United States Combatant Commands: Priorities and Future Business

The Department of Defense has ten combatant commands that either cover a functional or geographic mission in order to provide effective command and control for U.S. military forces. The ten Combatant Command consist of Africa Command, Central Command, European Command, Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, Southern Command, Cyber Command, Special Operations Command, Strategic Command, and Transportation Command. Six of the aforementioned commands operate on a geographical basis and four operate on a functional basis.  Each combatant command is led by a combatant commander (CCDR), who is either a four-star general or admiral.

United States Transportation Command

The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) operates on a functional mission upon a global level. The command responsibilities focus areas consist of sea, air, and land transportation for the Department of Defense, to include globally integrated mobility operations. USTRANSOM has three component commands: Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), Army’s Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), and Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC). In addition, USTRANSCOM also has two subordinate commands: the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command (JECC) and the Joint Transportation Reserve Unit (JTRU). Command priorities include:

• Warfighting Readiness
• Cyber Domain Mission Assurance
• Evolve for Tomorrow
• Data Culture, Cloud Computing and IT Portfolio Optimization
• Take Care of the Troops

Analyzing spending data from FY16 through FY18 gives further insight into USTRANSCOM spending trends. The command has seen somewhat consistent spending over the past three fiscal years, only with a slight dip in spending in FY17. The total reported spending is as follows: FY16 with around $207M, FY17 with approximately $193M, and FY18 with roughly $227M. Thus far in FY19, the spending to date is reported at around $171M. If the FY19 spending continues at this rate throughout the remainder of the fiscal year, spending should result in a similar, if not increased, total compared to past years reporting.

Information technology and professional services make up the majority of categorical spending for the command, accounting for roughly 98% of spending from FY16 through FY18. Interestingly, spending within these two categories have seen a reversal in trends over the past three fiscal years. Information technology has encountered a decrease in spending by more than 50%, while professional services has seen an increase in spending with over 200% within this timeframe.

USTRANSCOM contract vehicle spending accounts for roughly 60% of spending from FY16 to FY18. The top three vehicles are GSA 00CORPS PSS Schedule, GSA IT Schedule 70, and ENCORE II, which make up approximately 68% of the vehicle spending within the same timeframe. Reported spending for GSA OOCORPS PSS and ENCORE II has remained consistent, while GSA IT Schedule 70 saw a decrease of around 70% from FY17 to FY18.

United States Special Operations Command

The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) also performs on a functional basis and its mission revolves around conducting global special operations. USSOCOM consists of four component commands: United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), United States Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), and United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC). USSOCOM also has eight subordinate commands; seven commands are based on a geographical basis with the eighth being Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Command priorities and activities include:

• Counterterrorism
• Counterinsurgency
• Hostage Rescue and Recovery
• Special Reconnaissance
• Unconventional Warfare
• Foreign Internal Defense

From FY16 through FY18, total USSOCOM spending has remained steady with slightly over $3B per fiscal year; however, the command did see a slight drop in percentage from FY16 to FY17 of around 5.8% with an increase in percentage from FY17 to FY18 of about 14.9%. Spending in FY19 so far is reported at approximately $1.2B, but should increase throughout the remainder of the fiscal year and through the FY19 Q4 push.

The top three USSOCOM NAICS by spending from FY16 to FY18 are: 561990, 541519, and 541330. These NAICS make up approximately 39% of total command spending within this same timeframe. However, over 300 unique NAICS codes are represented within the data.

Contract vehicle spending for USSOCOM accounts for roughly 37% of total spending from FY16 to FY18. The top three contract vehicles in FY18 by spending are: GSA Alliant F&O, T-REX, and SEWP V.  Alliant F&O accounted for around 12%, T-REX with approximately 11%, and SEWP V at approximately 10% of vehicle spending in FY18. Some other utilized vehicles are SWMS Group A, SWMS Group B, and GSA IT Schedule 70.

Unites States Southern Command

The Unites States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is a geographically based command with an area of responsibility encompassing thirty-one countries and sixteen territories within Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. SOUTHCOM is comprised of five component commands: U.S Army South (ARSOUTH), Air Forces Southern (AFSOUTH), U.S. Marine Forces South (USMARFORSOUTH), U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command / 4th Fleet ((USNAVSO/FOURTHFLT), and Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH). There are also three subordinate task forces for the command: Joint Task Force Bravo, Joint Task Force Guantanamo, and Joint Interagency Task Force South. SOUTHCOM Command priorities include:

• Foreign Disaster Relief
• Building Partner Capacity
• Human Rights
• Humanitarian Assistance
• Counter Transnational Criminal Organizations

Through past trends, we have seen spending under SOUTHCOM primarily at the component command levels, partly due to the geographical nature of the command and lack of direct contracting activities. Over the past three fiscal years, the highest amount directly obligated to the command equaled around $2M in FY17.

GovWin has identified approximately $332M in upcoming SOUTHCOM opportunities in the Forecast-RFP and Pre-RFP Phases. Of these upcoming opportunities, NAICS codes 561210 and 541611 account for around 22% of the reported data. Other represented NAICS are 541990, 519190 and 611430.

From FY16 to FY18, Deltek has identified approximately $93M in total awarded opportunities directly from the command or through other agencies. Of the $93M, approximately 48% was awarded under a small business set-aside and 25% under full and open competition. In addition, professional services and information technology were the top two categories and made up roughly 56% and 35% of awarded dollars, respectively.

In GovWin, we are currently tracking approximately 162 combatant command opportunities in GovWin.  The table below are some of our high visible and high valued opportunities in our pipeline:

Opp ID	Program Name	Status	Value ($K)	NAICS	Combatant Command
168272	SOF CORE SERVICES SUPPORT FORMERLY SWMS (SCSS)	Pre-RFP	900,000	541611	USSOCOM
116804	LINGUIST AND TRANSLATOR SUPPORT FOR USSOCOM	Forecast Pre-RFP	*639,375	541930	USSOCOM
156848	JOINT GEOSPATIAL ANALYTIC SUPPORT SERVICES (JGASS)	Forecast Pre-RFP	*223,652	541990	USSOCOM
109835	SPECIAL OPERATIONS AVIATION SPECIALIZED SUPPORT SERVICES (SOA-S3)	Forecast Pre-RFP	*250,000	611512	USSOCOM
150237	TARGETED REQUIREMENT EXECUTION (T-REX)	Forecast Pre-RFP	*750,000	339999	USSOCOM
171386	NEXT GENERATION DELIVERY SERVICE (NGDS)	Forecast Pre-RFP	*4,900,313	492110	USTRANSCOM
176557	TRANSAFRICA AIRLIFT SUPPORT CONTRACT (TASC)	Forecast Pre-RFP	*2,208,474	481211	USTRANSCOM
141557	ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE DATA AND ENGINEERING (EADE)	Pre-RFP	500,000	541512	USTRANSCOM
145932	US SOUTHERN COMMAND ENTERPRISE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES SUPPORT CONTRACT (USSOUTHCOM EITCSSC)	Forecast Pre-RFP	*283,224	541513	SOUTHCOM

*Deltek estimate and these values are subject to change.

Brief COCOMs Information/Need to Know

Established in 2008, USAFRICOM’s core mission is to help African nations, the African Union and regional security organizations to prevent and mitigate conflicts, neutralize threats and strengthen their own defense capabilities. The Area of Responsibility for USAFRICOM covers every country in Africa except for Egypt (part of USCENTCOM).

Founded in 1983, USCENTCOM has an area of responsibility which includes the Middle East, Egypt, and Central Asia. USCENTCOM has one of the biggest challenge of the COCOMs due to American military operations that have taken place in the area over the last few decades. The USCENTCOM region is among the least secure and stable places of the world as a result of hostile relationships among neighboring states and widespread ethnic and sectarian struggles.

As the newest combatant command, created in May 4, 2018, USCYBERCOM directs, synchronizes, and coordinates cyberspace planning and operations in defense of the U.S. and its interests.

Formed post-World War II, USEUCOM covers all of Europe, as well as some parts of the Middle East. The USEUCOM builds military relationships with our European allies to better support combat and counterinsurgency operations, cybersecurity and logistics.

The oldest and largest combatant command, the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) covers roughly half of the Earth’s surface, stretching from the waters of the west coast of the US to the west of India, and from the Arctic to the Antarctica. This area covers the world’s most populous nation in the world (China), the largest democracy in the world (India), and the largest Muslim-majority nation (Indonesia). In addition, this area includes the world’s busiest international sea lanes and home to five nuclear armed nations. Previously, this combatant command was known as the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since it’s founding, but the command was renamed to the current USINDOPACOM on May 30, 2018, in recognition of the US’s alliance with India.

Created on April 25, 2002 following the September 11 attacks, the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is a combatant command of the US military tasked with conducting homeland defense, civil support, and security cooperation to defend and secure the United States and its national interests. USNORTHCOM’s Area of Responsibility (AOR) includes air, land and sea approaches and encompasses the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, and the surrounding water out to approximately 500 nautical miles (930 km). It also includes the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, and portions of the Caribbean region to include the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Some of the missions of the USNORTHCOM include conducting operations to deter, prevent, and defeat threats and aggression aimed at the United States, its territories, and interests within the assigned area of responsibility and provide military assistance to non-military authorities including consequence management operations.

Lastly, the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is responsible for the command of U.S. nuclear capabilities, space and cyberspace operations, joint electronic warfare, global surveillance and reconnaissance, intelligence, global missile defense, and combatting weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The mission of USSTRATCOM is to deter strategic attack and employ forces, as directed, to guarantee the security of our Nation and our Allies.

Here are some additional upcoming combatant command opportunities identified in GovWin:

Opp ID	Program Name	Status	Value ($K)	NAICS	Combatant Command
172486	USCENTCOM C4 ENTERPRISE SUPPORT (C4ES)	Forecast Pre-RFP	*620,588	541512	USCENTCOM
134410	PROGRAM MANAGEMENT ENGINEERING ACQUISITION SUPPORT (PMEAS III)	Pre-RFP	*93,273	541990	USSTRATCOM
172583	CHEMICAL BIOLOGICAL RADIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR RESPONSE AND TRAINING (CBRN)	Pre-RFP	*25,725	611710	USNORTHCOM
99308	GEOLOCATION WORLDWIDE II	Pre-RFP	*14,981	517919	USSTRATCOM
157586	INTEGRATED TACTICAL WARNING AND ATTACK ASSESSMENT SIMULATION SUPPORT (ITW/AA)	Forecast Pre-RFP	*10,085	541512	USSTRATCOM

*Deltek estimate and these values are subject to change.

Due to the strategic nature of the combatant commands to the importance of national security and defense initiatives, the commands are likely to retain a visible role in US defense policy.  Changes in international affairs and US policy may influence individual command priorities, programs, and future related requirements. However, the combatant commands should continue to offer a wide range of potential opportunities for interested vendors.