DOD announced this new competition in the Commerce Business Daily in June 1997. However, DOD provided adequate notice of its interest in identifying improved chemical protective materials through three different mechanisms. DOD tested 57 material combinations, submitted by 13 companies, in the JSLIST program. However, reliance on informal communications—common in a research and development environment—resulted in some companies getting different information about deadlines for material submissions. Outside of the research and development programs, a company submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Marine Corps for an improved chemical defense material. The company had developed this improved material after its initial submission to the MCLIST program. However, the subsequent annual report to Congress, issued in February 1998, did not address the issue of qualifying additional sources of supply. The addendum cited DOD’s ongoing pre-planned product improvement program as a potential mechanism for identifying additional sources of supply for the requirements that were not achieved in the JSLIST program. Conclusions

Because the MCLIST program and the Army’s exploratory development efforts—which ultimately became the JSLIST program—were research and development activities, they were not subject to the same procedural requirements that apply to acquisition programs. In this context, we believe that the MCLIST and JSLIST programs were conducted fairly. DOD provided industry adequate notice of the government’s interest in improved chemical defense garment materials and sufficient opportunity to participate in the programs. The basic requirement for a lightweight, less bulky overgarment that could be reused after laundering did not change in the transition from MCLIST to JSLIST, although each service added certain unique requirements. Although the informal nature of communications that characterizes the research and development environment may have contributed to a missed opportunity for DOD to evaluate the complainant’s improved chemical defense garment material, the Marine Corps’ rejection of the unsolicited proposal was consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation governing such proposals. Scope and Methodology

To determine whether DOD provided sufficient notice to industry of its interest in new chemical defense materials and industry had sufficient opportunity to participate in the MCLIST demonstration, the Army’s exploratory development effort, and the JSLIST program, we obtained and analyzed Broad Agency Announcements and information about DOD’s formal and informal communications with industry regarding the programs. To report on DOD’s response to the congressional reporting requirement in the Fiscal Year 1998 National Defense Authorization Act conference report, we interviewed officials at the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs and the Marine Corps Systems Command. We did not attempt to assess the accuracy of the JSLIST test results or determine whether the outcome of the JSLIST program would have differed if additional chemical defense materials had been evaluated. Marine Corps fielded Saratoga suits. Deadline for submissions to Army demonstration program.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Department of Defense's (DOD) research and development programs for improved chemical defense garment materials for U.S. armed forces, focusing on whether DOD: (1) provided sufficient notice to industry of the government's interest in identifying improved chemical defense materials; (2) provided industry sufficient opportunity to participate in the programs; (3) changed requirements in the transition of the Marine Corps Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (MCLIST) program to the Joint Service Lightweight Integrated Suit Technology (JSLIST) program; and (4) responded to a congressional reporting requirement concerning sources of supply for the military's chemical defense materials.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) because the MCLIST program and the Army's exploratory development efforts--which ultimately became the JSLIST program--were research and development activities, they were not subject to the same procedural requirements that apply to acquisition programs; (2) in this research and development context, DOD provided sufficient notice to industry of its interest in improved chemical defense materials through market research, direct industry contacts, ongoing exploratory development projects, and Broad Agency Announcement notices published in the Commerce Business Daily; (3) DOD provided industry an adequate opportunity to participate in the research and development programs; (4) on the basis of the notice DOD provided to industry, a total of 57 material combinations, submitted by 13 companies, were evaluated in JSLIST after initial testing in MCLIST and the Army demonstration; (5) however, reliance on informal communications resulted in companies receiving different information about submission deadlines to MCLIST and the Army programs; (6) due in part to the lack of formal communications regarding deadlines of material submissions, the complainant company did not get an improved material into JSLIST for evaluation; (7) the complainant company, which already had one material in the MCLIST demonstration, submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Marine Corps for an improved chemical defense material after entry into MCLIST was closed; (8) the Marine Corps rejected the proposal in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation because the material duplicated an existing Marine Corps effort; (9) GAO could not determine whether the outcome of JSLIST would have differed if this material had been assessed; (10) the basic requirements for a lightweight, launderable, chemical protective garment did not change in the transition from MCLIST to JSLIST; (11) however, the individual military services added certain mission-specific requirements under JSLIST; (12) DOD overlooked the congressional reporting requirement in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 conference report; and (13) a May 1998 addendum to DOD's February 1998 Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Annual report to Congress stated that the preplanned product improvement program might identify additional sources of supply to meet those requirements that were not achieved in the JSLIST program.