The Defense Department inspector general’s office last month began auditing contracting procedures at JBSA-Lackland, Tex., to determine whether officials there properly handled multiple-award contracts for services. Specifically, inspectors are looking at whether “contracting officials provided a fair opportunity to compete, supported price reasonableness determinations, and performed surveillance for task orders” issued under these contract types, states a letter, dated Oct. 22, from Jacqueline Wicecarver, assistant IG for acquisition and contract management. The IG’s November update disclosed the investigation. The Pentagon spends about $200 billion annually on services, according to the IG.
The defense intelligence community has tried three times in the past decade to build a “common intelligence picture”—a single data stream providing the information that commanders need to make decisions about the battlefield. The first two attempts failed. But officials say things are different today.