The Army’s delays and added work orders for construction improvements for a hospital at Fort Bliss, Texas, cost the Defense Department more than $32.1 million, according to a new report from the inspector general.
The watchdog faulted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Defense Health Agency for a lack of guidance on reporting of expenditures.
An audit of the continuing construction of the Fort Bliss Hospital Replacement project was required under the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. When complete, it will be a 1.13 million square foot-facility housing 135 hospital beds, 10 operating rooms and 30 specialty clinics, plus an administrative building, a research building, a central utility plant, two access control points and surface parking.
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But a recent Court of Federal Claims (CFC) decision offers an important reminder that these types of contracts are not inviolate. They can be successfully protested themselves when the need to sole-source arises from a lack of advance planning on the part of the agency.
Cyberspace is a warfighting domain that is critical to ensuring the military’s capability to operate going forward. The concept of operations for defensive cyber is complex because capabilities are dispersed across the battlespace and must continually adapt to evolving threats. The capabilities must protect data, networks and net-centric operations as well as be interoperable with other IT and software-dependent systems, according to Lt. Col. Scott Helmore, director of the Army Defensive Cyber Operations office (DCO).
After more than a year trying to fill a standard contract for a drone-mounted system to jam enemy communications, the Army’s electronic warfare division is switching course and will use a fast-track system that isn’t bound by traditional contracting rules.
The Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) previously stated that FAITAS was unavailable due to “unscheduled maintenance,” but there was widespread 
