Chenega Agile Real-Time Solutions, LLC (B-423512)

You should not care.

Category: Technical evaluation, unequal competition, past performance

Date: 31 July 2025

URL: https://www.gao.gov/products/b-423512

CARS protested the Navy’s information technology (IT) enterprise engineering, operations, and hosting support services (EEOHSS) award to PCG‑SMX JV, alleging an unreasonable technical evaluation, unequal competition, and errors in past performance. GAO denied the protest. The Navy reasonably assessed a significant weakness where CARS’s cloud architecture narrative lacked detail, introduced a single‑point‑of‑failure connectivity path, and failed to explain tool usage. Other weaknesses included vague communications and remote‑site performance oversight, lack of a concrete workforce training plan for emerging tech, and inadequate comparison of alternative designs and risk impacts from DOD/Navy policy. Claims of an unlevel playing field failed; the evaluation used the disclosed criteria, not undisclosed incumbent knowledge. Past performance ratings were reasonable under the RFQ’s scheme. Key issues raised:

• Architecture detail and risk: CARS’s sample‑task response did not sufficiently explain how key components fit together and added a single point of failure in network connectivity, raising execution risk.
• Management and training specifics: The quote did not clearly show how team leads report issues up the chain or how staff would be trained to adopt emerging tools, both central to managing this enterprise scope.

The protest was denied, as the evaluation was consistent with the RFQ and FAR 16.5, with no unequal treatment.

Digest

1. Allegation that agency unreasonably evaluated protester’s technical proposal is denied where the evaluation was consistent with the solicitation and procurement law and regulation.
2. Allegation that offerors did not compete on an equal basis is denied where the record demonstrates that the protester’s proposal was evaluated against the announced evaluation criteria and not compared to the current Navy architecture, which was known only to the incumbent awardee.