IG audit of L-3/DEA contract

The U.S. Justice Department’s Inspector General completed an audit of a contract awarded by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace (L3) to provide for total aviation support to sustain DEA’s aircraft fleet. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether DEA adhered to federal contract regulations, and to determine whether L3 properly invoiced the government and complied with the terms and conditions of the contract award. The IG determined that DEA generally complied with applicable regulations during the contract award, but identified potential areas for improvement related to DEA’s contract oversight procedures, particularly in relation to L3’s reporting of monthly operational readiness rates and communications between the contractor, DEA oversight personnel, and DEA pilots. The IG found that improvements could be made in the areas of contract type selection and delegations of duties reserved for the contracting officer’s representative. The review of L3’s compliance with the Service Contract Labor Standards statute and invoices to DEA did not identify any significant deficiencies. The audit contains seven recommendations to assist the DEA in improving the Aviation Division’s operations and enhancing the DEA’s monitoring and oversight under the L3 contract. (Source: DOJ IG 03/2018) Gulf Coast Note: L-3 is headquartered in Madison, Miss., and has multiple work-site locations across the Gulf Coast.