2022 Q2 REPORT PTS NEWSLETTER

Six months into 2022, the year has already seen major historical events. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine focused NATO and the world on Europe’s Eastern front, with neither side in the conflict looking to relent. The situation forces the rest of the world to choose a side amidst increasingly tense diplomacy. COVID-19 lurks in the background, with new strains keeping it in the news cycle. The Chinese government locked down Shanghai and other cities disrupting production and the global supply chain. Afghanistan faces humanitarian crises from food insecurity to natural disasters. In the business world, companies struggle to find the right balance between in-person, hybrid, and remote environments. Candidates seem to hold all the power in a post-COVID workplace as many companies offer to keep the status quo created during the pandemic. All these events and industry-related changes bring new challenges and opportunities to Government Contractors.

**INDUSTRY TRENDS **

UKRAINE - has held out for over four months and continues battling Russia on the Eastern front. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, many Western analysts expected Kyiv to fall within 48 hours. Putin’s failure to score a quick win created what has become a protracted conflict. Western countries including the NATO block have provided extensive support to Ukraine with lethal and non-lethal aid, financial donations, and media campaigns. Countries are being encouraged to spend more on defense, as the European states look to shore up its capabilities. The U.S. continues to support Ukraine by providing similar assistance to that of its European counterparts along with tranches of intelligence. U.S. officials warned of Russian cyber attacks with long-reaching consequences to Ukraine and its allies. In response to the invasion of Ukraine and heightened tensions with Russia, the U.S. strengthened its posture in Europe. President Biden announced a permanent army headquarters will be created in Poland, while new US warships will go to Spain, fighter jets to the UK, and ground troops to Romania. The new plan will mean more than 300,000 troops at high readiness next year, up from the current level of 40,000. PTS continues to monitor contracts related to the conflict. GSA’s VEMOS, APS, DLITE, BOSS, LOGCAP, NSPA and USAID are expected to offer the most business opportunities for providing lethal and non-lethal aid, base life support, and advisory services.

AFGHANISTAN - continues to face the consequences of a chaotic NATO exit last August. The abrupt departure drastically altered the contracting environment leaving few governments and companies able to provide regional stability. Afghan women and minorities face the brunt of the effects. The Taliban rules with an iron fist while failing to uphold any semblance of human rights. Most countries continue to keep the Taliban government at arm’s length. A recent natural disaster brought USAID into the mix. The U.S. pledged humanitarian aid rather than financial support. Although anti-Taliban resistance is scarce, several small groups in Afghanistan publicly denounced the Taliban and stated their willingness to take up arms. Roughly a year after the Taliban’s takeover, the country continues a downward spiral of poverty, food insecurity, social repression, and general instability. It is yet to be clear how the contracting world will be able to engage the increasingly desperate situation within Afghanistan.

IRAQ - continues to be a focus of U.S. stabilization efforts in the Middle East with a force supporting the U.S. diplomatic presence and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Frequent attacks occur in the Iraqi Kurdistan region including oil and gas infrastructure. Stabilization efforts include supporting the Iraqi Parliament’s work to create a unified government. October of 2021, the Iraqi Parliament held elections, and eight months later it has yet to form a new government. For months, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr negotiated with Sunni and Kurdish leaders. In June, talks of forming a new government broke down over who would be president. Prior to these events, the Iraqi parliament passed legislation criminalizing normal relations with Israel. Political and security concerns continue to make for an uncertain future in the country’s relations with the U.S. Government.

**COVID-19 **

COVID-19 Moved to the backburner following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many health experts believe the virus has shifted phases from pandemic to endemic with countries adjusting accordingly. Europe and the U.S. lessened travel restrictions. Airline passengers are no longer required to wear a mask; however, they may be asked to verify vaccination status or provide a negative test. Cases continue to fluctuate as Omicron and new strains enter the fold. While Government’s lessen restrictions and open public access to shared spaces, the private sector is debating how it will handle the return-to-work possibility.

**GREAT TALENT MIGRATION **

Continues to make waves with COVID-19 taking a lesser role in candidates’ decision-making process. The war in Ukraine and China’s COVID-19 lock down led to an economic downturn. Inflation and a disrupted supply chain continue to plague the workforce. Candidates rely more on openings where they’ll be able to stay home rather than commute to work. Companies which seek to return to pre - 2020 working environment will be forced to provide higher compensation to compete with rivals adapting to the hybrid and remote lifestyles. Six months into 2022 has proven candidates hold the advantage with companies competing for the best talent in a tight market.

**MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS **

Are in full swing with several industry leading contractors making waves. Carlyle, a DC based global investment firm, launched an all-cash deal of roughly $4.2 billion to purchase ManTech International. Within the intelligence space, Parsons Corporation acquired Xator Corporation in a transaction valued at $400 million. Xator expands Parsons’ customer base and brings differentiated technical capabilities in critical infrastructure protection, counter-unmanned aircraft systems, intelligence and cyber solutions, biometrics, and global threat assessment and operations. Shareholders at Vectrus approved the company’s proposed combination with Vertex Inc. Both parties expect the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2022. The combined entity will adopt the name V2X. As more companies move towards IT Services, KBR, Inc. acquired UK-based digital transformation solutions company VIMA Group for up to GBP £75 million. VIMA Group’s areas of expertise include consulting, procurement, project and risk management, digital transformation and more. Precision Talent Solutions remains well positioned to support new ventures and mergers between industry leading contractors.

**MAJOR PROGRAM UPDATES **

LOGCAP V - PTS holds extensive experience supporting LOGCAP operations. Our team monitors opportunities as LOGCAP V comes into play. February 22-23, the U.S. Army Sustainment Command, U.S. Army Mission and Contracting Command, and U.S. Army Contracting Command; the U.S. Army Contracting Command-Rock Island senior contracting official; and the four LOGCAP Primes’ corporate leadership, held a forum to review LOGCAP operations. Vectrus, KBR, PAE-Parsons, and Fluor market their continued success with LOGCAP V. Chuck Prow, CEO of Vectrus, attributed a 5.2 percent year- over-year growth in the company’s fiscal 2022 first-quarter revenue partly to its continued phase-in work under the LOGCAP V. KBR has been expanding support to the US Army in Eastern Europe due to the Ukraine conflict. INDOPACOM is now completely transitioned with Vectrus being fully operational in the Marshall Islands.

DiPSS - Following the Site Visit to Baghdad Embassy Compound in Q1, the primes are bracing for the final RFP for the Operations & Maintenance and the Life Support Services for the US Diplomatic mission. The DoS is also relooking the Small Business awards under the original solicitation. PTS has supported DoS/OBO talent requirements for years and has cleared leadership and technical talent for all Embassy programs.

AFCAP - PTS boasts a strong pipeline of Cleared AFCAP talent including engineers, logistics, and BOSS. The recompete phase from AFCAP IV to V is complete with over 50 Task Orders competed and awarded under the new generation of the contract. While most of the incumbents retained their programs under likely different economics, there have been a few notable changes with PAE-Pereni PAE winning Qatar engineering task order and IAP/RMS winning DFAC at Al Udied.

USAID - PTS holds extensive experience working with the current and NextGen Global Health Supply Chain (GHSC) and other USAID programs. We maintain a wide range of talent stretching across this growing sector. NextGen, will be worth a total of about $17 billion structuring the agency’s procurement and distribution of global health commodities to dozens of countries.

DLA - Our founders led one of the multi-commodity TLS contractors with DLA for ten years, so we have extensive reach across the DLA talent base. The acquisition cycle times for the OCONUS Prime Vendor programs continue to be delayed due to extended source selection and subsequent protests. Last May, DLA awarded new MRO contracts in the Pacific region for Japan (Noble) and Korea (PAE). After a series of protests MRO Japan is in transition phase while MRO Korea is back in evaluation. SPV Europe protest was thrown out by GAO, SPV Okinawa negotiations are open, SPV Japan/Singapore/Philippines/Diego Garcia and Australia is current in RFP, SPV SAPNEA (South Arab Peninsula and Nations of Eastern Africa) continues to be under evaluation and source selection, and SPV Korea is in source selection. On the CONUS MRO solicitations, DLA has 8 regions or 16 zones under source selection with expected award dates in Q3 and Q4 of 2022.

GLOBALCAP - This could be up to a 10-year program to support the Bureau of African Affairs, Office of Regional Peace and Security (AF/RPS), and the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Global Programs, and Initiatives (PM/GPI). While DoS had signaled at Industry Day in December 2021 that the RFP would be out in Spring of 2022, it is likely to be delayed until autumn or even early 2023. This program is expected to include training/mentoring, provision of equipment, construction, and logistics support. PTS has supported multiple primes on AFRICAP, GPOI, and GDRP, resulting in a great pool of niche talent (including French/Portuguese/Arabic speakers).

DoS Medical - The Department of State has a community of 75,000 including employees, interagency partners, and family members assigned to U.S. missions abroad. Many companies are awaiting the next step in the procurement activity in the Global Medical Support System (GMSS) which will support DoS’s Mission of the Bureau of Medical Services (MED) and Mission of the Operational Medicine Program (OpMED) in providing medical services, supplies and equipment. Meanwhile, the industry is waiting to see how the DoS will handle the protest for the Medical Support Services Iraq (MSSI) which was awarded to SOS International (SOSi). PTS had deep experience in recruiting medical talent from Chief Medical Officers to Child Welfare counselors.

**PTS UPDATE **

We are continuing to expand and diversify our capabilities and customers.

NATO/NSPA Consulting - PTS offers customers consulting services for contracting NATO/NSPA opportunities and with operational execution. Jim Shields serves as PTS’s team lead with the ability to provide support assessment, penetration, and bid development. Shields served in the U.S. Navy for 30+ years and went on to work at NSPA headquarters for five years after his military retirement. The PTS team tracks intelligence and analysis relevant to NATO seeking to best serve our customers. Our team, spread across twelve countries, attends events, meetings, and networking sessions. Last month, we attended the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) online seminar titled, Deterrence and Defense in the Baltic Region: New Realities. The discussion focused on Baltic deterrence and defense requirements in the context of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. PTS recently attended NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) event in Capellen, Luxembourg. Our Account Executive Julie Kmet spent the day in Luxemborug learning how best to work with NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).

International Stability Operations Association - PTS is a proud member of the International Stability Operations Association with Jake Frazer, PTS CoFounder and President, serving on the board. Our team recently attended ISOA’s Europe Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. We spent the week meeting with clients and candidates while receiving industry updates from relevant stakeholders in government and the private sector. PTS hosted over twenty industry friends for a dinner in Stuttgart as a side event to the conference. During the ISOA Global Impact Awards Dinner, PTS accepted a Vanguard Award for Superior Corporate Leadership. September 13-15th, PTS will be attending ISOA’s Warsaw Conference – Ukraine and the Changing Landscape of Europe.

We continue to build out our team as we focus on industry trends moving towards Aid & Development, Cybersecurity, Cloud, Intelligence, and Business Development.

Julie Kmet - Exec BD roles, USAID, International DevelopmentLulora Aliu - Contracts, HR, LOGCAPJoshua Belcher - Logistics, BOSS, AFCAPVictor Ames - Exec BD roles, DTRA, Program/Project ManagersAndy MacWilliams - Exec BD roles, Security, Special Operations, Intel Community Shawn Doble - Security, Operations

Marguerite Benson - Intel Community, Cyber Security, Fed IT Martyn Brooks - Security, Operations and HRNevenka Popovic - Program Managers, OperationsWills Hay - Project Managers, IT Cloud and BD

Domestic US and Executive Recruiting - PTS continues to serve as the GovCon leader in talent acquisition for international government contracting programs. C-Suite, Vice President, and Director level placements account for more than 60% of first quarter workload. These top executives serve a wide range of organizations in the GovCon industry, from healthcare, facilities management, security operations, business advisory, and more. In conjunction with our traditional DoD, State, and USAID placements, we continue to support a range of domestic agencies, including HHS, DHS, DoJ, Treasury, and DHA.

PTS Diversity and Veterans Support - PTS supports veterans transitioning from military to the civilian workforce. This quarter we want to highlight Colonel Mark Vertuli, a transitioning strategic leader with extensive experience directing information, cyberspace, space, and strategic operations around the globe. Known for his leadership skills and international experience, Colonel Vertuli will add value to any team. He will be available to start work August 2022, you may reach him through PTS or directly at mark.vertuli@gmail.com.

Advanced Technology - Technology improves access and brings efficiency to basic recruiting practices. PTS prides itself on being at the forefront of digital transformation within the field of GovCon talent acquisition. Recent investments made to modernize and further develop our industry-leading platform began implementation on June 1st. These upgrades will deliver increased capacity. New technology will allow PTS to shorten response time to our customers and better respond to their needs. We will continue our proven model providing video interviews, personality assessments, technical scorecards, and references. PTS combines years of industry experience with advanced technology to deliver talent acquisition solutions for our customers.

**ISOA **

PTS is a strong supporter of the International Stability Operations Association with our Co-Founder, Jake Frazer, serving on the ISOA Board of Directors.

If you are interested in learning more about ISOA, please contact jfrazer@stability-operations.org or go to https://stability-operations.org/page/Membership

We welcome the chance to meet with you, whether you are a potential customer or candidate.Feel free to contact us at info@precisiontalentsolutions.com to set up an intro call to discuss possible

partnership or you can check out our job portal to see our current openings.