Then why are one year contracts with optional years considered a sustainable way for helicopter companies to provide helicopters for fire fighting? Interested vendors must get their offers to the FS by March 3, 2021. Try to pass on the cost of newer more expensive equipment in less than 10 years than the operators fails on the LPTA front. Fax: (208) 387-5384, https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/contracting, Important Information Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic, Access to the U.S. Forest Service Contracting, Incident Support Branch, DOI SharePoint Page must be granted individually. Aircraft Maintenance Contracts, Regions 1,5,6 LockA locked padlock Region 6 Cache Freight Services, Bryce Pitchford,Contracting Officer Modular AirborneFirefighting System (MAFFS) Mechanics Fire.every.last.one.of.them. PAY the vendor to include the STCs, FAA 337s, time the office folks have to catch up on the logbooksOnce again the Agency simply does not know what it takes to run a fleet of helicopters at the vendor level. Looks like CH-47s at Jeffco (2) and Rifle, and Durango and Kmax at Monument. Very Large Airtankers (VLAT)are capable of delivering over 8,000 gallons of fire retardant to support firefighters on the ground. Office: (208) 387-5670 Mobile: (208) 616-5547 Maybe all of the experienced aviation folks you mention are part of this have never actually had to buy a multi-million a/c, maintain it, crew it and ensure that its operable? The ICP may be co-located with the incident base or other incident facilities and provides certain essential auxiliary forms of support, such as food, sleeping areas, equipment, trailers,and sanitation. . Air Tanker 163, an RJ 85, at Rapid City December 12, 2017. Even if a vendor received a guaranteed five-year contract it can be difficult to establish and implement a long-term business plan that would make sense to their banker and the solvency of the company. 6-month EU contract extensions for Type 3 helicopters with contracts expiring in 2022, utilizing BOAs for remaining EU line items. Hows about an STC for personal electronic devices, only available from one company, nobody else in the industry even knows what the hell the STC is or is for! _A KWS ranger learning to identify individual elephants. Click here. National Air Attack Exclusive Use Aircraft FAA Temp Tower Agreement - Western Service Area (2019-24) SAFECOMs. U.S. Forest Service and Interagency Aviation Publications Forest Service and interagency publications are the primary vehicles by which Forest Service and Interagency policy and standards are transmitted. The administrative bases of the helicopters will be at 48 locations. But it refers to astudy conducted from 2007 to 2009, theNIAC Interagency Aviation Strategy, which concluded that the optimum number of Type 1 helicopters on EU was 34. Publications include manuals, handbooks, standards, guides, plans, and other documents. Do you know anything that can replace the current platforms? No. In 2017 60 percent of the requests were not filled 220 of the 370 that were needed. That means NO helitack, NO rappelers, ONLY flight crew and bucket work. One thing Ive been dealing with, Rep. Mike Simpson said, are the aviation assets of the Forest Service Are we going to have a clear outline for the next 10-year plan for what the Forest Service needs in terms of air assets? Boise, Idaho 83705-5354 Call-When-Needed (CWN) Large Jet Transport, Matthew Olson,Contracting Officer What you all have put out leaves these folks in harms way.you guys ok with that on your souls. How do you Initial Attack (IA ) for forty plus miles from the Four Peaks turn off to the Roosevelt Lake turn off? Publications include manuals, handbooks, standards, guides, plans, and other documents. A lot of the operators that will get pushed out because of this RFP do a lot of irrefutably safe work when fire season peaks, or when resource work is needed, with excellently maintained legacy platforms at great value to the taxpayers., Less than three months after Forest Service Chief Christiansen said the agency was going to release a report shortly about the feasibility of moving to 10-year contracts, they issued a presolicitation for helicopter contracts that guaranteed one year. Give us folks in the field a little credit for the same credit you so richly deserve, Have a fire aviation news tip? Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Your input allows us to recognize outstanding service and also provides a tool to address areas of industry concern. National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) Support Cradlepoint, Inc. (Data Communications Products & Services) PADD20210466. Bill wrote 3 sentences without even putting his opinion in, the overwhelming response is that the only people happy or satisfied with this RFP are the people who wrote it. Kinda like the air tankers. That wind yesterday has me in a sinus pressure headache today. The FS is certainly aware of Mr. Gabbert who has reached out to public affairs folks within the agency on numerous occasions. in the Black Hills between Custer and Hill City and having one of these is a much needed and necessary thing especially given the dead and down Pine and Spruce trees from the Bark Beatle infestation we suffered through. If you knew just one thing about contracting it may help. The single vs twin vs safety argument doesnt have a clear winner unless youre talking about CAT A capable aircraft. Your last sentence is the the nail in the coffin.seeing as that this contract will be LPTA and a year to year option, how do you finance a new a/c that will surely be $2-$4M on the low end? An official website of the United States government. Due Nov 16, 2020. We all understand that. The agency felt the surge helicopters were necessary to mitigate a possible decrease in the effectiveness or numbers of their ground forces engine and hand crews. Thats rarely happened before b/c a) its a lot of $$$ and b) the states also believed that they would get aerial resources when needed, but they got burned by that hope, literallyyou may think you can grab it, but think again in tough times.State will think about State first before sharing the resource.it will get more interesting when France, Spain, Greece and Turkey take these assetssleep well FSyou guys are managing the LATs and Type 1s welltheyll always be there for you.keep up the good workwell done. LockA locked padlock Office: (208) 387-5665 Mobile: (208) 616-5549, NIFC Operations Support Without a federal contract, we cant get carded and without cards, we cant work for the state. As I indicated, Im very interested in more reporting on this from the customer side of the table, IE the USFS as well as industry. It is a wonderful day that the good Lord provided for us allright. Talking to the local authority of that Bush Fire area- depending on the rainfall it will wipe out watersheds roads Bill is pandering to advertisers and we here at FS have so much knowledge we cant be wrong. All the experienced aviation folks leading the latest helo RFP need to know that what youre proposing will lead to less a/c and more accidents/deaths. A 407 isnt a twin, even tho a 407hp will outperform all the above as a type III. Theyre only offering a one-year contract, said Ron Hooper, president of Missoula-based Neptune Aviation. The FS requirements are out of synch with the financial obligations of the companies they want to hire. DO NOT listen to your bosses, DO THE RIGHT thing and pull this RFP back and get it rightMILLIONS of U.S. citizens are expecting that you will. Firewatch Cobra (Bell 209-AH-1) Aerial Supervision Helicopter usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021what core aesthetic are you uquizwhat core aesthetic are you uquiz Much of the defense budget is spent in countries on the other side of the world. Airtankers Publications are distributed through hard copy print, web pages, mobile device applications, and other digital media. Type IIs? October 27, 2021 Forest Service Response: The USFS recognizes the importance of safety recommendation A-10-168 and continues to refine Flight Data Monitoring requirements. Light Operational Loads Monitoring Systems (OLMS) Budget Coordinator Todd more well informed insight here. Just like how the new GM Suburban for Diplomates costs millions of dollars each and the contract went to the one company that can make it. TheAirtanker Modernization Strategydoes not make an independent recommendation on the number of helicopters or air tankers that are needed. That year the FS also reduced the number of Type 1 helicopters on EU contract from 34 to 28 and cancelled a solicitation for up to seven large air tankers, citing a lack of funding. The NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Resource Typing establishes minimum typing standards for aircraft, crews, and equipment for national mobilization to wildland fire incidents. Call-When-Needed (CWN) Airtankers 2.1 |2020 Executive Summary 2 Table 1 - CY 2020 Forest Service Aircraft Fleet Summary Number of Aircraft Helicopters Exclusive Use (EXU) 102 Call When Needed (CWN) 520 Agency Owned 3 Airtankers The FS would gladly issue multi-year contracts (vs. base year + options). A fixed wing air tanker that has to refill at an airport takes much longer. Office: (208) 616-5548 Mobile: (208) 616- 5548, Training Centers Support (Main Contact) Official websites use .gov In 2016 the FS hired 34 Type 1 helicopters but starting in 2017 reduced the number to 28. The USFS cooperates with CAL FIRE, US Department of Interior agencies Bureau of. Posted by on Jun 10, 2022 in iroquois word for warrior | which of the following statements about histograms are true? Large Jet Transport 9-Mar-2021 Source: Fire Aviation. You guys (and gals) should possess enough experience to influence how contracts are conceptualized, and bring some common sense back to the process, Nobody should bid, then when everything is on fire and the USFS comes begging then youd have some leverage on them.. CO Support on all major contract programs (Mobile Food Services, Mobile Showers, Type 2 & 2-IA Crews, Retardant Chemicals), Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) Alternate Focal Point We operate Type III helicopters and are now faced with 40lbs+ of equipment (costing over $60k per aircraft) to meet minimum requirements things that we really dont need like a Traffic Avoidance System (but the ADS-B they required last year isnt good enough) and a loudspeaker (because yelling at the fire helps?). They requested to remain anonymous in order to avoid retribution from the agency. The fleet remained at that level until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 when they added an additional 22 ships for a total of 50. They should change their contract terms should change if theyre forcing companies to buy X aircrafts. Retrain public information officers and media how Wildland Fire works, And listening to and heeding the counsel of competent IA resources would go a long way to regaining the confidence of their employees and the general public-, I will chew on your inquiry and sleep on itget back later to you. A lock ( The Bush fire WAS aggressively IAd, however given the fuel and weather conditions at the time escaped rather quickly. If as you suggest they can choose to not submit a proposal then two things are going to happen: 1) that aircraft will not be part of the AFF fleet next year and 2) you will have less a/c in the future b/c of it. These changes are going to put operators who have worked hard for generations, who have tirelessly jumped through USFS hoops for years out of businessthat is a crappy government thanks, with costly and unnecessary changes as the final slap in the face! Jeffrey McGinley, Associate Branch Chief, Aviation Base model costs 50k where does the rest go??? The Agencys incompetence and self sabotage never fails to amaze. Many of us here may not see the inner workings of The Office but we surely do see the end product of some inept folks or folks in the contract office who may not have the fortitude of researching aviation subjects to inform their leadership. One has to write to the audience who butters their bread! Bill do you have access to USFS decision makers? The obvious answer is same thing the US Military replaced the Hueys with, the Blackhawk. Click here. The U.S. Forest Service has 18 large air tankers on exclusive use (EU) contracts this year. In addition, the federal land management agencies said last year they were going to limit the number of less-than-full-suppression fires and attack new ignitions aggressively. The following links are provided for Interagency Fire Professionals who are tasked with administering contracts issued by our Unit and is provided solely for that purpose and intent. How the five and ten year contracts youre looking at will affect us and benefit us and what we need to put into our budget to so that the Forest Service has the necessary equipment to address these wildfires?, We are studying the question about going to a 10-year contract, what the pros and cons are, Chief Christiansen said. Were nearly complete with that report. Dont blame industry for adding on BS items like loudspeakersFS wants it? 64 2021 National Interagency Mobilization Guide . Website Coordinator Services include, but are not limited to aircraft purchase and sales; maintenance of fleet aircraft; pilot service contracts . All crews have a mixture of men and women totaling 18 to 20 crewmembers. The schedule calls for most of them to begin in April and May. He replied: The existing Call When Needed (CWN) Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) will be utilized for both Type 1 and Type 2 CWN helicopters. Daniels Electronics (Public Safety Communications Products, Services and Solutions) PADD20221183. Rest assured the FS are aware of the concerns from industry, but everyone needs to realize that the FS is the customer. One big caveat to last year is that there will be ZERO dedicated HLCO platforms available as there were last year. Just curious on what you think would have made the difference as the Initial Attack IC? Helicopters also deliver firefighting crews called helitack crews to fires for initial attack. So a one year contract with each additional option year at the discretion of the agency with unreliable congressional funding is not a concept that makes potential vendors feel all warm and fuzzy. Why burn off large amounts of the Superstition Mountains? On the contractor side, if you want to bid on a contract without those things, fine, lets see how important they really are for the mission by whether the FS still go for the low bid or walk the walk and share the expense of upgrades. One vendor said new requirements could reduce the number of helicopters on contract. Meanwhile, the defense of our Homeland gets cut. With this new one-year contract policy, obtaining those funds could be even more difficult. Unmanned Aerial Supervision(UAS) Program, Delphine Arizana, Contract Specialist Typos, let us know, and please keep in mind the commenting ground rules before you post a comment. That has to come from Congress to the FS and DOI Chiefs, and then down to them. Instead of a quick turn around of a week after the invoice closes- the new payment procedure has us waiting the full 30 days. Thank you. How about awarding bid points to the bidders, which convert to costs paid by the organization hiring the aircraft, for those things that a joint committee feels may be potential benefits to the basic mission of air attack or supression missions. Not the news we all are hearing. Click here. Helicopters can often refill with water from a nearby lake or tank, making 5 to 15 minute turnarounds. Today the U.S. Forest Service announced the contract awards for 48 Type 1 helicopters. Financing a new (2000+) aircraft with a one year contract will be the nail in the coffin for most operators considering what they have to sell will get pennies on the dollar. The Aviation Branch supports the acquisition of Airtankers, Helicopters, Light Fixed Wing Aircraft, Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) maintenance, Large Jet Transport and related aviation support including aircraft maintenance, consulting, aircraft purchase, contract pilots and aircraft equipment. I believe the FS had about 6-9 nationally funded HLCO platforms in order to provide aerial supervision to these surge aircraft but this year? There is no cost, and in case you change your mind each email has an unsubscribe button. usfs type 1 helicopter contracts 2021farmington hills police. Vendors do not drive the requirements the customer does. Well, maybe in some locations. They almost seem to be writing rules to make the use of Firefighting Aircraft, impossible . Maybe in talking to a 3rd party lender the FS would learn more about these challenges that industry is facing due to the well intended, but poorly delivered solicitation requirements? Nor is it actually clear to me that is what is happening.