Feral Jundi

Friday, October 5, 2012

DIY: Starting Up A Business–10 Things To Ask Before Pursuing A US Government Contract

Filed under: DIY,Government Work,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 9:33 AM

Over the years, folks that have small companies or wanted to start companies, have asked how you get government contracts. Specifically overseas government contracts in the war zones.

Well, to be honest, I am not at all an expert on this side of the business. I do not own a security company, nor have I ever pursued government contracts. I am a security contractor that has been hired either as an employee or as an independent contractor, by companies that have already won government contracts overseas in the war zones. But I have never contracted with the government directly.

With that said, I am always willing to share what little knowledge I have on the subject of government contracting. So when I find cool articles like this, I like to share them because they are educational to me–but also to the community as a whole. Especially to those interested in getting into the game. Plus folks can add to it in the comments, to make this more tailored to overseas stuff.

The deal I would like to add to this post is that in order to get started, you can get all sorts of great information for free by scheduling an appointment at your local Small Business Administration office. Call them up, tell them you want to get into government contracting, and they will connect you with a government contracting mentor/specialist. Someone that is already established and is willing to mentor you on what you need to do.

You can also do this on your own by just contacting a contracting specialist with a company, and asking them what they know. Become a student of government contracting, and seek out as many sources of current information as you can about the process. Talk it up with those that are in the game and have actually won contracts for companies, and copy what they do.

Another idea is to just pay for the services of a firm or firms that specializes in getting you started. The article below mentioned writing proposals and how important that is to getting a contract, or using the services of a Insurance Broker to find the right insurance for your company. If you do a search on Google for ‘government contracts’, you will see companies in the paid for ads highlighted in yellow at the top of the search page, whom specialize in getting you started. Like with anything in life, there are some things you can do yourself, and there are other things that are just smarter and more cost effective to pay someone else to do.

I cannot comment on who is the best at this, and it will require you to do some shopping around as to whom to go with. But you can pay someone to get you started, and especially with all of the paper work required. Also, if you live in a state that is not exactly close to the contracting world back east, then these firms might be the ticket to get you in the game.

As for my international readers, obviously this post is directed at my US readers. But for those companies that have US offices and are able to use local US surrogates to get into this game, then I am sure there are a few more layers of bureaucracy and regulation to go through. If anyone has information on that process, I am all ears. I also imagine a good contracting specific lawyer would be handy for that.

Anyways, check it out below and for you experts/contracting officers or CEOs that know the process intimately, definitely speak up if you have some tips. The WBJ will be doing future posts on how to choose a public relations officer and commercial insurance, and a big hat tip to them for putting this out there. –Matt

 

10 things to ask before Pursuing a government contract
Washington Business Journal
Friday, October 5, 2012
We asked several experts what new entrepreneurs should think about when pursuing a government contract. Next up in our biweekly manual of sorts for startup businesses: how to choose a public relations firm and commercial insurance broker.
1. What types of contracts are there? Types of government contracts include fixed-price contracts, which generally provide a firm price for the work, and cost-reimbursement contracts, which provide payment for allowable incurred costs. Other types are incentive contracts, time-and-materials contracts and sealed bidding contracts. Research them to see what effect each would have on your company’s finances.
2. Will you look at my past performance? You must be an expert in the area related to the contract you are pursuing. If you want to be a government technology contractor, for instance, you should be able to show proof that you excel in your technology through previous contracts and work. In recent years, governments have been putting more emphasis on a company’s past contract performance when selecting contractors.
3. What are the contract requirements? Read the solicitation thoroughly and make sure you can fulfill the requirements. For example, you might be required to sustain your business financially until the contract expires, maintain Applicant Flow Logs, which record various details about your job applicants and hires, and send annual letters to recruitment sources.

(more…)

Monday, October 1, 2012

Industry Talk: US Nuclear Site Ends Contract With G4S/WSI Oak Ridge

Filed under: Industry Talk,Tennessee — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:13 AM

Wow, another hit to G4S and WSI. Look folks, I hate writing about these things because I truly want companies to be successful and be shining examples of what is good in this industry. But not everyone can be the Swiss Guards of the industry, and there will always be companies that ‘just don’t get it’.

But I also think it is important to not reward incompetence and poor management. That we need to be reminded what the consequence of poor leadership is from time to time, hence why I post this stuff. So either G4S and WSI learns from this and makes corrections to the way they do business, or they will continue to lose contracts and money. And we should all learn from this, and ensure we are doing everything we can to continuously improve our contract and providing the necessary service that our clients need and demand.  Especially if your client is asking you to protect nuclear materials…..yikes.

Every one of these incidents over the years usually involved one of two things. Either poorly constructed/poorly funded contracts, or poor leadership/management tasked with running these contracts. Sometimes poor leaders are the result of a lack of funding for salaries–you pay peanuts, you get monkies. Or sometimes even with a substantial salary, a poor leader is chosen because of a poor vetting process, which is even worse. That a company has no idea what a good leader is, or they just don’t care.

It is also amazing to me that companies make millions of dollars on contracts like this, but they put minimal effort if any into finding good leaders or training up good leaders or putting together policies that grow good leaders within the company. It is an investment that is essential, and glaringly obvious, and yet PMSC’s continue to screw this up.

I mean McDonalds and it’s Hamburger University does a better job of training and growing leaders within their organization than most of today’s PMSC’s. lol And now G4S, the largest security company in the world, is learning this lesson in a very direct and financially painful way. –Matt

 

US nuclear site ends security contract following nun’s break-in
Sat, Sep 29 2012
By Timothy Gardner
The U.S. government’s “Fort Knox” of weapons-grade uranium storage has ended a contract with a unit of an international security firm two months after an 82-year-old nun and other nuclear activists broke into the site.
The managing contractor at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee, site, B&W Y-12, a unit of Babcock & Wilcox Co, said late on Friday it will terminate the contract with WSI Oak Ridge on Oct. 1. WSI is owned by security firm G4S, which was at the center of a dispute over security at this year’s London Olympic Games.
The move came after the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), an Energy Department agency, sent a letter on Friday to B&W Y-12 President Charles Spencer saying it had “grave concerns” about his company and WSI providing security at Y-12, the nation’s only site for storing and processing weapons-grade uranium.
The letter recommended that B&W terminate the subcontract with WSI and work with it to take over security operations after the July 28 break-in.

(more…)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Industry Talk: The Muscogee Nation Uses Native 8(a) To Win A Guard Contract In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 8:35 PM

Building on the Afghanistan contract, MNBE has sent representatives to security industry expos in Dubai and is preparing to attend a similar expo in Ethiopia, hoping to gin up similar contracts to the one in Afghanistan. “Where some of the same things that we’ve been doing [in Afghanistan], they’re going to be looking at some of those same opportunities in” the Middle East and Africa, said Anderson.

Very cool. Although we will see if they are able to deliver on this particular contract now that they are doing it all themselves. In the past, it sounds like they subcontracted this type of thing to Ronco. But it also sounds like most of the Ronco guys stayed on to work with MNBE.

According to the article, not all of the contractors they are using are tribal folks as well. They were also able to obtain this contract because of the Native 8(a) program that gives preference to tribal owned businesses. Here is a quote:

However, according to MNBE’s CEO, Woody Anderson, the small firm owned by the Muscogee Nation Indian tribe is indeed protecting U.S. military projects in Afghanistan. “The people that we have in this contract here are our employees; they’re not Ronco employees,” Anderson told FP during a Sept. 21 telephone interview.
While the actual bodyguards working for MNBE aren’t members of the Muscogee tribe, some of the technicians who install cameras and other security gear in Afghanistan are, according to Anderson, who says that, of MBNE’s hundred-plus employees, about a dozen are tribe members.
For the last two years, MBNE partnered with Ronco to provide security to the Pentagon’s Task Force for Business and Sustainability Operations in Afghanistan, learning what it takes to run a private security outfit in a war zone and recruiting former military commandos to staff its security teams.
“The 8(a) program was an opportunity to get our foot in the door,” said Anderson; now, MBNE is striking out on its own.

On their website I have not see any specific ads for their Afghanistan deal, but send them a resume and you never know? If anyone from the company would like to comment on the company or contract, feel free to do so in the comments. –Matt

Website for the Muscogee Nation Business Enterprise here.

 

 

Tribal Warfare
Why did the Pentagon award a $7 million Afghanistan security contract to this group of Native Americans in Oklahoma?
BY JOHN REED
SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
The Muscogee Nation, part of the Creek Indian tribe, which fought with Confederate troops against the U.S. military during the Civil War, is now guarding Americans stationed at U.S. bases in Herat and Helmand, Afghanistan, under a $7 million Pentagon contract. The Muscogee Nation Business Enterprise (MBNE) is a 100-person firm that has in the past used its status as a tribal-owned company to win government business, some of which it then subcontracted to a larger security company, but it says that its employees are fulfilling this contract, providing security in a war zone.
Neither MBNE nor the Pentagon would provide specifics about the deal, citing security concerns. But, according to the contract announcement, made August 9, MBNE is “to provide life support services to the Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations in Afghanistan. These services will include basic necessities, complex security, and personnel security details for safe travel in the immediate region around the Herat and Helmand facilities.”
The task force is a U.S. military organization charged with building up Afghan industries, particularly mining, agribusiness, and IT in order to “help Afghanistan achieve economic sovereignty,” according to a Pentagon website.
Given its small size, at first glance the notion that MBNE is protecting U.S. efforts in Afghanistan — a business dominated by large private security firms — seems implausible. Experts contacted about the contract initially speculated that MBNE might be a so-called pass-through firm.

(more…)

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Russia: Private Military Companies May Appear In Russia Says Rogozin

Filed under: Industry Talk,Russia — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 4:08 PM

I have seen other mentions in the news about Russia’s interest in PMSC’s, although they have been using them for quite awhile. For a great primer on one aspect of what a Russian type market would look like, is this episode of a documentary that the gaming company EA put together for Army of Two.

In the documentary they focus on the PMSC industry in Transnistria. This break away republic is flush with weapons and out of work soldiers, and this country’s industry has been involved with providing arms and services all over the world. The country is in a grey area of status, and multiple clients have been able to take advantage of this situation.

For Russia, it sounds like they are willing to experiment and copy the west’s use of PMSC’s. Although I doubt they would be totally private, but you never know… –Matt

 

Private Military Companies May Appear in Russia – Rogozin
19/09/2012
By Dan Peleschuk
The Russian government’s Military Industrial Commission may consider creating private military companies in Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Wednesday.
Russia’s significant economic interests abroad often operate in “difficult” conditions, and such companies would facilitate their work, said Rogozin, who oversees Russia’s military-industrial complex.
“We are thinking about whether our money should go toward financing foreign private security [and] military companies, or whether we should consider the feasibility of such companies in Russia itself,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin also declared his support in April for the creation of such companies, currently employed by a slew of Western governments, to provide security for Russian facilities abroad as well as training foreign military units.
Some Russian military analysts, however, are skeptical about Rogozin’s idea. They think the plan could be just one of the charismatic politician’s off-the-cuff statements, such as his claim earlier this month that Russia should plan to build a lunar base to reinvigorate its flagging space program.
Military analyst Alexander Golts says private U.S. security companies, for example, are useful because they allow the U.S. government to dodge the hefty insurance payments in the case of a military-related death – a practice rendered largely pointless in Russia.

(more…)

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Podcasts: DoD Works To Institutionalize Contracting Lessons From Iraq, Afghanistan

Filed under: Industry Talk,Podcasts — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:28 PM

Outstanding little podcast and I am in 100 percent agreement. The military must not lose the lessons learned from this war when it comes to working with and using contractors. So management ‘lessons learned’ must be institutionalized and be part of the military commander’s tool box of how to fight wars. It is also nice to know that contractors are finally getting this kind of attention at that level. Check it out. –Matt

 

DoD Works To Institutionalize Contracting Lessons From Iraq, Afghanistan
9/13/2012
By Jared Serbu
DoD acquisition officials say they’re working to instill the idea throughout the department that contracting is a military commander’s responsibility. Now, Estavez said, contracting guidance for Afghanistan comes straight from Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force.
“That’s because it’s part of his effort to win that fight in Afghanistan,” he said. “That needs to go into our military education process and our civilian education process. When our junior officers go through their paces, that has to become part of their process. They need to think, ‘When I deploy, contractors are going to be part of the process. They can help me win the fight or they can impede me. I need to manage them to help me win.’ We’ve been saying this at leadership levels, but we’re all transitory. We need to have that idea inculcated into the workforce for the future.”
Transcript here.

Listen here.

 

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