalization of the acquisition documents.