Latvian Connection LLC Shareefa Complex 5th Floor Kuwait City, Kuwait Tel: 001 965 5012 2072

August 24, 2013 BY REGISTERED EMAIL

General Counsel Government Accounting Office 441 G Street, NW Washington DC 20548 Email: Protests@gao.gov Attn: Procurement Law Control Group, Room 1139

RE: Pre-Award Protest against the Department of the Air Force, 379 ECONS RFQ FA5702-13-R-0022 for removing DFARS clause 252.236-7010 for Design / Build Construction Project
Dear Procurement Law Group: Latvian Connection General Trading and Construction LLC, ( LC LLC), Shareefa Complex, 5th Floor, Kuwait City, Kuwait, tel: [001 965 5012 2072]. Email: [keven.barnes@LatvianConnectionLLC.com] , a SAMS Registered company ( DUNS 830587791 and CAGE 5GLB3, with a LOCAL office in the Middle East in Kuwait, DUNS 534749622 and CAGE SGM59 submits this PreAward Protest against Shaw AFBs 379 ECONS construction project that is in excess of $ 3,000 in value ( Exhibit 1 ). 379 ECONS is a unit of Shaw AFBs Air Combat Command, S.C. ( ACC ) (Exhibit 11) and the main contracting office is located at 524 Shaw Dr. Suite 235, Shaw AFB, South Carolina, 29152. First let me start by saying that Latvian Connection LLC is owned and operated by a retired USAF MSgt who served in Iraq and during September 2001, and has served in the USAF in England, Turkey, Iraq and has been part of the USAF Active Duty, Reserves, and California Air National Guard; served in Iraq with the Defense Contract Management Agency in total over 28 years. I was in Iraq in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 either working with DCMA or with DoD companies supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and I also served as an Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense in contracting. So, when I say that the USAF are violating Federal Acquisition Regulations, Laws, and Small Business Statutes ( Exhibit 3 ) and Presidential Memo and their own Memos ( Exhibit 10 ), and I can say that with authority as I have been writing GAO Level Protests to the GAO since 2010 to bring to light the fact that the Army, Air Force, Navy, U.S. State Department are violating the contract laws of the United States and steering contracts to foreign companies and are not excluding all foreign competition for solicitations as required by law for purchases, construction, and services that are in Contingency Operations Areas (Exhibit 11).
379 ECONS is wrongly attempting to limit competition to LOCAL ( Exhibit 1) when there is no such limitation in the

Federal Acquisition Regulations, and in fact PGI 236.273 ( Exhibit 3) Construction in foreign countries directs the Air Force in conducting this solicitation so that U.S. Firms can compete and perform. The Contracting Officer removed DFARS 252.236-7010 on August 20, 2013 which gives for projects with a value over $ 1 Mil a preference to U.S. firms. Overseas Military Construction Preference for U.S. Firms and at that evaluation from firms that do not qualify as U.S. will have 20% added to their offer. (b) Evaluation. Offers from firms that do not qualify as United States firms will be evaluated by adding 20 percent to the offer. DFARS 252.236-7010 was confirmed as a mandatory regulations in Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 12 / Friday, January 17,
1997 / Rules and Regulations ( Exhibit 24 )

rule only applies to contracts estimated to exceed $1,000,000 for military construction projects in the United States territories and possessions in the Pacific and on Kwajalein Atoll, or in countries bordering the Arabian Gulf.

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to publish this interim rule prior to affording the public an opportunity to comment. This interim rule implements Section 112 of the Fiscal Year 1997 Military Construction Appropriations Act (Public Law 104-196). Section 112 provides a 20 percent preference for United States firms on all contracts estimated to exceed $1,000,000 for military construction projects in the United States territories and possessions in the Pacific and on Kwajalein Atoll, or in countries bordering the Arabian Gulf. Immediate publication of an interim rule is necessary to promptly comply with Section 112. Once again, it would appear for the purposes of U.S. Firms, that the Arabian Gulf has been added to the list of U.S. Territories where Public Law regarding U.S. Firms applies. The FAC is sorely lacking on the estimated construction projects by claiming it would only be 12 projects per year when Billions upon Billions have been spent on U.S. Construction in the Arabian Gulf and U.S. Businesses have been cheated out of Billions in lost dollars that can never be regained due to contracting officers like this one and leadership like the Air Force has today in their Acquisitions departments. It seems cheating American businessmen is just the way the Air Force does business overseas. The solicitation is defective in that is fails to cite DFARS 252.7013 Requirement for competition opportunity for American Steel Manufacturers ( Exhibit 3 ) The most egregious defect is that all foreign competition has not been given notice that they will have 20% added to their bids so that U.S. Firms will have a 20% advantage above the foreign competition. The same Amendment 001 that took out DFARS 252.236-7010 also removed Section K that required the Representation and Certifications that are required for all Federal Contract awards. Perhaps, since Qatar is now the host of the Taliban from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the USAF were going to award to the Taliban and ignore the rules about awarding contracts to the enemies of the United States which the Taliban is ( Exhibit 21). There is no excuse for the contracting officer to not have one single mention that this contract award will require the registration in SAM.GOV and that the awardee will need a DUNS code and CAGE code in order to be awarded and disclose if it associates with enemies of the United States. Amendment 001 also has removed the requirement that the Defense Base Act Insurance, FAR 52.228-3 is required. The Department of Labor has been adamant that DBA will be in effect for workers on every overseas project involving labor since 2003. ( Exhibit 15 ) So it would appear the contracting officer is trying to do far more favors for his foreign friends that the Amendment 001 would allude to in Block 14. That would be a serious contracting irregularity and create a defective solicitation. If the Air Force is intending to award to a non-qualified foreign company that doesnt require a DUNS, CAGE, or need to make representations and certifications, then they should fill out a Justification and Approval for awarding to such a company and disclose who the company is. The contracting officer has no choice but to insert the clauses that benefit U.S. Business and that is they have neglected to add the following DFARS to their solicitation and to implement the guidance that these DFARS give: DFARS 236.274 ( Exhibit 3, pg 15) Restriction on Acquisition of Steel from Section 108 of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act 2009 ( Public Law 110-329, Division E). DFARS 236-7013 ( Exhibit 3, pg 14) Requirement for competition opportunity and manufacturers for American steel producers, fabricators, and manufacturers. PGI 236.273 ( Exhibit 3, pg 18) Construction in Foreign Countries 252.236-7011 (Exhibit 3, pg 21)Overseas Architect-Engineer Services--Restriction to United States Firms The Air Force have wrongly stated in the Scope of Work that work must have consulting firms that are from Qatar in Section 1 of Attachment 1. ( Exhibit 1a, 1.5.1.2) The Scope of Work is defective in terms of compliance to this DFARS that has been omitted and the contracting officer has mentioned in the Scope of Work ( Exhibit 1a. pg 9) that this is a DesignBuild. The Air Force might want to avail themselves this link http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/dfars/dfars252_232.htm
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This is a systemic failure of USAF Leadership at a level that extends to the Pentagon. This is a pandering to foreign firms at the expense of U.S. Small Business and if the USAF contracting officers cannot rid themselves of the Organizational Conflicts of Interests that they continue to exhibit, then the GAO should recommend that all DoD Agencies no longer have the ability to perform contracting functions. The steering of contracts and attempting to limit competition and exclude American businesses is simply stealing from American Small Businesses. This is American Taxpayer dollars paying for the project and an American Contract being performed on an American Base overseas. Why would an American contracting officer leave off all these clauses ? This contracting officer has a duty to disobey illegal orders or report those illegal orders.
379 ECONS contracting office is conducting this solicitation that has a value of between $ 1 Mil and $ 5 Mil ( Exhibit 1) and has a performance at 379 ECONS, Qatar at Al Udeid Air Base. 379 ECONS which is assigned to Shaw AFB. ( Exhibit 11 ) This protest indicates that this contracting officer and General Officer are not following the Laws, Regulations and directives of the President of the United States Office and in fact the white collar crime being committed is defrauding U.S. Small Businesses of Billions of dollars (Exhibit 3. pg 9).

Over the past decade, the exemptions at section 8.4 of the FAR have divertedaway from small businesseseach year: $44 billion in GSA Schedule contracts and $20 billion in foreign (or overseas) contracts destined for military bases and embassies on foreign soil. (e) Contracting officers, including those located overseas, are required to comply with this subpart for U.S. small business concerns. Latvian Connection LLC is a Veteran Owned Business and for the purposes of establishing that this Small Business is covered under all aspects of the Small Business Act, which amazingly the contracting officer has left parts of the FAR regarding that in the solicitation. ( Exhibit 1 ) This Pre-Award protest will show the legal opinions already given by Small Business Administration lawyer, Mrs. Laura Mann Eyester B-407391(Exhibit 16 & 17) where the SBA Senior Attorney Mrs. Mann Eyester and SBA Associate General Counsel John W. Klein have stated: 48 C.F.R. 2.101 The Small Business Act states that small business setasides are mandatory for the acquisition of supplies and services valued from $ 2,500 to $ 100,000. 15 U.S.C. 644 (j)(1). However 41 U.S.C. 431a(a) (1) states that the Federal Acquisition Regulatory[FAR] Council shall adjust each acquisition-related dollar threshold provided by law, as described in subsection (c) of this section to the baseline constant dollar value of that threshold. The FAR Council published a final rule on August 30, 2012, which implemented these inflationary adjustments. 75 Fed. Reg. 53129. As a result of 41 U.S.C. 431a and the final rule, the FAR now states: (a) Before setting aside an acquisition under this paragraph, refer to 19.203(b). Each acquisition of supplies or services that has an anticipated dollar value exceeding $ 3,000 ($15,000 for acquisitions as described in 13.201(g)(1), but not over $ 150,000 ( $ 300,000 for acquisitions described in paragraph (1) of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold definition at 2.101), is automatically reserved exclusively for small business concerns and shall be set aside for small business unless the contracting officer determines there is not a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery. If the contracting officer does not proceed with a small business set-aside and purchases on an unrestricted basis, the contracting officer shall include in the contract file the reason for this unrestricted purchase. If the contracting officer receives only one acceptable offer from a responsible small business concern in response to a set-aside, the contracting officer should exclusively for the small business concerns unless the contracting officer is unable to obtain offers from two or more small business concerns that are competitive with market prices and are competitive with regard to quality and delivery of the goods and services being purchased. (Exhibit 20 pg 2-3) The Air Force use AFFARS 9952.900-H904 ( Enhanced Small Business Participation ) (Exhibit 3, pg 4) is consistently found in Air Force Prime Contracts and stipulates that there is a goal of 20% of all subcontracts be with Small Business inside or outside the United States.

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The Air Force Compliance Checklist (Exhibit 7 at pg 2 ) DFARS and the Air Force is nothing new.

Public Law 95-907, Federal Acquisition Regulations, AFFARS ( Exhibit 3); Air Force Checklists (Exhibit 7 ), Air Force Training Guides; Memos from the President; the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense; the Office of the Department of the Air Forces MG Wendy Masiello and Joseph M. Dades ( Exhibit 10); 112th Congress; Small Business Coordination Record ( DD 2579 Exhibit 20), and the legal opinion of the Small Business Administrations lawyer all support that there is a mandatory set-aside for all solicitations with a value between $ 3,000 and $ 150,000 that does apply to U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT), Shaw AFB, and their 379 ECONS contracting office. MG Masiello (USAF) in her position as Deputy Assistant Secretary (Contracting)/ Assistant Secretary (Acquisition) along with Joseph M. Dades (SES) in his position as Director of Small Business Programs for the Air Force state in their memo (Exhibit 10) dated December 13, 2012: On July 11, 2012, the Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, USD(AT&L), and the Office of Small Business Programs issued a memo to remind the Department ( AF) of the statutory requirement to automatically set aside contracts for small business when the anticipated contract value is at or below the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) but exceeds the micro-purchase threshold unless the rule of 2 is not met, and also requested efforts be taken to ensure this requirement is consistently followed ( Attachment 1 of the Memo Exhibit 10, pg 7) An internal analysis of the Air Force FY12 contracts awarded to small businesses within the dollar thresholds specified above, indicates a need for improvement in this area (Exhibit 10, Attachment 2). The findings show the Air Force awarded 67.54% of these contracts to small business. These findings are cause for concern, and you are requested to ascertain whether your organization is falling short of its requirement to exclusively reserve these contracts for small businesses when the rule of two is met in accordance with FAR 19.502, unless an exception applies and is documented by the contracting officer. Actually, the latest statistics shows that the Air Force will miss its Small Business goals for 6 years in a row. The Air Force doesnt care about complying with Congressional mandates, law, regulations, or statutes. Automatic small business set-asides for acquisitions between the thresholds identified above are part of our longterm strategy to promote competition in the Air Force marketplace. (Exhibit 10, pg 6) MG Masiellos memo states The purpose of this memorandum is to remind you of longstanding statutory requirements to set aside contracts for small businesses where the contract value is equal to or less than the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) unless the "rule of two" is not met. ( Exhibit 10) SAT is $ 1 Million and the USAF knows that there are U.S. Small Businesses that can deliver this item easily. SAT for the Air Force may be $ 5 Mil and this protest will make that claim. The Armys SAT is $ 5 Mil and they also dont abide by any set-aside or U.S. Preference rules, regulations or statutes. Latvian Connection LLC believes also that an Agency overseas does not have the option to not set-aside solicitations when there is set-aside competition in the area of the Middle East. FAR 9.6 allows for Teaming agreements and those teaming agreements can even be formed after contract award. The FAR is clear that set-asides are reserved exclusively for Small Businesses and there are more than 2 set-aside companies in the region that would bid. An example of that is a $29 Mil set-aside being conducted in Kuwait for the Army, and the question was asked ( Exhibit 22, pg 3-4)

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In accordance with 4 C.F.R. 21.1 (c ) (1), the relevant electronic mail address for this protest is keven.barnes@LatvianConnectionLLC.com (Representative for the Protester Latvian Connection General Trading and Construction LLC) The Contracting Officer for this procurement is Jessica Tucker Department of the Air Force, APO 09309, Al Udeid Air Base, Shaw AFB. 379 ECONS email address for the Ms. Tucker is Jessica.Tucker@usab.afcent.af.mil ,Ms. Tuckers telephone number is listed on FBO as a Military Only Usage number of 318 437 2709, the contracting the Air Combat Command address is US Central Command Air Force/A4-LGCP, Shaw AFB, S.C. 29152

Per FAR 33.103 Protests to the agency (2) Latvian Connection LLC Shareefa Complex Kuwait City, Kuwait Representative of Protester: Keven Barnes, CEO Email keven.barnes@LatvianConnectionLLC.com The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) should sustain this protest, stay the performance of the Contract, and direct the Department of the AIR FORCE and 379 ECONS(US Central Command Air Force/A4-LGCP)of Shaw AFB, S.C.s contingency operation in Qatar, Al Udeid AB (Exhibit 11) to issue another amendment that this contract will be issued to only companies who have a DUNS and CAGE code, are registered in SAM.gov, have filled out their Representations and Certifications that they will not do business with the enemies of the United States, such as the Taliban or Iran. The GAO should direct the Air Force that the Department of Labor have a mandatory requirement that all contracts involving labor will have DBA insurance FAR 52.228-3 ( Exhibit 15 ) and that all DFARS regarding Overseas Architect-Engineer services are restricted to U.S. Firms DFAR 252.236-7011 and 236.274, that the restriction on steel for the use in U.S. Military Construction projects is restricted or encouraged to be U.S. Steel and manufacturers; and finally, the preference for U.S. Firms under DFARS 252.236-7010 is a MANDATORY requirement and not optional. This project is mislabeled a Chillers repair when the word Construction and DESIGN / BUILD is used throughout the Scope of Work ( Exhibit 1 C) Further, the restriction of Local companies only limits competition in complete disregard for the Competition in Contracting Act and FAR 9.6. FAR 9.6 states that a Teaming Agreement can even be formed AFTER contract award. Past Performance of a Teaming Partner is an important tenant of the Federal Acquisition Regulations for Small Business. Mentor- Protg Programs are base on this FAR and concept. General Bass and the Redstone Arsenal just conducted a $ 29 Million Set-Aside in Kuwait for construction of Thermal Shelters Sure, this was no doubt anther steering of a contract by General Joe Bass since the Armys apparent mantra is that Set-Asides dont apply in Kuwait and every time I challenge that they cancel the solicitation to get away from the GAO ruling. Regardless of the Army steering contracts once again, the point is that during the Questions and Answers on the Thermal Shelters, the question was posed if a foreign firm could compete and the answer was NO, but they could form a Teaming Agreement with a Small Business. The preference for U.S. Firms will necessarily mean that LOCAL is removed. There is simply no Justification for not putting in this DFARS 252.236-7010 that benefits U.S. Businesses so that money comes into the American economy instead of the Taliban hosting Qatar economy. If this contracting officer is pandering to foreign businesses as he appears, he has an Organizational Conflict of Interest and should be removed from this solicitation immediately. If the Air Force cannot conduct a clean solicitation and follow the Federal Acquisition Regulations and insert the correct clauses they should perhaps turn conducting this solicitation over to another Agency that doesnt have any conflicts of interest in Qatar. INTERESTED PARTY STATUS As discussed below LC LLC seeks to compete for the contract that the proposed RFQ (Exhibit 1). Latvian Connection LLC incorporates all the below facts and (Exhibits) into this Interested Party Status section. Further, if this
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protest is sustained and Department of the Air Force and 379 ECONS(US Central Command Air Force/A4-LGCP) of Shaw AFB, S.C.s contingency operation evaluates Latvian Connections proposal, then LC LLC, a VOSB, responsible offeror will have a reasonable chance of winning the Contract. Therefore, Latvian Connection LLC is an actual offeror whose direct economic interest is affected by the award of the Contract and hence, an interested party. 31 U.S.C. 3551 (2000); FAR 33.101; 4 C.F.R. 21.0(a)(2006); Designer Assoc. , Inc.,B-293226, FEB 12, 2004 C.P.D. 114 at 2. This is a Pre-Award Protest. TIMELINESS OF THIS PROTEST The Pre-Award protest against the Department of the Air Force and Department of the Air Force and 379 ECONS (US Central Command Air Force/A4-LGCP)of Shaw AFB, S.C.s contingency operation RFQ, 379 ECONS FA5706-13R-0022 dated July 21, 2013, and being conducted according to www.fbo.gov from Qatar and is timely if: 21.2 Time for filing.(a)(1) Protests based upon alleged improprieties in a solicitation which are apparent prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals shall be filed prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals. In procurements where proposals are requested, alleged improprieties which do not exist in the initial solicitation but which are subsequently incorporated into the solicitation must be protested not later than the next closing time for receipt of proposals following the incorporation. This is a pre-award protest and the bid due in for this solicitation September 2, 2013 at 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time and the value of this RFQ is valued between $ 1 Mil and $5 Mil. Improprieties being committed by this contracting officer is an understatement. The United States Air Force has become on par with the United States Army in terms of contracting irregularities and what can only be described as a white-collar crime organization with systemic failures in its leadership from Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, and all the way down to the contracting officer level. U.S. Small Businesses make up 90% of American business and these American businesses are not isolated within the shores of the United States. The United States made it clear in its WTO Government Procurement Agreement that the United States has a set-aside program for U.S. Small Businesses and it is the white collar crimes of the United States Army, Navy, and Air Force with the assistance of the GAO that circumvents the laws of the United States. What American Small Business did not however measure is to what lengths the Government Audit Agency will go to cover-up the crimes of the United States Army, Navy and Air Force and how, with its rulings against small business, the criminal enterprise of white-collar crime against American Small Businesses continues at the hands of 60 lawyers sitting in the GAO offices. The GAO do not even call for investigations on a solicitation posted for just 15 hours that was worth over $ 3 Million ( Exhibits 18 & 18A ) . The contracting officers SF1402 ( warrant ) should mean they have the obligations to the Competition in Contracting Act, the Small Business Act, and fair play and most of all, supporting the economy of the United States instead of funneling American tax payer dollars into foreign companies and Islamic state actors. A recent SIGR report shows that American contract dollars are not staying out of the hands of terrorists ( Exhibit 21) and with 20 U.S. Embassies shut down currently, is evidence that this problem of foreign contractors money putting money into the wrong hands is because US contracting officers are violating United State Federal Acquisition Regulations and not setting aside Federal Taxpayer dollars for United States Small Businesses and are instead pandering to foreign companies and Large Corporations. FACTUAL GROUNDS OF THE PROTEST 1. The RFQ The Department of the Air Force and 379 ECONS of Shaw AFB, S.C.s AFCENT ( ACC ) issued the FA5702-13R-0022 on July 21, 2013 to construct a CAOC CHILLERS. (Exhibit 1) on the GPE, www.fedbizopps.gov with a bid due in date of September 2, 2103.

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II. Latvian Connection LLCs Proposal

Latvian Connection LLC, a Small Business Administration registered company that is a Veteran-Owned Business (VOSB), should only be competing against other Small Businesses and the solicitation should be marked that the solicitation has a U.S. Firm preference and that all foreign businesses that do not qualify under the definitions of a U.S. Registered Small Business will have 20% added to their bid price.

Request of a ruling by the Comptroller General of the United States Latvian Connection LLC (VOSB) specifically requests that the GAO level Pre-Award protest be referred to the Small Business Administration for their review. Latvian Connection LLC also requests that the Comptroller General of the United States ruling be made about the Pre-Award protest of unnumbered Solicitation for COAC CHILLER DESIGN/BUILD and ask the Department of the Air Forcess Shaw AFB (ARCENT) 379 ECONS to take corrective action. Latvian Connection LLC is one of those Small Businesses and has an office located in Kuwait and serving both the Middle East and its home state of California. Mr. Jordan and Ms Mills go on to say that a third-party analysis of the Federal Procurement Data System suggest that a significant amount of work under the SAT is not going to small businesses, including for products and services in industries where small businesses are typically well represented. This suggests that opportunities for small businesses are being lost, and that agencies must take additional steps to consistently apply set-asides in the manner prescribed by law and regulation. REQUEST FOR HEARING OR CONFERENCE AND PROTECTIVE ORDER If the issues in this case cannot be resolved on the basis of the documents requested, then Latvian Connection LLC requests a hearing on all of the matters set forth above. 4 C.F.R. 21.1 (d)(2008). LC LLC does not request a protective order. LEGAL GROUNDS OF PROTEST I. There is Overwhelming Evidence of Latvian Connection LLC that Shaw AFBs 379 ECONS are not automatically putting in the applicable and mandatory DFARS and FAR clauses. The legal grounds that support this Pre-Award Protest are:

Public Law 95-507, The Small Business Act (Exhibit 3, pg 2) On October 24, 1978, President Carter signed Public Law 95-507 amending the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, making federal procurement contracting more readily accessible to all small businesses. PL 95-507 stipulates that it is the policy of the Government to provide maximum practicable opportunities in its acquisitions to small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses and women-owned businesses. This stipulation also extends to having the head of each agency be responsible for effectively implementing the small business programs within his agency, including setting and achieving yearly procurement opportunity program (POP) goals for small and small disadvantaged business contracting. FAR 6.203-206 & 19.5/219.5 (Exhibit 3) From the Defense Procurement Acquisition and Policy Defense Pricing DOMESTIC PREFERENCE RESTRICTIONS AFFECTING PURCHASES BY, OR ON BEHALF OF, DoD table,

Competitive procedures, but excluding other than small business, small disadvantaged business concerns, historically Black colleges, and universities, and minority institutions, HUBZone small business concerns, and/or service disabled veteran owned small business concerns.
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Ms. Tucker did not give Preference to U.S. Firms and ensure that foreign business for this RFQ FA5702-13-R-0022 ( Exhibit 1) have 20% added to their firms quotation so their bid price is evaluated 20% higher than U.S. Firms. FAR 19.601 (Exhibit 3, pg 3) (e) Contracting officers, including those located overseas, are required to comply with this subpart for U.S. small business concerns. Air Force Contracting Compliance Inspection Checklist (Exhibit 7 slide 2) The Air Force has a checklist that is used in their procurements Latvian Connection LLC is one U.S. Small Business in Kuwait and there other others. Trade Links USA, SMI, American General Trading, to name but a few Small Businesses in Kuwait, and as the Senior Attorney from the Small Business Administration stated in her review comments to the GAO for B-407391, Protest of Latvian Connection LLC, Request for Reconsideration, Dec 12, 2012, 15(j) of the Small Business Act, 19.502-2 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. (FAR), and GAO rulings on small business set-asides, all of which state that small business set-asides below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) are automatic; in other words, a contracting officer must set-aside the Acquisition for small business unless he/she can demonstrate that the agency will not receive at least two competitive offers from small businesses. 15 U.S.C. 644 (emphasis added). In other words, every acquisition under the SAT is reserved for small businesses unless the contracting officer will be unable to obtain offers from two or more small businesses. Moreover, the statute states that it is up to the contracting officer not a specific small business advocating for a small business set-aside, not SBA, and not any other entity to perform adequate market research to be able to make a determination that there are not at least two small businesses capable of performing the requirement. (Exhibit 16 & 17)

Latvian Connection LLC asserts that SAT for the Air Force overseas is $ 5 Million.
19.502-1 Requirements for setting aside acquisitions. (Exhibit 3) (a) The contracting officer shall set aside an individual acquisition or class of acquisitions for competition among small businesses when (1) It is determined to be in the interest of maintaining or mobilizing the Nations full productive capacity, war or national defense programs; or (2) Assuring that a fair proportion of Government contracts in each industry category is placed with small business concerns; and the circumstances described in 19.502-2 or 19.502-3(a) exist. 19.502-2 Total small business set-asides. (Exhibit 3) (a) Each acquisition of supplies or services that has an anticipated dollar value exceeding $3,000 ($15,000 for acquisitions as described in 13.201(g)(1)), but not over $100,000 ($250,000 for acquisitions described in paragraph (1) of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold definition at 2.101), is automatically reserved exclusively for small business concerns and shall be set aside for small business unless the contracting officer determines there is not a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of market prices, quality, and delivery. If the contracting officer does not proceed with the small business set-aside and purchases on an unrestricted basis, the contracting officer shall include in the contract file the reason for this unrestricted purchase. If the contracting officer receives only one acceptable offer from a responsible small business concern in response to a set-aside, the contracting officer should make an award to that firm. If the contracting officer receives no acceptable offers from responsible small business concerns, the set-aside shall be withdrawn and the requirement, if still valid, shall be resolicited on an unrestricted basis. The small business reservation does not preclude the award of a contract with a value not greater than $100,000 under Subpart 19.8, Contracting with the Small Business Administration, under 19.1007(c), Solicitations equal to or less than the ESB reserve amount, or under 19.1305, HUBZone set-aside procedures. (b) The contracting officer shall set aside any acquisition over $100,000 for small business participation when there is a reasonable expectation that (1) offers will be obtained from at least two responsible small business concerns offering the products of different small business concerns (but see paragraph (c) of this subsection); and (2) award will be made at fair market prices. Total small business set-asides shall not be made unless such a reasonable expectation exists

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The Contracting Officer did not follow this Federal Acquisition Regulation, and instead solicited companies that were not qualified as small businesses. The contracting officer did not set-aside the original RFQ for small business. To date, there has not been a legal reason given by the Air Forces Deputy Assistant Secretary, MG Wendy Masiello, (USAF), or the Contracting Officer, Ms. Tucker as to why Shaw AFBs 379 ECONS ( ACC ) contracting office refuses to put in the mandatory and applicable FAR and DFARS clauses that benefit U.S. business firms ? U.S Small Business are discussed time and again for U.S. Contracting Officers but overseas, they seem to not believe they are required to follow rules, regulations, laws, and statutes when stationed overseas and working in a country bordering the Arabian Gulf. If is an astounding failure in leadership and it has harmed Latvian Connection LLC financially. President Obamas Executive Office Office of Management and Budget Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Air Force Senior Procurement Executives Air Force Small Business Directors Federal Acquisition Regulations Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Air Force Instructions The Small Business Act and Small Business Act of 2012 AQCMemo_FAR19_11Jul13t ( MG Masiello ) Exhibit 10, pg 6, dated 11 JUL 2013 (Exhibit 3) This interpretation is consistent with the declared and unambiguous intent of Congress as it relates to Federal procurement and small Businesses. In other words, agencies do not have any latitude on the matter. This legal opinion has once again been made by the SBA in November 2012. ( Exhibits 16 & 17 ) (Exhibit 3) FAR Part 19 also recognizes VOSBs, see FAR 19.201(a) (It is the policy of the Government to provide maximum practicable opportunities in its acquisitions to small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteranowned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns.) (Emphasis added), although no separate VOSB program like the set-aside program for SDVOSBs is found in FAR Part 19. Latvian Connection LLC is a VOSB Veteran Owned Small Business as applicable to FAR Part 19 and the Small Business Act. Memo from Office of Under Secretary of Defense, July 12, 2012 (Exhibit 10) From Richard Ginman, Director of Defense Acquisition and Procurement Policy Andre J. Grudger, Director of Small Business Programs Subject: Increasing Opportunities for Small Business through Small Business Set-Asides under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold.

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Nowhere in the memo is there a mention that there is exclusion overseas. The FAC specifically mentions the Arabian Gulf and bording countries. (Exhibits 16 & 17 ) In the legal opinion and analysis of B-407391, SBAs Senior Attorney stated that the GAO gave deference to the SBAs interpretation of its statute, citing Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., 467 U.S. 837(1984) and the GAO state that when a statute under consideration creates a program to be administered by the SBA it is the views of the SBA, rather than [another agency], to which our Office will afford deference. General Service Administration Reconsideration, B-406040.2, Oct 4, 2012. In this case, we are interpreting 15 U.S.C. 644(a) & 644(j), which are set forth in 15 of the Small Business Act. The Small Business Act specifically provides that: Small Business Administration ( herein referred to as the Administration) 15 U.S.C. 633. Congress granted SBA the authority to administer the Act. As a result, GAO must afford SBA deference over the FAR in creating policy and interpreting the Small Business Act, especially when the two conflict. SBAs regulations on this issue state the following: (f) Contracting Among Small Business Programs (1) Acquisitions Valued At or Below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold. The contracting officer shall set aside acquisition with an anticipated dollar value exceeding the Micro-Purchase Threshold but not exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (defined in the FAR at 48 CFR 2.101) for small business concerns when there is reasonable expectation that offers will be obtained from at least two small business concerns that are competitive terms of quality, and delivery and award will be made at fair market prices. The SBA Senior attorney went on to state that 13 C.F.R. 125.2 (f); 13 C.F.R. 124.503(j), 125.19(b), 126.607(b), 127.503(d), SBAs regulations require a contracting officer to set-aside all acquisitions valued above or below the simplified acquisition threshold for small businesses, including those awarded and/or performed overseas, if market research indicates that the rule of two may be met. As a result, we believe that the FAR is inconsistent with SBAs regulations and the SBAs regulations should control. See C & G Excavating, Inc., v U.S, 32 Fed.C1. 231, 239 (1994) (Where there is a conflict between SBAs regulations on the COC program and the FAR the SBAs procedures generally should control, especially considering that the SBA is the agency charged with issuing COCs, not DoD, GAO, or NASA.) Hawpe Const., Inc., v U.S. 46 Fed.C1. 571, 582 (2000) (Conflicts between FAR and SBA regulations should be resolved by looking to the SBAs latest intent on the issue and by relying on the SBA to determine which provision best implements the policies of the agency itself.) Finally, we note that GAO has addressed this issue already, with respect to the SBAs COC Program. In Discount Machinery & Equipment. Inc., the Panama Canal Commission believed that FAR 19.000(b) precluded the SBAs review of any Federal procurement if the procuring agency is located outside the United States. The GAO stated that: Based on our review of the Small Business Act and the applicable regulations, we find that the location of the Contracting agency has no bearing on the applicability of SBAs COC program. Nothing in the Small Business Act imposes any geographic limitation regarding a contracting agencys location which would exempt procurements from the Acts coverage. Rather the factor which determines whether a small business concern qualifies for SBAs COC proceedings is the nationality of the business. The SBA Senior attorney went on to cite one more case to show that the Small Business Act does apply overseas. Discount Machinery & Equipment, Inc., 70 Comp. Gen. 108, B-240525, 90-2 CPD 420 (1990) (Emphasis added ) Interestingly, the GAO further states that it believes the Small Business Administration Act applies to agencies located outside the United States. This legal analysis was given by SBA Senior Attorney Laura Mann Eyester and SBAs Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law, John Klien,. (Exhibits 16 & 17) The Air Force was conducting a solicitation that is a Section 8a Set-Aside with performance in Qatar and ONLY overseas locations.( Exhibit 18) Air Force Combat Command Postal Operations Service - FA4889-13-R-0005 FBO and this too was being conducted on www.fbo.gov . The locations will be Transit Center Manas, Kyrgyzstan, Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, and Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE, Non-U.S. Section 8a solicitations are set-asides and monthly they appear from
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various agencies in Kuwait and the Middle East, yet, Shaw Air Force Bases 379 ECONS will not set-aside solicitations according to another part of the same Small Business Act that Section 8a is derived from. II. Contracting officers generally are required to set aside for small business all procurements exceeding $150,000 if there is a reasonable expectation of receiving fair market price offers from at least two responsible small business concerns. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 19.502-2(b). A partial set-aside must be made if a total set-aside is not appropriate, the requirement is severable into two or more economic production runs or reasonable lots, and one or more small business concerns are expected to have the technical competence and productive capacity to satisfy the set-aside portion at a reasonable price. FAR 19.502-3(a). FAR 19.202-2 generally requires contracting officers, before issuing solicitations, to make every reasonable effort to find additional small business concerns and to maximize small business participation. The Air Forces Shaw AFBs 379 ECONS made no effort at all to locate small business concerns in Kuwait. This solicitation exceeds $ 150,000 in value. The Air Forces 379 ECONS (US Central Command Air Force/A4-LGCP)of Shaw AFB, S.C. is Unreasonable

III.

By Contracting Officer, Ms. Tucker taking out the DFARS clause 252.236-7010, the contracting officer has acted unreasonably and prejudiced Latvian Connection LLC, a Veteran Owned Business. Ms. Tucker has removed the U.S. Firms preference and given advantage to foreign businesses for the Design/Building construction project ( Exhibit 1) and gone against Federal statutes that makes it mandatory to put in the solicitation DFARS 252.236-7010. Ms. Tucker failed to insert other DFARS regulations that would ensure that American Businesses, and specifically U.S. Small Businesses would be able to compete and hold a preference over foreign firms. Ms. Tucker also is trying to limit competition to Local Only when the spirit of the omitted DFARS expressly prohibits such a limitation and there simply is no Justification for violating the Competition in Contracting Act and removing DFARS 252.236-7010. There is a systemic failure at 379 ECONS and it has been going on there for years.

IV.

Latvian Connection LLC Has Been Prejudiced

Prejudice requires a reasonable likelihood that Latvian Connection LLC would have been awarded the Contract if we had been allowed the opportunity had been conducted as a Small Business Set-Aside that fell into the U.S. Dollar value range of $ 1 Mil to $ 5 Mil. Such a determination is not susceptible to a precise mathematical calculation; rather, prejudice requires only that but for the agencys actions, the protestors would have had a reasonable chance of receiving the award. Anthem Alliance for Health, Inc., TRICARE Management Activity Reconsideration, B-278189.5, July 13, 1998, 98-2 CPD 66. A reasonable possibility of prejudice therefore is sufficient to sustain the protest. United Intl. Engg., Inc., B-245448.3, Jan 29, 1992, 92-1 C.P.D. 122. Europe Displays, Inc., B-297099. Threshold has been prejudicing Latvian Connection LLC since Latvian Connection LLC started its Kuwait office in June 2009.

REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS Latvian Connection LLC requests that the following materials be included in the agency report, pursuant to 4 C.F.R. 21.1(d)(2008): All Market Research regarding Set-Aside Businesses in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar Signed DD Form 2579, Small Business Coordination Record Bid Abstract and Evaluations All emails, memo for record, regarding the order to remove DFARS 252.236-7010 All documents that refer or relate to the efforts to obtain competition from U.S. Registered Small Businesses. All documents that refer or relate to the efforts to increase competition All documents that refer or relate to the Contracting Officers Market Research

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All memos from Mr. Eric Fanning, the Acting Secretary of the Air Force regarding U.S. Small Business set-asides and Teaming Agreements. All memos from Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force regarding U.S. Small Business Set-Asides and Teaming Agreements. All memos from Gen. Larry O. Spencer, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force regarding U.S. Small Business Set-Asides and Teaming Agreements. All memos from Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, regarding U.S. Small Business Set-Asides and Teaming Agreements. All memos from Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James A. Cody regarding U.S. Small Business Set-Asides and Teaming Agreements.

REQUEST FOR RELIEF AND CONCLUSION Latvian Connection LLC requests that the agency conduct the RFQ in accordance with the Small Business Act and the Federal Acquisition Regulations, DFARS, and FACs for this, and all future solicitations. Should Latvian Connection LLC be the low bidder among the qualified U.S. Firms, then awarded this contract. Latvian Connection LLC requests that the USAF remove the contracting officers involved in removing the requirement of having a DUNS, CAGE, Reps & Certs, and removing essentional DFARS that prejudiced Latvian Connection LLC ( DFARS 252.236-7010). The contracting officer should follow the Rules, Regulations, and guidelines of its own Agency and that of the Small Business Administration regarding the application of FARS, DFARS, and Department of Labor mandates regarding safeguarding of workers on U.S. Installations ( DBA Insurance 52.228-3 Exhibit 15 ). It would seem that the directives flowing out of the President of the United States office are orders and those orders are not being followed by General Officers, Regular grade officers, and Airman in defiance to set-asides that are to be exclusively reserved for United States Small Business of which Latvian Connection LLC is a Veteran Owned Small Business. Latvian Connection LLC requests the removal of any contracting officer in the Middle East who cannot follow the Federal Acquisition Regulations and is steering contracts by either posting under false contracting offices, failing to post on www.fbo.gov , and by not supporting American Small Businesses like Latvian Connection LLC and by excluding American Small Businesses in open disobedience of an Act and the FAR designed to help American Small Businesses and the American Economy. If this means that contracting activities are given to another non-DoD Agency because the contracting officers of the Department of Defense are failing to follow the Presidential Orders and the will of Congressionally enacted Acts to benefit U.S. Small Businesses and the American economy, then that should be the recommendation of the GAO. The Air Force has acknowledged that is has not met its Small Business Goals for the last 6 years and according to Jodie Lee of Federal News Radio.com in her article on USAID, an agency that operates nearly exclusively overseas, has not met their Small Business Goal for the last 6 years, and one of the reasons is Agencies are not complying with the law. ( Exhibit 19 ) The SBA Senior Lawyer has stated that set-aside is mandatory exclusively for Small Business and the FAR, and SBA rules do apply overseas. Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 12 / Friday, January 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations ( Exhibit 24 ) states that U.S. Military Construction bordering the Arabian Gulf does have a U.S. Firms preference and DFARS 252.236-7010 is inserted mandatorily and this project meets that of a construction project that involves Design/Build, Steel, Architectural-Engineer services and the preference or restriction to U.S. Firms. We also request that Latvian Connection LLC be reimbursed the costs of filing and pursuing its protest, including reasonable protest preparation fees. Bid Protest Regulations 4 C.F.R. 21.8(d)(1) (2010). Respectfully submitted,

KEVEN L. BARNES __________________________

Digitally signed by KEVEN L. BARNES DN: cn=KEVEN L. BARNES, o=LATVIAN CONNECTION LLC, ou, email=keven.barnes@latvianconnect ionllc.com, c=US Date: 2013.08.24 23:05:13 +03'00'

Keven L. Barnes CEO Latvian Connection LLC

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