[C] Runway-light access before award · Construction Exercise Map

Scenario descriptions

The situation, for each audience

Keep the trainer context out of trainee packets and read-aloud materials.

Trainee facing · Read aloud

Current situation

A series of irregular hailstorms last year broke nearly all of Runway 10/28's approach lights. The resulting degraded approach capability is constraining operations, and Airfield Operations (713 AOS) needs the system restored before the next severe-weather season. Because timely completion is exceptionally important and the resulting operational harm would be difficult to price precisely, the proposed order includes FAR 52.211-12 with liquidated damages of $8,500 per calendar day. A $7.35 million fixed-price SABER task order to Outer Heaven Builders, LLC, with Northern Beacon Electric, LLC, as its disclosed airfield-lighting subcontractor, is ready for your award decision. No order or notice to proceed has been issued.

C-01 summarizes an otherwise complete package, and C-03 is the signed purchase request that fully funds the $7.35 million requirement with FY24 Military Construction, Air Force (3300) funds. The file also contains approved scope and design, a Government estimate and price analysis, required clauses, safety and operational coordination, and an accepted employee roster. Security Forces (713 SFS) has approved the named personnel to enter Shadow Moses and its nonrestricted areas.

C-01 describes the construction limits and distinguishes installation entry from the separate work-area permissions administered by Airfield Operations (713 AOS) and Security Forces (713 SFS). Review that record and decide whether to award the package as-is or take a corrective action first.

Trainer only · Do not issue

Facilitator context

Release at Increment 3 before award. Provide C-01 and C-03 initially. Nearly all approach lights were broken by the prior year's irregular hailstorms; this is the operational reason for the compressed NTP-plus-20-day completion period and the $8,500 daily liquidated-damages provision. The package is deliberately complete except for special permission to enter the flightline. Purpose, time, and amount are proper: C-03 certifies $7.35 million of FY24 Military Construction, Air Force (3300) funds, current in FY27 and below the $9 million unspecified-minor-construction ceiling in 10 U.S.C. § 2805(a)(2). Do not introduce technical, funding, price, schedule, bonding, or ordinary base-entry defects. The lesson is whether trainees distinguish access to the installation from access to the location where the work occurs.

The dates are deliberate: trainees review [C] on 20 April before award; C-03 plans a 1 June notice to proceed and 21 June completion; a four-day critical delay moves actual completion and acceptance to 25 June; and [CG] or [CB] is released with the 29 June relief request. The 20 days run from NTP to the contractual completion date rather than from the [C] training increment.

Offer two choices only. Award as-is leads directly to Government-caused [CB]. Holding the award while Airfield Operations (713 AOS) and Security Forces (713 SFS) complete flightline access leads to [CG]. Release the signed C-02 roster only after trainees select that corrective response; it proves that the entire named initial team, including superintendent Avery Stone, received complete, timely access aligned to the work schedule before performance.

Do not ask trainees at [C] to solve backup supervision, conduct, delay notice, or schedule analysis. Those are later [CG]/[CB] administration questions. If trainees offer a superfluous measure, acknowledge it and return immediately to whether the contractor can reach the work location before award.

Trainer clue bank

Regulatory signposts

14 sources

Direct trainees to a citation when they need a narrower clue. Have them apply the contract’s actual clauses, current thresholds, local policy, and the facts before treating any signpost as dispositive.

Trainer route check

Confirm the path before release

Issue before award after [A]/[B] work has begun. Awarding as-is leads to [CB]. Holding award while Airfield Operations (713 AOS) and Security Forces (713 SFS) complete flightline access leads to [CG]. Do not introduce other readiness defects.

What led here

Common mission packet

Where it leads

[CG] Superintendent barred from flightlineIf trainees obtain complete, timely flightline access before award; the later delay is caused by the contractor's superintendent problem.
[CB] Flightline access missingIf trainees award as-is without the location-specific permission; the later delay is Government-caused.

Facilitator note

Offer only the two stated responses. C-01 already supplies the distinction between installation entry and controlled-flightline permission, so do not release C-02 as a clue. If trainees choose to resolve access, state that Airfield Operations (713 AOS) and Security Forces (713 SFS) completed the process, then release the signed C-02 approval and store the [CG] branch. For tangential suggestions, say: 'That may be useful after award, but this decision turns on whether the contractor can reach the place where every task will be performed. Will you award the package as-is, or resolve that access first?'

Release 01

Give initially

2 records

These establish the decision without answering the factual questions trainees should identify.

C-01

Proposed SABER task-order award summary

Consolidates the otherwise complete award package, identifies the controlled-flightline work site, and shows that the personnel approval covers installation entry rather than the separate work-area permission.

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy

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C-03

Certified approach-lighting purchase request

Fully funds the $7.35 million requirement with FY24 Military Construction, Air Force (3300) funds and gives trainees a clean purpose, time, and amount check.

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy

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Release 02 · Oral inject

Trainer addition

4 prompts

Give only after trainees have read and discussed the event. Use it to narrow attention without disclosing the answer.

After trainees have read and discussed the package, ask: ‘Is anything missing from the requirement package?’

If they ask about a document or issue unrelated to flightline access, answer: ‘That item is correct and present in the file. Is anything missing that affects the contractor’s ability to perform this work?’

Once trainees identify flightline access as a concern, have the contractor roleplayer volunteer: ‘We are fine being escorted if that lets us start on schedule.’ Do not ask who will escort them or otherwise reveal the next inquiry.

If trainees accept the proposed escort without investigating who is authorized and available to provide it, treat the access issue as unresolved and use the award-as-is response leading to [CB]. If they ask about escort procedures or coordinate with Airfield Operations (713 AOS), direct them to DAFI 13-213, paragraph 4.23.2; the Airfield Operations roleplayer confirms that Airfield Management does not provide escorts for airfield construction projects. They must establish complete work-area access before award to reach [CG].

Release 03

Give only after trainee prompting

1 record

Use the prompt as a release gate; close-enough trainee questions should count when they seek the same underlying fact.

Prompt / triggerHandoutExercise purpose

PromptRelease only after trainees choose to hold award and work with Airfield Operations (713 AOS) and Security Forces (713 SFS) to complete the missing location-specific access

HandoutC-02
Signed flightline-access approval roster

Draft document availablePDF · 1 page · Editable Word copy

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PurposeConfirms that the named prime and subcontractor personnel, including the onsite superintendent, received controlled-flightline access aligned to the planned work schedule before award and notice to proceed.

Facilitation lens

What a strong analysis should surface

Nearly all approach lights were broken by the previous year's irregular hailstorms. The resulting operational urgency supports the fixed completion date and the exercise's $8,500-per-calendar-day FAR 52.211-12 fill-in; the rate still compensates probable harm rather than punishing delay.
C-01 and C-03 contain everything needed for award except permission to enter the actual work location. Approved installation access does not authorize entry through the controlled flightline gate.
Purpose, time, and amount are proper: C-03 uses $7.35 million of certified FY24 Military Construction, Air Force (3300) funds for an FY27 unspecified-minor-construction project below the $9 million ceiling in 10 U.S.C. § 2805(a)(2).
The meaningful choice is whether to award as-is or work with Airfield Operations (713 AOS) and Security Forces (713 SFS) to complete location-specific access before award.
Release C-02 only after the team chooses to resolve access. The signed approval is the response document showing that the corrective action actually occurred; it is not an initial clue.
The branch is stored until Increment 7: award as-is produces Government-caused [CB]; complete access first produces [CG], where a later contractor personnel problem involving the approved superintendent is analyzed separately.
Chronology: [C] is reviewed before award on 20 April; the planned notice to proceed is 1 June; the contractual completion date is 21 June (NTP + 20 days); either branch creates a four-calendar-day critical-path slip to 25 June; and the contractor's relief request is presented on 29 June. The 20-day period measures performance after NTP, not elapsed time between the [C] and [CG]/[CB] training increments.

Trainer-controlled decision menu

Available response options

2 options

Offer options in plain language and accept equivalent trainee analysis. Do not reveal the assessment labels. Use each availability gate before accepting a contextual response, and use the trainer line to redirect a superfluous answer immediately.

How to run this node: Offer only these two award decisions. Once trainees notice the flightline-access issue, the contractor roleplayer volunteers that the crew is willing to be escorted. Treat an unexamined acceptance of that proposal as unresolved access and route it through C1. If trainees investigate escort authority or coordinate with Airfield Operations, use DAFI 13-213, paragraph 4.23.2, and let them determine that Airfield Management will not provide construction escorts.

C1Weak

Award the task order as-is because approved installation access—or the contractor's willingness to be escorted—is sufficient.

Available when: Initially available; also use if trainees accept the proposed escort without establishing an authorized, available escort source
Trainer line: “Base entry would be enough for nonrestricted work, but every task lies beyond the controlled flightline gate. DAFI 13-213, paragraph 4.23.2, states that Airfield Management does not provide escorts for airfield construction projects. Awarding without actual work-area authorization or a valid escort plan leaves the Government unable to provide access to the specified site.”
Leads next: Award as-is -> [CB] at Increment 7, where the missing flightline authorization causes a Government-caused delay.

C2Strong

Hold the award and work with Airfield Operations (713 AOS) and Security Forces (713 SFS) to grant the required flightline access first.

Available when: Initially available; release signed C-02 after this response is selected
Trainer line: “Because you distinguished installation entry from location-specific flightline permission, C-02 confirms that the entire named contractor team receives complete timely access aligned to the work schedule before performance.”
Leads next: Release C-02, then store [CG] for Increment 7, where Airfield Operations later bars approved superintendent Avery Stone after misconduct; that is a separate contractor-caused event.