GAO upholds protests of Army truck pact

The Government Accountability Office on Monday upheld protests filed by the two losing bidders of a contested Army truck contract won by Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corp. and urged Army officials to re-evaluate the three proposals for the five-year deal, whose price tag could total as much as $3 billion.

In a summary of its decision, GAO determined the Army's evaluation process of bidders competing for the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles program was flawed with regard to both Oshkosh's proposal and past performance of Navistar Defense LLC, a unit of Navistar International Corp. BAE Systems, the incumbent contractor for the truck program, was the other losing bidder.

But, as is typical of protest decisions, GAO also denied a number of Navistar's and BAE's challenges to the award of the FMTV contract, including questions about the Army's evaluation of Oshkosh's price.

Nonetheless, GAO urged the Army to issue a new decision on the program after reviewing the proposals again and re-evaluating Navistar's past performance.

"We also recommend that if, at the conclusion of the re-evaluation, Oshkosh is not found to offer the best value, the agency should terminate Oshkosh's contract for the convenience of the government," according to a statement from Michael Golden, GAO's managing associate general counsel for procurement.

Bob Murphy, president of BAE Systems Land & Armaments group, said the firm is pleased with GAO's acknowledgement of one of the key points the firm raised in its protest. "We look forward to reviewing the full GAO report and its recommendations so we can fully consider the implications for our business and our options for moving forward," he said.

BAE Systems has long built the Army trucks at its facility in Sealy, Texas. A coalition of Texas lawmakers and other officials have said the program has contributed $500 million annually to the state economy and warned that losing the contract will cost the Sealy area 3,000 jobs.

"Today's decision by the GAO confirms that the Army's decision to strip thousands of jobs from Texas was flawed and misguided," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "I call on the Army to quickly implement the GAO's recommended course of action."

Navistar Defense President Archie Massicotte said the firm appreciates the time and effort GAO invested in the review of the FMTV competition and "will wait for further direction from the Army regarding what may be required of us moving forward."

Oshkosh expressed confidence that it would ultimately keep the contract. "We believe that when these narrow issues are reconsidered, the Army's decision to award Oshkosh Corporation the FMTV contract will be maintained," said Oshkosh CEO Robert Bohn.

By law, the Army has 60 days to inform GAO about its plans for the program.

"We are aware of the GAO's recommendations and Army leaders are reviewing them at this time," an Army spokesman said.