TRANSATLANTIC DIVISION

The Transatlantic Division does not award contracts directly. Rather, contracts are awarded by the districts within the Transatlantic Division. A Small Business office, located at the Middle East District in Winchester, Va., services the division.

To accomplish its design and construction missions in the U.S. Central Command Area of Operations, the districts of the Transatlantic Division award and manage contracts that support the United States’ goals for security and stability in this region.

• The district in Afghanistan is focused on delivering construction projects and services that create the conditions for improved security, governance and commerce. 
• The Middle East District accomplishes projects that support U.S. military operations in the region, as well as foreign agencies that request engineering assistance using the appropriate U.S. government authorities for such work. This district has worked in this region for decades and awards and administers contracts to complete the authorized projects.

The districts use a variety of contracting tools to award contracts, following the Federal Acquisition Regulations and its supplements from the Defense Department, Department of Army, and USACE. Most contracts are firm-fixed-price.

Full and open competition is the preferred contracting method, but there are instances where other authorities supplement the contracting processes:

• Section 886, Public Law 110-181, FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act, created the Afghan First Program to create business opportunities for Afghan companies and jobs for Afghan citizens to promote economic development and create the conditions for stability. This set-aside program is generally for small projects such as a police compound.  (See DFARS Subpart 225.77)
• Section 801, Public Law 111-84, FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act, provides temporary authority to limit competition to, or provide a preference for, products and services that are from the Northern Distribution Network or another major route of supply to Afghanistan. Additional information.
• When a foreign nation seeks USACE assistance, written agreements are required between the host nation and the United States. In some instances, the agreements may specific a preference for local contracts, supplies or materials.

When the districts anticipate a large volume of work to be completed in a relatively short period of time (such as during contingency operations), they may award multiple award task order contracts (MATOCs) or single award task order contracts (SATOCs). When awarding those contracts, full and open competition is used. In most instances, individual task orders are awarded on a competitive basis to the MATOC holders.