DISA sends mixed signals on combatant command network migration

DISA appears to be sending mixed signals about how it wants to transition the IT infrastructure for the combatant commands to the DODNet.

The agency has issued two requests for information in the wake of a protest of the first plan that would DISA add the combatant commands to the $11 billion Enclave contract held by Leidos.

Under Enclave, Leidos is moving the Pentagon’s 22 administrative and support agencies to DODNet.

When Defense CIO Kirsten Davies ordered that the combatant commands also move to DODNet, DISA added the work to Enclave. General Dynamics IT objected by challenging the justification document that DISA issued.

The company argued that DISA failed to conduct new market research, conduct a pricing determination, and didn’t describe how it planned to remove barriers to future competitions.

After the protest, DISA agreed in late July to pull the combatant command work off Enclave and began taking steps to address GDIT’s complaints.

On July 27, it issued a sources sought notice that addressed the market research shortcomings GDIT tagged.

Comments on that notice were due Aug. 4, giving respondents about eight days to comment.

A second RFI was issued Aug. 27, with a due date of Aug. 28.

That quick turnaround raised some eyebrows, a source told us. The one-day comment period conveys a sense of urgency that wasn’t well communicated when DISA first tried to add the combatant commands to Enclave.

But the sources sought notice simultaneously convey DISA’s desire to “get it right,” the source said.

For example, in the Aug. 27 sources sought notice, DISA wants respondents to provide three things:

• Examples of migrations that involved at least 20 locations and 12,000 users.
• Examples of automated migrations from legacy endpoint tools to modern device management with a Defense Department environment.
• Explain how to handle training and adoption for an accelerated rollout across geographically dispersed locations.

Taken together the three asks indicate that DISA realizes the complexity of migrating the combatant commands. The second notice also sets a high bar for entry. There are only a few companies with the enterprise IT experience and DOD expertise to provide the examples DISA asked for.

The question remains of whether DISA will go forward with a new competition.

When DISA tried to add the combatant commands to Enclave, the agency was dinged for its poor market research work.

On one hand, you can look at the two notices and argue that DISA is laying the groundwork for a new justification document to add the combatant commands to Enclave.

But when you set that history aside, you see an agency developing a new contract with a full and open competition.

Right now, both scenarios are possible.

DISA does have some deadlines approaching. The CIO’s May memo asked for a plan by the end of August, so news of that could trickle out in the next few weeks.

The sources sought notices also say they want the migration work completed by the end of fiscal 2028.

DISA can still reach that deadline with a full-and-open competition if it uses streamlined acquisition processes.

What could tip the answer one way or the other is how the CIO responds to DISA’s plan and whether the combatant commands are fully on board with that plan. Some questions have been raised about that.

The top thing to watch for in the short term is DISA’s plan and briefing with the CIO. If it hasn’t happened yet, it is about to.

The deadline for DISA’s plan and a briefing with the CIO has passed, according to the CIO memo. If the briefing hasn’t happened yet, it is about to. From there we’ll watch for signs of whether this will be a new competition or its back to justification document and an expansion of Enclave.