Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southeast awarded a $13.9 million firm-fixed-price task order, Nov. 20, to EMR, Incorporated (small business) from Niceville, Florida, for restoration of the Munition Storage Area Utilities project at Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB).
The project is replacing aged infrastructure built during the cold war, to a mission critical Munitions Storage Area.
“The U.S. Air Force has been spending lots of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) appropriations to keep this infrastructure going the past few years,” said Darin Bailey, resident engineer at Barksdale AFB. “This base supports over 40 B-52 Stratofortress bombers. Bottom line is they can’t perform their mission without having munitions readily available.”
The work to be performed includes civil and electrical disciplines. The civil work includes the replacement of the water distribution mains within the Munitions Storage Area. The electrical work includes the replacement of all existing underground primary conductors with the exception of the existing underground emergency circuit. Perimeter lighting around the facility will also be replaced.
Work will be performed in Bossier City, Louisiana and is expected to be completed by November 2022.
Small businesses play a vital role in the American economy - employing half of our country's workforce, creating nearly two out of every three new American jobs, and often being the source of the next great American innovation. NAVFAC Southeast strives to meet its goals and build on its successes by providing contract opportunities to these businesses.
“NAVFAC Southeast invests in small businesses to support our national defense,” said John Bazylewicz, NAVFAC Southeast assistant deputy director for Small Business. “Small businesses fuel the American dream, which grows the local and federal economies that ultimately strengthen the warfighter.”
Bazylewicz explained that small businesses provide construction, professional and supported services expertise that support the Navy’s mission and the men and women in uniform. It is through strong policy and sound business processes that NAVFAC is able to develop capabilities based strategies that consider program risks, cost, schedule and technical requirements that help meet the expectations of supported commanders while supporting public policy objectives.
Each year NAVFAC establishes target goals for Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone Small Business (HUBZONE), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and Women-Owned Small Business categories. Utilizing these small business concerns to the maximum extent practicable is a matter of National interest with both social and economic benefits.