Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   A Change is gonna come. Date:   2/21/2016 4:53:44 PM

Yes, i agree with your description of how these contracts are awarded and executed.  However, my experience has been that the price is adjusted over option years and by the 5th year, the overhead grew.  And yes, you could hire another contractor, but then you had the risk of losing the people who were already trained.  So in my experience, contractors didn't change too often, especially for professional service like you find in a program office.  But in another job, i had a clerical employee that had worked there so long that everyone thought she was a government employee. 

i think over a period of time, salaries of contract workers have become comparative with government workers. When the Army and the Navy and the marines decided not to put their military in government offices (because they were needed to fight) contractors took their places, to the extent that you couldn't tell a government person from a contractor.  And don't forget that government employees don't have all the benefits they used to get.  The retirement system took a revision in the late 80s, and it is no longer what it was, and is more on the employee to save.  Contractor still need training that the company pays for, and when TDY is required, the company still pays for that (well really the government pays since it is the government paying the conractor, but again, a different color of money)

And let's look at who the contractors mostly hire - retired military, like yourself, who already have a retirement and medical and don't need medical insurance because of Tricare and Medicare.  (Note i am not saying Tricare is good, but it is a health care benefit).  Or they hire the fresh out of college people, who need some kind of experience to put on their resume and mostly don't stay too long. 

i did see a study that was done about 10-12 years ago that proved that hiring contractors was not necessarily any cheaper than hiring new government employees when it was all said and done.  Some of the factors were stability, pay, and the period of time over which the benefits were paid. 

i'm not sure i understand your last point.  Yes, Proposals get evaluated against the RFP and the specifications of what is required.  is you point that if government wants a fiat, and you are able to offer a Honda for the same price, that you don't get credit for that?  it's been a long time for me since i worked on the nitty gritty contract side (sometime in the late 80s).  i am aware of the changes that have been made, but i haven't had to put them into action.  But i could write you a book about what is wrong with the acquisition process... wait, Norm Augustine did write one and nothing has changed all that much.