Army PM DCATS transition means many contracting opportunities

A venerable Army communications program is going through a major transition that will result in the release of a number of contracting proposals in the near future, said a service official.

Begun 30 years ago as a satellite communications service, Project Manager, Defense Communications and Army Transmissions System (PM DCATS) now manages a portfolio of services ranging from strategic-level networks to tactical vehicle intercoms, PM DCATS Project Manager Col. Clyde Richards said March 19 at the AFCEA Belvoir Industry Days conference at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md.

The program is going through a period of transition, Richards said. Under the Base Realignment and Closure Act, the program office had shifted from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to Fort. Belvoir, Va. This move was completed in July 2011, but the organization is still settling into its new location, he said.

PM DCATS also is moving its contract offices from the Washington region to Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., Richards said. Because PM DCATS faces potential budget cuts like the rest of the Army

The command is trying to streamline its contracting process, he said. This reflects a return to peacetime funding levels as opposed to the unconstrained money that had been available for the last decade. “The party is over,” he said.

Because funds are getting tight, the command must be even more focused on its products, Richards said. “We still have to deliver, but failure is not an option,” he said.

PM DCATS manages five communications and infrastructure related products: Land Mobile Radio (LMR), Vehicle Intercom Systems, Defense Wide Transmission System, Wideband Control and Satellite Communications Systems.

There are a number of contract opportunities at PM DCATS within these organizations, Richards said. These include:

• The Communications and Transmission Systems contract. This catch-all contract will have a request for proposals (RFP) issued in second quarter  fiscal 2012.
• Satellite Communications Systems. This contract calls for base and sustainment support. An RFP will be issued in the second quarter of fiscal 2012.
• Ka Band Satellite Transit and Receive Systems. The contract requires terminal sustainment support. The release date for the RFP will probably be third quarter fiscal 2012.
• The West Point LMR Systems full technical proposal (FTP), Fort Stewart LMR FTP and the forts Gordon/Gill/Jackson regional LMR FTP. All of these are scheduled for second quarter fiscal 2012.
• The Korea Regional LMR system. This contract is set for second quarter fiscal 2012.