Base Operation and Support (BOS) contracts: their value to the U.S. Navy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine the value of BOS contracts to the U.S. Navy with regards to Facility Service Contracting. Facility service contracting generally is NOT an inherently governmental function and is therefore a prime target for government outsourcing to private industry. Recently, a strong emphasis has been placed on utilizing the private sector when functions are not inherently governmental in nature, enabling economics and market forces to prevail. The idea is that outsourcing will provide more value to the Navy since private industry already performs facility services and will compete to win contracts. What is the most appropriate method for the Navy to use when contracting for facility services? The history of Navy service contracting will be discussed in a later section, but the Navy has many options in which to contract for facility services. Each military base or region has different requirements with regards to Facility services. The Navy may use a BOS contract, individual service contracts, or a hybrid of the two. In recent years, pilot programs have been initiated to test the feasibility of web base FSC programs where Regional IDIQ e-FSC's are used such that customers can order services through a web-base program. However, these pilot programs do not address the fundamental issue of whether the Navy should have a BOS contract or individual FSC contracts.