Department of Veterans Affairs VA Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) Wound Ballistic Testing Workshop Request for Information (RFI) THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This is not a solicitation and there will be no resulting contract/ order as a direct result of this RFI. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government. A. BACKGROUND: The Veterans Affairs (VA) Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC) plans to conduct a Wound Ballistic Testing Workshop to gather pertinent data to determine whether to continue with the limited selection of current authorized duty round(s) or to permit the procurement and use of replacement duty round by VA Law Enforcement Personnel. B. TESTING/ SPECIFICATIONS: In order to ensure an extensive ammunition sample set for the ballistics testing, VA LETC is requesting interest from ammunition manufacturers that wish to submit and provide respective ammunition examples. Ammunition samples provided will be tested in accordance with FBI wound ballistic testing protocols through the specific duty weapon platforms available to VA Law Enforcement Personnel. Ammunition samples proposed and provided by manufacturers for testing should meet the following specifications: 1. Ammunition will be 9x19, 9mm Luger Caliber 2. Ammunition must be 124gr hollow point duty ammunition designed for law enforcement use. 3. Ammunition must be factory fresh newly manufactured (no reloads). 4. Ammunition can be Plus-P (+P) or Bonded configuration if available. The VA LETC is planning a controlled test of the ammunition samples by firing into an ordinance gelatin block through the following current authorized duty weapons: 1. Beretta 92D Centurion with a 4.3 inch barrel 2. Sig 229 DAK with a 3.9 inch barrel 3. Sig 239 DAK with a 3.6 inch barrel Manufacturers interested in providing sample ammunition for the Wound Ballistic Testing Workshop must be capable of providing and delivering one (1) 50-round box of proposed ammunition meeting the specifications provided above within 10 business days of the determined and announced testing date to: VA Law Enforcement Training Center, Bldg #8 2200 Fort Roots Drive North Little Rock, AR 72114. The costs associated with the provision and shipping of the sample ammunition shall be borne by the submitter. Each submitter will be required to acknowledge that (1) the sample is being offered without expectation of payment, and (2) submitter waives any future pay claims against the government. Submission of an ammunition sample in no way guarantees said ammunition will be added to the list of approved/ authorized duty rounds. All test results are subject to interpretation by VA Law Enforcement Training Center Testers. While VA has no intention to formally publish the test results, these results will be made available to manufacturers or Law Enforcement Agencies that request a copy. Note that no ammunition shall be delivered prior to prequalifying per the instructions below and before receiving communication regarding the Government's assessment and acceptance of the proposed sample ammunition. C. PREQUALIFICATION PROCESS: Manufacturers interested in providing a sample box of ammunition for the workshop should complete the attached "Prequalification Form" and email to Allen Smith at
[email protected] prior to March 21, 2014 3:00PM ET. Upon receipt of the Prequalification Form, the Government will review the proposed sample to ensure it meets the ammunition specifications above and will provide notice to each submitter indication whether the proposed ammunition sample is acceptable for the workshop along with rationale if the sample is rejected. If VA accepts the proposed ammunition sample as adequate for the purposes of the Ballistics Testing Workshop, it will provide specific details regarding the dates of the workshop and any additional shipping instructions to the submitter. Questions regarding this Request for Information should be emailed to
[email protected] before the closing date of March 21, 2014. Attachments: Attachment A: Prequalification Form Attachment B: Test Protocol