Sole Source

This notice announces the intent by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) in support of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) to procure an Agilent 8890 GC Headspace instrument on a sole source basis. This requirement is essential for AFMES Division of Forensic Toxicology (DFT), to maintain operation capabilities.

The AFMES DFT mission provides toxicological examination for military autopsies, aircraft incidents, criminal investigations (including drug-facilitated sexual assaults and DUI/DWI), fitness-for-duty inquiries, and selected cases of national interest. Each year the DFT processes more than 15,000 cases, many of which directly affect operational readiness and/or national security.

Agilent Technologies is the only company which offers the instrument meeting the minimum requirements of the government, without the additional cost of re-training staff or re-developing testing methods. Due to the nature of our mission and the exactness required in performing various drug screening/testing procedures, it is imperative that staff not need additional training to use the instrument, and that time and effort not be expended on developing new methods on unfamiliar instrumentation.

Failure to award this requirement to Agilent Technologies would invalidate current standardized analytical drug testing procedures and would result in numerous man-hours being used to correct any deficiencies. The method validation process would take weeks to months to complete and during this time the DFT would not be able to report any case results.

This type of stoppage would be detrimental to all military contributors worldwide and delay the release of death certificates, testing results for ground flight crews involved in mishaps, and delay all criminal and fit for duty investigations. Failure to award this contract immediately could lead to suspended laboratory testing which impacts missions throughout the DoD.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for this requirement is 334516 and FSC 6640. This Special Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive quotes. Information received in response to this notice will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether a competitive procurement is in the best interest of the Government. All questions and responses concerning this notice shall be emailed to Brian Miller at brian.d.miller1.civ@health.mil. Interested concerns must identify their capability in writing to the above email address listed above no later than 1:00 PM ET, 3 September 2025.