Protest Spotlight

(This regular feature highlights protests decided by the Government Accountability Office.)

Agency: Army Materiel Command

Awardee: Lockheed Martin Integrated Services

Protester: DRS Technical Services

What GAO found: DRS protested Army Materiel Command's issuance of a task order to Lockheed for system engineering, integrated logistics and fielding/training support services, arguing the Army was wrong to determine Lockheed did not have an organizational conflict of interest.

These conflicts occur when a contractor is tasked, for instance, with reviewing work that another part of the same company has undertaken.

GAO found some of the Army's analysis of this issue reasonable. However, GAO argued the Army "did not adequately consider" whether some tasks required by the solicitation would result in "impaired objectivity" for Lockheed.

GAO sustained the protest and recommended the "Army perform a more complete OCI investigation" before making a new award.

The decision: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/673968.pdf