(Defense Logistics) Agency extends contract for firm that hired its former director

Agency extends contract for firm that hired its former director
By Walter Pincus
Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Defense Logistics Agency has extended without competitive bidding a $4 billion food-supply contract to a company whose top officials include a retired lieutenant general who commanded the agency just over two years ago.

In an announcement, the DLA said it had granted a two-year contract extension to Supreme Foodservice to supply food to U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan. It said the extension was "required in order to maintain continuous prime vendor coverage and uninterrupted supply of vitally needed subsistence items."

In March, the agency announced plans to rebid the Afghan food contract for up to five years but never put out a bid proposal. In announcing the extension, the agency redacted an explanation for the delay, although the uncertainty about troop levels may have been a factor.

The DLA said in a statement that a new proposal "is still in development" and that the agency had "determined that the follow on procurement may take two years to be awarded."

Supreme Foodservice is part of Supreme Group, a global logistics services company that was founded in 1957 by a former U.S. soldier and that is now headquartered in Amsterdam. It has held the Afghan food contract since 2005.