The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has upheld the U.S. Army’s decision to award a $12.8 million communications support contract to Vistra Communications LLC, denying a protest filed by Revolve Solutions LLC.
In a decision dated June 3 and released Thursday, the GAO concluded that the Army acted reasonably in rejecting Revolve’s proposal, citing a lack of sufficient detail on how the company intended to meet the contract’s performance requirements.
Revolve Solutions, a Virginia-based firm, had challenged the Army’s technical evaluation after its proposal was deemed inadequate in comparison to Florida-based Vistra Communications’ submission. The Army found that Revolve’s proposal, while referencing the experience of its personnel and available resources, failed to explain how specific tasks—such as news and social media monitoring, daily digests, monthly reports, communications plans, and event support—would be executed.
According to the GAO, the Army’s request for proposals clearly instructed bidders to detail how all performance work statement (PWS) requirements would be fulfilled. Revolve’s submission did not meet this standard, leaving key performance strategies vague or implied.
“The proposal requires the reader to infer the connection between Revolve’s general processes and capabilities and the specific duties to be performed,” the GAO noted in its decision. “Because the RFP required offerors to demonstrate specifically how their proposals would accomplish the complexity and magnitude of the requirement, we have no basis to object to the evaluation.”
The protest was reviewed by GAO attorneys Todd C. Culliton and Tania Calhoun.
Revolve was represented by Douglas P. Hibshman, Dana Molinari, and David O’Neill of Fox Rothschild LLP. Vistra was represented by Ambika J. Biggs, William L. Walsh, and Allison P. Klena of Hirschler Fleischer PC. The Army’s legal team included Robert B. Neill, Sean Zehtab, and Angela M. Fortier.
