Jacobs Engineering Group Inc was recently awarded a contract with a ceiling of $157 million for Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance ( SETA ) support to PEO Soldier. The contract has a one base year and two one-year extension options.
SETA contracts are the life blood of many beltway contracting firms as well as their Government (primarily DoD) clients. Much of the day-to-day work in R&D and acquisition organizations which does not require decision making is accomplished by SETA contractors. Additionally, many SETA primes provide specialized expertise or rely on other subcontractors for this service.
The system may seem bloated and wasteful to some but it allows a Government organization to bring in experts for short periods of time to complete projects without bringing them on the payroll full time or letting a new contract each time a new project begins. Rather, a task order is issued to the SETA contractor and they work out the details with the Government client and line up the proper support team for the project. It’s actually both quick and efficient and allows the team to change dynamically as situations arise. Such Government-SETA contracts have allowed organizations such as the Rapid Equipping Force and PEO Soldier to deal so swiftly with ad hoc requirements from the field.
However, the relationship with SETA contractors has changed along with the current defense budget environment and they have become more streamlined. Take for example PEO Soldier itself. Working with Army Material Command, PEO Soldier was able to identify redundancies in support and with little fanfare transitioned to a smaller contractor footprint. Gone are the days of the Haymarket building filled with contractors. Yet, support to the Soldier hasn’t suffered.
PEO Soldier and other DoD organizations will continue to rely on SETA and other types of contractors. Remember, they offer a cost effective means for the Government to dynamically grow and shrink the work force without growing the size of the Government payroll itself.