MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A thunderous cheer swept the base theater Monday when Maj. Gen. William G. Bowdon, commanding general Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, announced to an anxious crowd numbering hundreds of civilian workers that their jobs are safe — for now — after five years of uncertainty for members of Camp Pendleton's Facilities Maintenance Department.
The decision — a pivotal development in a U.S. government sourcing phenomenon that has brought private enterprise to base housing and still could do the same to facilities maintenance as part of two separate but related privatization processes — is tentative pending possible appeal, Bowdon emphasized.
"Don't take your packs off yet," Bowdon, urged FMD workers here.
An unnamed private contractor that lost the bidding process to FMD has 30 days to appeal the decision.
If an appeal comes and is denied, some FMD workers probably will wind up losing their jobs, according to a Most Efficient Organization model that will restructure the department and result in $5.3 million in government savings over what the private contractor would have provided, said Ed Dulude, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton's business manager.
Those lost jobs will come through a reduction in force that Dulude said wouldn't come close to retiring an entire organization.
"Not a significant amount of people (will be) affected by the (reduction in force)," he said.
The decision stems from a Commercial Activities study of the organization. The study concluded that the government bid was better than the best civilian contractor's.
The study was part of a competitive bidding process in which several civilian contractors placed bids against the Most Efficient Organization. The MEO is the government's proposed organization that bids against the other contractors. In the end, the MEO came out on top in terms of cost-effectiveness and efficiency.
"Commercial Activity studies have been around for a long time," Dulude said.
In 1999, the Department of Defense was the first government agency to pursue competitive sourcing, he said. Since then, other government agencies have launched their own CA studies designed to save money and improve efficiency. The agencies are acting in accordance with the president's Management Agenda, which in part identifies his intent with competitive sourcing, Dulude said.
This CA study, also referred to as A-76, first began on Camp Pendleton in 1999. The 1999 A-76 study included facilities maintenance and housing maintenance.
After a two-year study and bidding process, the tentative decision was awarded to the civilian contractors.
But, after a series of appeals and protests, Camp Pendleton business officials were forced to perform a second study. That study, by direction of the secretary of the Navy, did not involve housing maintenance because of progress in the Public Private Venture housing program, which will eventually see private companies taking over all of Camp Pendleton's housing management.
The 14-month restudy turned the tables, determining the government's bid was best.
"The MEO made us more competitive," said Tim Vincent, utilities supervisor. "(This decision today) is a relief because we've been going through this process for so long."
A-76 begins with the development of a Performance Work Statement. A team comes together to define work that needs to be done, how often and other specifics.
After the statement is drafted, the Southwest Division, the contracting office in charge of the study, puts it on the "street," or solicits civilian contractors. The government also must bid by creating an MEO — a "management plan that would deliver the government requirements of the PWS in a most efficient way," Dulude said.
In this case, through a series of boards, the base's contracting office weeded the competition down to one contractor. At that point, both the MEO and the contractor placed their bids based on a seven-year contract.
Now that the MEO has won the tentative decision, the next phase is the appeals and protest portion.
The earliest a final decision could be rendered is May 17, Dulude said.
When the final announcement comes, the department will assume the MEO structure during a 90-day transition period.
After one year, the government will audit the MEO to ensure they're complying with their bid.
The base will continue to support employees affected by the reduction in force, Dulude said. Some whose jobs are going away may be absorbed into vacant positions not added over the past couple of years because of a hiring freeze, he said. The freeze was enacted partly to create vacancies and maximize placement opportunities once the decision was made, he said.
Other eligible employees may take advantage of the Voluntary Seperation Incentive Program which is designed to entice employees to retire and collect incentive pay so another employee wouldn't be seperated from the RIF, said Richard Crawford, the human resource advisor.
The Facilities Maintenance work force has been undermanned and understaffed during the study — heightening anxiety for employees also facing the specter of losing their jobs, Dulude said.
"It's been a long road for FMD with many uncertainties," Dulude said. "We are talking about people's jobs."
FMD workers here are charged with keeping the base's infrastructure running. They include electricians, plumbers, carpenters, road workers, managers and administrative support personnel.
Vincent, for one, believes he'll have a job when it's all over.
"Some jobs will be created, some will be eliminated. But I should be OK," he said.
Rickey Wallace, a maintenance supervisor with the department, has more than 30 years with the federal government. If the department had received a thumbs-down, he still could've retired.
Others couldn't.
"I felt for a lot of my employees that don't have the years in that I do. I feel good for my employees now," he said.
Michael Duren, also a maintenance supervisor, was short of a full retirement and had more at stake.
"After the announcement, I felt excited and relieved. It secured my retirement," he said.
E-mail Cpl. Vought at VoughtJM@pendleton.usmc.mil.