Quote Originally Posted by CT Medic View Post
I disagree...I would not fault SOC-SMG. In essense they are doing the best job they can with the money they are given. They are a private for profit company and as such need to show a profit. However, they are the lowest bidder, and therefore the government gives them the contract. They government cannot afford to pay expats 15,000/month to man internal security, so they have forced companies like SOC-SMG (EODT, Sabre and a couple other companies also do this work on other bases) to find ways of cutting their overhead...paying a TCN 1000/month is a way of doing that.

So the question is...who is at fault...the Private COmpany that was awarded the contract, or the governemnet for chosing the lowest bidder?
This really isn't a proper view of the contracting process. The government isn't "forcing" anyone to do anything. The government identifies a need and puts out an invitation for bids (IFB) or request for proposals (RFP), depending on the need. Companies that can meet that need then review the requirements as set forth in the IFB or RFP and, if they can meet them, submit a bid or proposal. If they determine that they cannot make a profit, then they shouldn't bid. Indeed, I know of no companies that would bid if they didn;t see a profit. They may cut overhead by hiring TCNs or something like that, but they must still meet the requirements.

Now the rub is whether the government is properly overseeing the contract. This falls into the hands of the contracting officer or his representative. He is responsible for ensuring that the terms of the contract are satisfied. Hopefully, Gnaeus reported his findings up the chain.

Just because the government selects the lowest bidder does not mean it is at fault. Sure, the lowest bidder is usually selected for contract award, but price is never the only consideration. The bidder must be responsive and responsible. This basically means that the bidder must demonstrate an ability to perform the contract and to meet the terms of the contract. A term in use for some contracts is "lowest price technically acceptable." If you look at it in these terms then you see that the government is using the ocntracting process to ensure that any awardee is capable of meeting the contract requirements. Of course, capable and actually doing it are two different things and this is where the contracting officer comes in. As Stan and Old Eagle indicate, oversight is key.