Rapid Fire March 27, 2012: DoD Contracting Officer’s Representative Handbook

• The Pentagon published the Contracting Officer’s Representative Handbook (DoD COR HDBK – PDF) to provide guidance on contract surveillance, ethics, the acquisition process, as well as contract structure, administration, and monitoring. It intends to provide a comprehensive roundup of material found in FAR, DFARS, and other relevant regulation.

• The GAO purchased military-grade electronic parts on the internet through a fictitious company to assess the availability of counterfeit parts from China. They found parts that had been remarked, did not meet milspec, showed more recent dates than the last legit date of production for that part, and other signs of counterfeiting.

• Next Thursday the US Senate Armed Services Committee will consider the nominations of Frank Kendall as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics; Katharina G. McFarland to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition; and Heidi Shyu to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. 2 other undersecretaries and one assistant secretary are also up for nomination during the same hearing.