Public-Private Competitions

This report reviews the Air Force's solicitation and selection of a source for C-5 aircraft depot maintenance now being done at the closing San Antonio Air Logistics Center. GAO assesses whether (1) the procedures used to conduct the C-5 competition provided substantially equal opportunity for the public and private offerors to compete for the workload without regard to work performance location, (2) the procedures complied with the requirements of all applicable provisions of law and the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and (3) the C-5 award resulted in the lowest total cost to the Defense Department for performance of the workload.

GAO noted that its assessment to the issues required under the 1998 Defense Authorization Act relating to the C-5 aircraft competition concluded that: (a) the C-5 competition procedures provided an equal opportunity for public and private offerors to compete without regard to where work could be performed; (b) the procedures did not appear to deviate in any material respect from the applicable laws or the FAR; and (c) based on Air Force assumptions and conditions at the time of award, the award resulted in the lowest total cost to the government.