# Avtel Services, Inc. v. Unites States

> United States Court of Federal Claims · December 22, 2005 · 70 Fed. Cl. 173

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6654672

## Case

- **Full name:** AVTEL SERVICES, INC. v. UNITED STATES, and King Aerospace, Inc., Defendant-Intervenor
- **Court:** United States Court of Federal Claims
- **Decided:** December 22, 2005
- **Citations:** 70 Fed. Cl. 173; 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 402
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion of the court by Horn
- **Judges:** Horn
- **Cited by:** 22 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

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- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6654672

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- finding that “only ... extremely limited circumstances” warrant enjoining performance

## Opinion text

OPINION
HORN, Judge.
FINDINGS OF FACT
The Army issued solicitation W58RGZ-04-R-0524 in May, 2004, seeking proposals to provide maintenance and logistical support for the United States Army’s nine De Havil-land DHC-7 (Dash 7) aircraft. Plaintiff Av-tel Services, Inc. has filed both pre- and post-award bid protests, on successive grounds, on the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command solicitation for aircraft maintenance services and logistical support. Plaintiff Avtel is the incumbent contractor on a contract issued in 1999 for similar maintenance support services on the same Dash 7 aircraft. Avtel believes that a competitor, King Aerospace, Inc., obtained Avtel’s competition sensitive and proprietary data, which provided King Aerospace with an unfair competitive advantage in the 2004 resolicitation of aircraft maintenance support services. Avtel raised its concerns in an agency-level protest to the Army’s contracting officer, who, in a September 29, 2004 agency response, concluded that the protest was untimely. The contracting officer also declined to disqualify King at that time, deferring the issue, but noting that the alleged information obtained from Avtel employees did not appear to be proprietary and that a 1999 Avtel Dash 7 proposal in King’s possession appeared to be obsolete, given the changes made to the 2004 Dash 7 solicitation. Subsequently, in a formal, December 8, 2004 opinion, the Army contracting officer denied Av-tel’s request to disqualify King, concluding, among other considerations, that the data in question was not competition sensitive or proprietary as claimed by Avtel. Avtel, for its part, characterizes this case as one involving “industrial espionage” on the part of *179 competitor King Aerospace. King Aerospace, the ultimately successful bidder, intervened in this bid protest action, and has provided the court with its views of the allegations. King essentially argues that the information at issue was volunteered by Av-tel employees, was not proprietary to Avtel, and was in the public domain.
As noted, the Army’s latest Dash 7 solicitation was issued in May, 2004. Prior to and after the solicitation was issued, King Aerospace employees communicated with Avtel employees who were working on the 1999 Dash 7 maintenance support services contract. The parties have stipulated that, on January 28, 2004, the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of King Aerospace, Jerry A. King, and King’s Controller, Keith Weaver, met with Donald N. Wilbanks, an Avtel employee at the time. Mr. Wilkins had signed a confidentiality agreement with Avtel prohibiting him from disclosing any Avtel proprietary or confidential data. In this regard, the parties have stipulated that Mr. King instructed Mr. Wilbanks “not to answer any questions that he [Mr. Wilbanks] felt uncomfortable with.” The record contains a little over eight pages of single-spaced, typed notes of the questions asked of Mr. Wil-banks, and of his responses, compiled by King employee Keith Weaver. The first page of Mr. Weaver’s notes stated that: “Don [Wilbanks] confirmed that there would be certain things he would not be at liberty to discuss as an employee of Avtel. He limited his answers for the questions below to topics he felt were fair to discuss.” Under the heading “Program,” in Mr. Weaver’s notes, were twenty-three questions and answers; under the heading “People,” were twelve questions and answers; under the heading “Deployment,” were five questions and answers; under the heading “Government/Army Information,” were six questions and answers; under the heading “Miscellaneous,” were five questions and answers; under the heading “Korea Site,” were nine questions and answers; and under the heading “Overall Synopsis,” were three questions and answers. King Aerospace’s notes concluded with eleven entries under the heading “Notes & Comments.”
The numerous questions asked by King Aerospace employees and answered by Mr. Wilbanks covered diverse areas, such as average flying hours; frequency of airplane painting and washing; staffing levels; government furnished equipment (GFE); the value of Avtel property not furnished by the government; whether any GFE tooling or equipment was lacking; government furnished vehicles; the role, location, and number of employees at the Avtel Program Office in Alabama; the difficulty in maintaining mission capable rates; identification of De-Havilland as a supplier; reported repair station violations; strengths and weaknesses of mission equipment contractors; Avtel’s engineering support; annual parts and equipment audit; insurance benefits; personnel turnover; wage levels and deployment pay differentials; current conditions of deployment; Army documentation required; recommendations of individuals who could assist King Aerospace with its proposal; Korea site information, including the Korea site manager, cost of living allowance, overtime policy, normal shift and duty times, and special equipment in Korea; and the name of an individual at Volvo Aerospace who could be contacted concerning parts. King Aerospace offered Mr. Wilbanks employment if King were to be awarded the Dash 7 contract. Mr. Wilbanks later declined the employment offer.
King Aerospace employees also met with Scott Garretson, a Dash 7 mechanic working for Avtel, on January 30, 2004. King Aerospace Controller Keith Weaver compiled notes of the meeting, which reflected that Mr. Garretson had indicated “there were areas that he would not be able to talk about as an Avtel employee.” Mr. Weaver’s notes indicate that the topics discussed with Mr. Garretson generally had to do with deployments: the difficulties in communicating with families when deployed, returning home from deployed locations for family emergency reasons, living conditions while deployed, relationships with others while deployed, work schedule, morale, dangers, compensation, and hiring new mechanics. Mr. Weaver’s notes indicate interest in employment on the part of Mr. Garretson, should King Aerospace win the contract.
*180 King Aerospace Business Development Officer Larry Breau also contacted Michael Barber, an Avtel employee, who was offered employment with King should King win the contract. The contacts occurred after Mr. Barber began working for Avtel in January, 2004, including communications in the late May and early June, 2004 time frame. According to an affidavit by Mr. Barber, contained in the record, the topics discussed by Mr. Breau and Mr. Barber included the number of Avtel employees working on the Dash 7 contract, the sources for Dash 7 parts, and any Avtel employees who might want to work for King, if King won the contract. Mr. Barber’s affidavit also indicates that he had cautioned Mr. Breau to be careful about the kinds of questions asked.
The record also reflects that King Aerospace Business Development Officer Breau was in contact with Avtel employee Isaiah House in the late May and early June, 2004 time frame. Mr. Breau inquired of Mr. House as to the employment interests of Avtel employees, in the event King won the contract, and also about deployment details. Mr. House was offered employment with King, should King win the contract. The parties have further stipulated to contacts between King personnel and Avtel employees Rex Burson, Lorrie Cortez, Judy Boutillette, Robbin Gibbs, Fred Metcalf, Brian James and John Karkkainen, concerning potential employment.
In addition to the above communications between King and Avtel employees concerning the current Dash 7 contract, King obtained a version of Avtel’s 1999 Dash 7 proposal from former Avtel owner Kent Lebo. The record contains an August 1, 2004 letter from Avtel’s counsel to the Army contracting officer for the Dash 7 procurement, stating that Avtel’s counsel was first informed of King’s possible possession of a version of Avtel’s 1999 Dash 7 proposal on July 15, 2004 and that Avtel reviewed the document on July 22, 2004 and verified that the document was in fact, a version of Avtel’s 1999 proposal.
The 1999 Avtel Dash 7 proposal given to King is included in the record of this case. The cover page of the proposal received by King was marked “SOURCE SELECTION SENSITIVE,” and contained the following legend:
This proposal includes data that shall not be disclosed outside the Government and shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed—in whole or in part—for any purpose other than to evaluate this proposal or quotation. If, however, a contract is awarded to this offeror or quoter as a result of—or in connection with—the submission of this data, the Government shall have the right to duplicate, or use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the resulting contract. This restriction does not limit the Government’s right to use information contained in this data if it is obtained from another source without restriction. All data contained in this volume is subject to this restriction.
Each page of Avtel’s 1999 Dash 7 proposal contained the following: “Source Selection Sensitive,” and “Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this document.” The version of Avtel’s 1999 Dash 7 proposal in King’s possession included the following standard proposal sections: executive summary, technical proposal, management proposal, past performance, and pricing proposal. The pricing proposal contained pricing backup data, including itemized pricing data for each contract year, through option year 2004; monthly unit pricing adjustment data for each contract year and beddown base; and a grand summary pricing matrix, containing a summary of cost and pricing data for each contract year, including option year 2004.
On June 7, 2004, Avtel filed a complaint against King Aerospace in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. The complaint in that case alleged that King had sought the 1999 Avtel proposal and other proprietary and competition sensitive information from Avtel employees, and cited the Procurement Integrity Act, 41 U.S.C. § 423 (2000), as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 3.104 (2004). On this basis, Avtel sought to disqualify King from participating in the solicitation now under review in this court.
*181 On June 8, 2004, King filed a complaint against Avtel in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, seeking a declaratory judgment that King’s actions did not violate the Procurement Integrity Act. The Alabama District Court ease was transferred to and consolidated with the Texas District Court case. The Texas District Court case was stayed, pending litigation in the Court of Federal Claims.
On July 30, 2004, Avtel filed an agency protest with the Army contracting officer. The protest sought to disqualify King from the Dash 7 solicitation and award, based on allegations that King had sought Ariel’s competition sensitive and proprietary information. On September 29, 2004, the Army contracting officer dismissed Ariel’s protest as untimely, and deferred a decision on disqualifying King.
On October 19, 2004, plaintiff Ariel filed a complaint (no. 04^15740) in the Court of Federal Claims to disqualify King from competing in the solicitation, filed a first amended complaint on October 20, 2004, and refiled a first amended complaint on November 30, 2004. In this court, Ariel claims that King sought and obtained competition sensitive and proprietary information, thereby providing King with an unfair competitive advantage. On December 8, 2004, the Army contracting officer issued a final decision, denying Ariel’s request to disqualify King from the current solicitation. The contracting officer, in a detailed opinion, generally found the information at issue to be in the public domain, or to provide no competitive advantage due to the differences between the 1999 Dash 7 procurement and the current Dash 7 procurement. On May 17, 2005, after the Army’s December 8, 2004 contracting officer’s final decision, Ariel filed a new complaint (no. 05-582C), seeking a review of the contracting officer’s final decision and again claiming that King had an unfair competitive advantage by seeking and obtaining competition sensitive and proprietary information from Ariel employees and through receipt of the 1999 Ariel proposal.
The Source Selection Evaluation Board for the 2004 Dash 7 procurement included, among others, Henrietta Maples, Michael Botkin and Michael Courtemanche, who were to evaluate the Logistics Concept Element in the proposals received. Ariel, however, expressed concerns about the neutrality of certain SSEB members. Upon review, Valeta Crandall, the current Dash 7 Source Selection Authority, determined that it would be in the best interests of the government to replace these three SSEB board members. The three evaluators were removed in late December, 2004, before award, and replaced with two new members, Monika Diaz and Michael Fitzpatrick, in January, 2005.
On April 22, 2005, Dash 7 Source Selection Authority Crandall concluded that King’s proposal offered the best overall value to the Army. Ariel requested a debriefing on the Dash 7 procurement, and the Army provided the debriefing on June 6, 2005. Due to the pending litigation in this court the Army did not proceed with the award to King, but continued incumbent Ariel’s 1999 contract on a temporary basis until June 30, 2005. On June 17, 2005, however, the defendant filed a notice of intent to award the Dash 7 contract to King on June 30, 2005. The Army indicated it was concerned that uncertainties associated with the bid protest and bridge contracts to Ariel were affecting aircraft availability and mission capable rates. The Army concluded that, for reasons of national security, it was necessary to proceed with the award process. In light of the impending award to King, plaintiff sought injunctive relief. The court held hearings on June 21 and 29, 2005 and, in a bench ruling on June 29, 2005, denied plaintiffs request for pre-award injunctive relief.
On June 30, 2005, the Army awarded the Dash 7 contract to King. Subsequent to the award to King and Ariel’s debriefing, on July 15, 2005, Ariel filed its first amended complaint under case no. 05-582C. In addition to its earlier claims that King had obtained competition sensitive and proprietary information from Ariel employees and from a version of the 1999 Ariel Dash 7 proposal King had obtained, plaintiff added several allegations. First, plaintiff alleges that a Naval Postgraduate School thesis by Henrietta Maples, a Dash 7 program manager, contained competition sensitive information *182 about Avtel and the Dash 7 contract. Plaintiff also contends that the placement of the Maples thesis in the public domain was a breach of the government’s duty of good faith and fair dealing. Plaintiff further contends in its first amended complaint (no. 05-582C) that Army officials were biased against Avtel, and that the bias was reflected in the scoring of the technical evaluation of King’s and Avtel’s proposals. Finally, plaintiff contends that King submitted a proposal with imbalanced pricing, and that the Army failed to conduct the required cost analysis. Plaintiff seeks cancellation of the award of the Dash 7 contract to King and award to Avtel or, in the alternative, cancellation of the award and resolicitation. The parties briefed the new issues in the plaintiffs first amended complaint and the court heard oral argument on the new issues on August 24, 2005. Shortly thereafter, the court issued an August 30, 2005 bench ruling denying the plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief. This opinion provides written documentation of the bench ruling.
DISCUSSION
Jurisdiction
The Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491 (b)(1), grants the United States Court of Federal Claims jurisdiction over bid protests brought by:
an interested party objecting to a solicitation by a Federal agency for bids or proposals for a proposed contract or to a proposed award or the award of a contract or any alleged violation of statute or regulation in connection with a procurement or a proposed procurement. Both the United States Court of Federal Claims and the district courts 2 of the United States shall have jurisdiction to entertain such an action without regard to whether suit is instituted before or after the contract is awarded.
28 U.S.C. § 1491 (b)(1) (2000).
As a threshold matter, defendant-interve-nor King Aerospace challenged the court’s jurisdiction over the plaintiffs claims. King alleged that this court lacked jurisdiction over the instant ease because Avtel’s complaint did not object to the agency’s solicitation nor seek relief based on a violation of a statute or regulation. King alleged that this court lacked jurisdiction before there was a decision from the contracting officer to which Avtel could object. However, the contracting officer issued a final decision on December 8, 2004, to which Avtel objected, and Avtel filed a new complaint (no. 05-582C) on May 17, 2005, reflecting its objections. Plaintiff Avtel and the defendant have agreed that, under the Tucker Act, this court has jurisdiction over plaintiffs bid protest.
Plaintiff King complains of a jurisdictional defect despite the fact that Avtel filed a new complaint. King alleges that the Procurement Integrity Act, 41 U.S.C. § 423 , requires the plaintiff to bring its bid protest before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) within fourteen days of first discovering the possible violation. See 41 U.S.C. § 423 . The Procurement Integrity Act defines “protest” as “a written objection by an interested party to the award or proposed award of a Federal agency procurement contract, pursuant to subchapter V of chapter 35 of Title 31,” a subchapter which establishes the GAO’s jurisdiction. 41 U.S.C. § 423 (f)(6); 31 U.S.C. § 3552 (2000). Furthermore, the Act provides that the Comptroller General of the United States may consider such a protest alleging a violation of the Procurement Integrity Act if the complainant filed its protest no later than fourteen days after first discovering the possible violation. See 41 U.S.C. § 423 (g). Therefore, King concludes that Av-tel should have brought its bid protest before the GAO and that this court lacks jurisdiction to consider this case.
In contrast, as noted, defendant does not contest the court’s jurisdiction in this bid protest action, pointing out that the Tucker Act confers jurisdiction on this court over a protest by an interested party of “a proposed award or the award of a contract or any alleged violation of statute or regulation in connection with a procurement ____” 28 U.S.C. § 1491 (b)(1). Avtel objected to the *183 proposed award of the contract at issue and to the agency’s decision on Avtel’s allegations that the awardee, King, sought and obtained Avtel’s competition sensitive and proprietary data. The provisions of the Procurement Integrity Act include that a federal agency may take action against a person who obtains or discloses procurement information (contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information) before award. See 41 U.S.C. § 428 (a), (b), (e)(8). The contracting officer, in a December 8, 2004 decision, decided not to take action against King based on Avtel’s allegations. This agency decision is being challenged by the plaintiff and reviewed by the court. See also FAR 3.104-4(a), which provides that “no person or other entity may disclose contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information to any person other than a person authorized, in accordance with applicable agency regulations or procedures, by the agency head or the contracting officer to receive such information,” 48 C.F.R. § 3.104-4 (a) (2004); FAR 1.602-2(b), which provides that contracting officers shall “[e]nsure that contractors receive impartial, fair, and equitable treatment,” 48 C.F.R. § 1.602-2 (b) (2004); Cent. Arkansas Maint., Inc. v. United, States, 68 F.3d 1338, 1341-43 (Fed.Cir.1995) (in which the Federal Circuit reviewed the Court of Federal Claims’ finding that the Procurement Integrity Act had been violated or was about to be violated by an offeror, but vacated the trial court’s exclusion of the offending offeror because that court also had found that the that the agency had not acted arbitrarily and capriciously and the procurement was not tainted by the procurement integrity violations); Naplesyacht.com. Inc. v. United States, 60 Fed.Cl. 459 , 472 n. 9 (raising the question of whether a bidder had pre-bid knowledge of other bidders’ proposals and citing the Procurement Integrity Act’s prohibition on knowingly disclosing contractor bid or proposal information), recons, denied (2004); Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. 1, 13-14 (1999) (concluding that bidders who obtained information about the plaintiff, an incumbent contractor, did not violate the Procurement Integrity Act because the information did not meet the definition of contractor bid or proposal information and appeared to have been generally available); 41 U.S.C. § 403 (7) (2000) (“The term ‘responsible source’ means a prospective contractor who—(D) has a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics____”); FAR 9.104-l(d), which provides that, “To be determined responsible, a prospective contractor must—(d) Have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics,” 48 C.F.R. § 9.104 -l(d). The court concludes that it has jurisdiction to review this bid protest.
Standard of Review
The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (ADRA), Pub.L. No. 104-320, §§ 12(a), 12(b), 110 Stat. 3870 , 3874 (1996), amended the Tucker Act and provided the United States Court of Federal Claims with post-award bid protest jurisdiction for actions filed on or after December 31, 1996. See 28 U.S.C. § 1491 (b)(l)-(4) (2000). The statute provides that post-award protests of agency procurement decisions are to be reviewed under Administrative Procedure Act (APA) standards, making applicable the standards outlined in Scanwell Laboratories, Inc. v. Shaffer, 424 F.2d 859 (D.C.Cir.1970) and the line of cases following that decision. See, e.g., Galen Medical Assocs., Inc. v. United States 369 F.3d 1324, 1329 (Fed.Cir.) (citing Scanwell for its reasoning that “suits challenging the award process are in the public interest and disappointed bidders are the parties with an incentive to enforce the law.”), reh’g denied (2004); Banknote Corp. of Am., Inc. v. United States, 365 F.3d 1345, 1351 (Fed.Cir.2004) (“Under the APA standard as applied in the Scanwell line of cases, and now in ADRA cases, ‘a bid award may be set aside if either (1) the procurement official’s decision lacked a rational basis; or (2) the procurement procedure involved a violation of regulation or procedure.”’); Info. Tech. & Applications Corp. v. United States, 316 F.3d 1312, 1319 (Fed.Cir.), reh’g and reh’g en banc denied (2003); Impresa Con-struzioni Geom, Domenico Garufi v. United States, 238 F.3d 1324, 1332 (Fed.Cir.2001).
Agency procurement actions should be set aside when they are “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law,” or “without observance of procedure required by law.” 5 U.S.C. *184 § 706 (2)(A), (2)(D) (2000) 3 ; see also Ban-num, Inc. v. United States, 404 F.3d 1346, 1351 (Fed.Cir.2005) (“[T]he inquiry is whether the [government’s] procurement decision was ‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.’ ”) (quoting 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2)(A) (2000)). In discussing the appropriate standard of review for bid protest cases, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has discussed specifically subsections (2)(A) and (2)(D) of 5 U.S.C. § 706 . See Impresa Construzioni Geom. Domenico Ga-rufi v. United States, 238 F.3d at 1332 n. 5; see also NVT Techs., Inc. v. United States, 370 F.3d 1153,1159 (Fed.Cir.2004) (“Bid protest actions are subject to the standard of review established under section 706 of title 5 of the Administrative Procedure Act (‘APA’), 28 U.S.C. § 1491 (b)(4) (2000), by which an agency’s decision is to be set aside only if it is ‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law,’ 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2)(A) (2000).”) (citations omitted); Banknote Corp. of Am., Inc. v. United States, 365 F.3d at 1350 (“Among the various APA standards of review in section 706, the proper standard to be applied in bid protest cases is provided by 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2)(A): a reviewing court shall set aside the agency action if it is ‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.’” (citing Advanced Data Concepts, Inc. v. United States, 216 F.3d 1054, 1057-58 (Fed.Cir.))), reh’g denied (2000); Info. Tech. & Applications Corp. v. United States, 316 F.3d at 1319 (“Consequently, our inquiry is whether the Air Force’s procurement decision was ‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.’ 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2)(A) (2000).”); Emery Worldwide Airlines, Inc. v. United States, 264 F.3d 1071, 1085 (Fed.Cir.2001) (“The APA provides that a reviewing court must set aside agency actions that are ‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.’ 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2)(A) (Supp. V 1999).”), reh’g and reh’g en banc denied (2001); RAMCOR Servs. Group, Inc. v. United States, 185 F.3d 1286, 1290 (Fed.Cir. 1999).
In Impresa Construzioni Geom. Domenico Garufi v. United States, the court wrote:
Under the APA standards that are applied in the Scanwell line of cases, a bid award may be set aside if either: (1) [T]he procurement official’s decision lacked a rational basis; or (2) the procurement procedure involved a violation of regulation or procedure.... When a challenge is brought on the first ground, the courts have recognized that contracting officers are “entitled to exercise discretion upon a broad range of issues confronting them” in the procurement process. Latecoere Int'l Inc. v. United States Dep’t of Navy, 19 F.3d 1342 , 1356 (11th Cir.1994). Accordingly, the test for reviewing courts is to determine whether “the contracting agency provided a coherent and reasonable explanation of its exercise of discretion,” id., and the “disappointed bidder bears a ‘heavy burden’ of showing that the award decision ‘had no rational basis.’ ” Saratoga Dev. Corp. v. United States, 21 F.3d 445 , 456 (D.C.Cir.1994). When a challenge is brought on the second ground, the dis-
*185 appointed bidder must show “a clear and prejudicial violation of applicable statutes or regulations.” Kentron [Hawaii, Ltd. v. Warner,] 480 F.2d [1166,] 1169 [ (D.C.Cir. 1973) ]; Latecoere, 19 F.3d at 1356.
Impresa Construzioni Geom. Domenico Garufi v. United States, 238 F.3d at 1332-33 (selected citations omitted); see also Banknote Corp. of Am. v. United States, 365 F.3d at 1351 ; OMV Med., Inc. v. United States, 219 F.3d 1337, 1343 (Fed.Cir.2000).
A disappointed bidder has the burden of demonstrating the arbitrary and capricious nature of the agency decision by a preponderance of the evidence. See Grumman Data Sys. Corp. v. Dalton, 88 F.3d 990, 995-96 (Fed.Cir.1996); Labat-Anderson Inc. v. United States, 50 Fed.Cl. 99, 106 (2001); Emery Worldwide Airlines, Inc. v. United States, 49 Fed.Cl. 211, 222 , aff'd, 264 F.3d 1071 (Fed.Cir.2001); Dynacs Eng’g Co. v. United States, 48 Fed.Cl. 614, 619 (2001); Ellsworth Assocs., Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. 388, 392 (1999), appeal dismissed, 6 Fed.Appx. 867 (Fed.Cir.2001). The United States Supreme Court has identified sample grounds which can constitute arbitrary or capricious agency action:
The agency has relied on factors which Congress has not intended it to consider, entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem, offered an explanation for its decision that runs counter to the evidence before the agency, or is so implausible that it could not be ascribed to a difference in view or the product of agency expertise.
Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of the United States v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43 , 103 S.Ct. 2856 , 77 L.Ed.2d 443 (1983); but see In re Sang-Su Lee, 277 F.3d 1338, 1342 (Fed.Cir.2002) (“The agency must present a full and reasoned explanation of its decision ____ The reviewing court is thus enabled to perform a meaningful review ....”).
Under an arbitrary or capricious standard, the reviewing court should not substitute its judgment for that of the agency, but should review the basis for the agency decision to determine if it was legally permissible, reasonable, and supported by the facts. See Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n of the United States v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. at 43 , 103 S.Ct. 2856 (“The scope of review under the arbitrary and capricious standard is narrow and a court is not to substitute its judgment for that of the agency.”). “If the court finds a reasonable basis for the agency’s action, the court should stay its hand even though it might, as an original proposition, have reached a different conclusion as to the proper administration and application of the procurement regulations.” Honeywell, Inc. v. United States, 870 F.2d 644, 648 (Fed.Cir.1989) (quoting M. Steinthal & Co. v. Seamans, 455 F.2d 1289, 1301 (D.C.Cir.1971)); see also Seaborn Health Care, Inc. v. United States, 55 Fed.Cl. 520, 523 (2003) (quoting Honeywell, Inc. v. United States, 870 F.2d at 648 (quoting M. Steinthal & Co. v. Seamans, 455 F.2d at 1301 )). As stated by the United States Supreme Court:
Section 706(2)(A) requires a finding that the actual choice made was not “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” To make this finding the court must consider whether the decision was based on a consideration of the relevant factors and whether there has been a clear error of judgment. Although this inquiry into the facts is to be searching and careful, the ultimate standard of review is a narrow one. The court is not empowered to substitute its judgment for that of the agency.
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402, 416 , 91 S.Ct. 814 , 28 L.Ed.2d 136 (1971) (citations omitted); see also U.S. Postal Service v. Gregory, 534 U.S. 1, 6-7 , 122 S.Ct. 431 , 151 L.Ed.2d 323 (2001) (“[T]he arbitrary and capricious standard is extremely narrow and____[i]t is not for the Federal Circuit to substitute its own judgment for that of the Board.”) (citations omitted); Bowman Transp., Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight Sys., Inc., 419 U.S. 281, 285 , 95 S.Ct. 438 , 42 L.Ed.2d 447 (1974), reh’g denied, 420 U.S. 956, 95 S.Ct. 1340 , 43 L.Ed.2d 433 (1975); Co-Steel Raritan, Inc. v. ITC, 357 F.3d 1294 , 1309 (Fed.Cir.2004) (In discussing the “arbitrary, capricious, and abuse of discretion otherwise not in accordance with the law” standard, the Federal Circuit *186 stated that “the ultimate standard of review is a narrow one. The court is not empowered to substitute its judgment for that of the agency.”); In re Sang-Su Lee, 277 F.3d at 1342 ; Advanced Data Concepts, Inc. v. United States, 216 F.3d at 1058 (“The arbitrary and capricious standard applicable here is highly deferential. This standard requires a reviewing court to sustain an agency action evincing rational reasoning and consideration of relevant factors.”) (citing Bowman Transp., Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight Sys., Inc., 419 U.S. at 285 , 95 S.Ct. 438 ); Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. v. Bentsen, 4 F.3d 955, 959 (Fed.Cir.1993); Gulf Group, Inc. v. United States, 61 Fed.Cl. 338, 351 (2003) (“Although this inquiry into the facts is to be searching and careful, the ultimate standard of review is a narrow one. The court is not empowered to substitute its judgment for that of the agency.”); ManTech Telecomms. & Info. Sys. Corp. v. United States, 49 Fed.Cl. 57, 63 (2001), aff'd, 30 Fed.Appx. 995 (Fed.Cir.2002); Ellsworth Assocs., Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 392 (“Courts must give great deference to agency procurement decisions and will not lightly overturn them.” (citing Florida Power & Light Co. v. Lorion, 470 U.S. 729, 743-44 , 105 S.Ct. 1598 , 84 L.Ed.2d 643 (1985))); Redland Genstar, Inc. v. United States, 39 Fed.Cl. 220, 231 (1997); Mike Hooks, Inc. v. United States, 39 Fed.Cl. 147, 154 (1997); Cincom Sys., Inc. v. United States, 37 Fed.Cl. 663, 672 (1997); Commercial Energies, Inc. v. United States, 20 Cl.Ct. 140, 145 (1990) (“In simple terms, courts should not substitute their judgments for pre-award procurement decisions unless the agency clearly acted irrationally or unreasonably.”) (citations omitted).
Similarly, in E.W. Bliss Co. v. United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit offered guidance on the applicable standard of review:
Procurement officials have substantial discretion to determine which proposal represents the best value for the government. See Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., Inc. v. Bentsen, 4 F.3d 955, 958 (Fed.Cir. 1993); cf. Widnall v. B3H, 75 F.3d 1577 (Fed.Cir.1996) (holding that Board of Contract Appeals should defer to agency’s best value decision as long as it is “grounded in reason ... even if the Board itself might have chosen a different bidder”); In re General Offshore Corp., B-251969.5, B-251969.6, 94-1 Comptroller Gen.’s Procurement Decisions (Federal Publications Inc.) II248, at 3 (Apr. 8, 1994) (“In a negotiated procurement, any proposal that fails to conform to material terms and conditions of the solicitation should be considered unacceptable and may not form the basis for an award. Where an evaluation is challenged, we will examine the agency’s evaluation to ensure that it was reasonable and consistent with the evaluation criteria and applicable statutes and regulations, since the relative merit of competing proposals is primarily a matter of administrative discretion.”) (citations omitted).
******
Bliss’ [other challenges to the procurement] deal with the minutiae of the procurement process in such matters as technical ratings ... which involve discretionary determinations of procurement officials that a court will not second guess. See Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., 4 F.3d at 958; Grumman Data Systems Corp. v. Widnall, 15 F.3d 1044, 1048 (Fed.Cir.1994) (“[S]mall errors made by the procuring agency are not sufficient grounds for rejecting an entire procurement.”) ....
E.W. Bliss Co. v. United States, 77 F.3d 445, 449 (Fed.Cir.1996); see also JWK Int’l Corp. v. United States, 49 Fed.Cl. 371, 388 (2001), aff'd, 279 F.3d 985 (Fed.Cir.), reh’g denied (2002).
In a negotiated procurement, contracting officers are generally afforded even greater decision making discretion, in comparison to their role in sealed bid procurements. “It is well-established that contracting officers have a great deal of discretion in making contract award decisions, particularly when, as here, the contract is to be awarded to the bidder or bidders that will provide the agency with the best value.” Banknote Corp. of Am. Inc. v. United States, 365 F.3d at 1355 (citing TRW, Inc. v. Unisys Corp., 98 F.3d 1325, 1327-28 (Fed.Cir.1996); E.W. Bliss Co. v. United States, 77 F.3d at 449 ; and Lock *187 heed Missiles & Space Co. v. Bentsen, 4 F.3d at 958-59 ); see also Hayes Int’l Corp. v. United States, 7 Cl.Ct. 681, 686 (1985) (“It is well-established that contracting officials are accorded broad discretion in conducting a negotiated procurement----” (citing Sperry Flight Sys. v. United States, 212 Ct.Cl. 329, 339-40 , 548 F.2d 915 (1977))); Galen Med. Assocs., Inc. v. United States, 369 F.3d at 1330 ; Am. Tel. and Tel. Co. v. United States, 307 F.3d 1374, 1379 (Fed.Cir.2002), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 937 , 124 S.Ct. 56 , 157 L.Ed.2d 249 (2003); Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. v. Bentsen, 4 F.3d at 958; Cybertech Group, Inc. v. United States, 48 Fed.Cl. at 646 (“The court recognizes that the agency possesses wide discretion in the application of procurement regulations.”). In Burroughs Corporation v. United States, the court described the broad discretion afforded a contracting officer in a negotiated procurement as follows:
Remarking on the contracting officer’s discretion in negotiation, the court in Sperry Flight Systems Division v. United States, 212 Ct.Cl. 329, 339 , 548 F.2d 915, 921 (1977) noted that “the decision to contract—a responsibility that rests with the contracting officer alone—is inherently a judgmental process which cannot accommodate itself to absolutes, at least not without severely impairing the quality of the judgment called for ... ” and that, “effective contracting demands broad discretion.” Because of the breadth of discretion given to the contracting officer in negotiated procurement, the burden of showing this discretion was abused, and that the action was “arbitrary and capricious” is certainly much heavier than it would be in a case of formal advertising.
Burroughs Corp. v. United States, 223 Ct.Cl. 53, 65 , 617 F.2d 590, 598 (1980) (citation omitted; omissions in original); see also Galen Med. Assocs., Inc. v. United States, 369 F.3d at 1330 ; LaBarge Prods., Inc. v. West, 46 F.3d 1547, 1555 (Fed.Cir.1995); JWK Int’l Corp. v. United States, 49 Fed.Cl. at 388; ManTech Telecomms. and Info. Sys. Corp. v. United States, 49 Fed.Cl. at 64.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit also has stated that:
Effective contracting demands broad discretion. Burroughs Corp. v. United States, 223 Ct.Cl. 53 , 617 F.2d 590, 598 (1980); Sperry Flight Sys. Div. v. United States, 548 F.2d 915, 921 , 212 Ct.Cl. 329 (1977); see NKF Eng’g, Inc. v. United States, 805 F.2d 372, 377 (Fed.Cir.1986); Tidewater Management Servs., Inc. v. United States, 573 F.2d 65, 73 , 216 Ct.Cl 69 (1978); RADVA Corp. v. United States, 17 Cl.Ct. 812, 819 (1989), aff'd, 914 F.2d 271 (Fed.Cir.1990). Accordingly, agencies “are entrusted with a good deal of discretion in determining which bid is the most advantageous to the Government.” Tidewater Management Servs., 573 F.2d at 73 , 216 Ct.Cl. 69 ....
Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., Inc. v. Bentsen, 4 F.3d at 958-59; see also Galen Medical Assocs., Inc. v. United States, 369 F.3d at 1330 ; Grumman Data Sys. Corp. v. Dalton, 88 F.3d at 995 ; Grumman Data Sys. Corp. v. Widnall, 15 F.3d at 1046 .
The wide discretion afforded contracting officers extends to a broad range of procurement functions, including the determination of what constitutes an advantage over other proposals. See Compubahn v. United States, 33 Fed.Cl. 677, 682-83 (1995) (“[Tjhis court is in no position to challenge the technical merit of any comments made on the evaluation sheets or decisions made during the several stages of evaluation.”) (footnote omitted). As noted above, the question is not whether the court would reach the same conclusions as the agency regarding the comparison of proposals, but rather, whether the conclusions reached by the agency lacked a reasonable basis and were, therefore, arbitrary or capricious.
To prevail in a bid protest case, the protester must not only show that the government’s actions were arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise not in accordance with the law, but the protestor also must show that it was prejudiced by the government’s actions. See 5 U.S.C. § 706 (“due account shall be taken of the rule of prejudicial error”). Recognizing the two-step analysis of bid protest eases, the Federal Circuit recently stated that:
A bid protest proceeds in two steps. First ... the trial court determines wheth *188 er the government acted without rational basis or contrary to law when evaluating the bids and awarding the contract. Second ... if the trial court finds that the government’s conduct fails the APA review under 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2)(A), then it proceeds to determine, as a factual matter, if the bid protester was prejudiced by that conduct.
Bannum, Inc. v. United States, 404 F.3d at 1351 . In describing the prejudice requirement, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has held that:
To prevail in a bid protest, a protester must show a significant, prejudicial error in the procurement process. See Statistica, Inc. v. Christopher, 102 F.3d 1577, 1581 (Fed.Cir.1996); Data Gen. Corp. v. Johnson, 78 F.3d 1556 , 1562 (Fed.Cir.1996). “To establish prejudice, a protester is not required to show that but for the alleged error, the protester would have been awarded the contract.” Data General, 78 F.3d at 1562 (citation omitted). Rather, the protester must show “that there was a substantial chance it would have received the contract award but for that error.” Statistica, 102 F.3d at 1582 ; see CACI, Inc-Fed. v. United States, 719 F.2d 1567, 1574-75 (Fed.Cir.1983) (to establish competitive prejudice, protester must demonstrate that but for the alleged error, “ ‘there was a substantial chance that [it] would receive an award—that it was within the zone of active consideration.’”) (citation omitted).
Alfa Laval Separation, Inc. v. United States, 175 F.3d 1365, 1367 (Fed.Cir.), reh’g denied (1999) (citation omitted in original); see also Galen Med. Assocs., Inc. v. United States, 369 F.3d at 1330 ; Info. Tech. & Applications Corp. v. United States, 316 F.3d at 1319 ; Myers Investigative & Sec. Servs., Inc. v. United States, 275 F.3d 1366, 1370 (Fed.Cir. 2002); Impresa Construzioni Geom. Domenico Garufi v. United States, 238 F.3d at 1332-33 ; OMV Med., Inc. v. United States, 219 F.3d at 1342 ; Advanced Data Concepts, Inc. v. United States, 216 F.3d at 1057 ; Stratos Mobile Networks USA LLC v. United States, 213 F.3d 1375, 1380 (Fed.Cir.2000).
In Data General Corporation v. Johnson, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wrote:
We think that the appropriate standard is that, to establish prejudice, a protester must show that, had it not been for the alleged error in the procurement process, there was a reasonable likelihood that the protester would have been awarded the contract----The standard reflects a reasonable balance between the importance of (1) averting unwarranted interruptions of and interferences with the procurement process and (2) ensuring that protesters who have been adversely affected by allegedly significant error in the procurement process have a forum available to vent their grievances.
Data Gen. Corp. v. Johnson, 78 F.3d 1556 , 1562 (Fed.Cir.1996); see also Bannum, Inc. v. United States, 404 F.3d at 1358 (“To establish prejudice Bannum [the plaintiff] was required to show that there was a ‘substantial chance’ it would have received the contract award but for the [government’s] errors in the bid process.” (quoting Info. Tech. & Applications Corp. v. United States, 316 F.3d at 1319 ; Alfa Laval Separation, Inc. v. United States, 175 F.3d at 1367 ; and Statistica, Inc. v. Christopher, 102 F.3d at 1582 )).
Integrity of the Procurement Process
The Procurement Integrity Act states that: “A person shall not, other than as provided by law, knowingly obtain contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information before the award of a Federal agency procurement contract to which the information relates.” 41 U.S.C. § 423 (b) (2000); see also Naplesyacht.com, Inc. v. United States, 60 Fed.Cl. at 472 n. 9 (citing 41 U.S.C. § 423 (a)(1) for its prohibition on government officials disclosing “contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information.”) The Procurement Integrity Act defines contractor bid or proposal information as “cost or pricing data,” “indirect costs and direct labor rates,” “[proprietary information about manufacturing processes, operations, or techniques marked by the contractor in accordance with applicable law or regulation,” or “information marked by the contractor as ‘contractor bid or pro *189 posal information, in accordance with applicable law or regulation.’ ” 41 U.S.C. § 423 (f)(l)(A-D).
Recognizing the disadvantage to a contractor whose protected information is exploited by its competitors, Congress did not limit remedies to Procurement Integrity Act violations only to overturning procurement decisions or excluding particular contractors. The act enforces the prohibition of releasing protected information by placing criminal sanctions on potential violators, including up to five years in prison, thereby emphasizing the importance of maintaining the integrity in government contracting. See 41 U.S.C § 423(e)(1)(b); Cent. Ark. Maint., Inc. v. United States, 68 F.3d 1338, 1343 (Fed.Cir. 1995) (“The government has substantial administrative, civil, and criminal enforcement authority under the Procurement Integrity Act to police the procurement process.”).
Plaintiff relies on the ease of McDonnell Douglas Corporation v. Department of the Air Force, 375 F.3d 1182, 1185 (D.C.Cir.), reh’g and reh’g en banc denied (2004), a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case, in which the Air Force intended to release to a competitor McDonnell Douglas’ pricing information, which had been incorporated into an Air Force contract. Lockheed Martin had asked the Air Force for a copy of the McDonnell Douglas contract pursuant to the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 551 et seq. Id. McDonnell Douglas objected to the release of its option year prices, the costs of materials and services procured from other venders, and the hourly rates it charged the Air Force for work not required under the contract, and filed suit to protect its data. Id. at 1186 . The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that disclosure of the option year prices would likely cause McDonnell Douglas substantial competitive harm, “by informing the bids of its rivals in the event the contract is rebid.” Id. at 1190 (footnote omitted). Similarly, release of McDonnell Douglas’ costs of materials and services procured from other venders was determined likely also to cause substantial competitive harm. Id. at 1191 . However, the rates McDonnell Douglas charged the Air Force for other work were releasable, because there was no evidence that a eom-petitor would be able to derive pricing factors from the figures. Id. at 1192 .
Plaintiff also relies on Compliance Corporation v. United States, 22 Cl.Ct. 193 (1990), aff'd, 960 F.2d 157 (Fed.Cir.1992) (table), in which Compliance had been disqualified from the bidding process in a Navy procurement and sought injunctive relief in the United States Claims Court. Id. at 194. Compliance employees had asked employees of the incumbent, which also was bidding on the new solicitation, for information concerning the incumbent’s current contract, and the incumbent’s bid proposal on the new solicitation. The data request included salary data, employee benefits, government furnished property, the names, telephone numbers and position descriptions of the incumbent’s employees, whether any of incumbent’s employees were interested in working for Compliance if it won the contract, and the incumbent’s bid proposal. Id. at 195. The Navy disqualified Compliance for obtaining or attempting to obtain proprietary proposal information from the incumbent, in order “to protect the integrity of the procurement process.” Id at 196. Compliance filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which was denied. The GAO stated that it had jurisdiction to review the reasonableness of the contracting officer’s decision to disqualify Compliance, and denied the protest based on the contracting officer’s rationale. Id. at 196-97. The Claims Court upheld the contracting officer’s disqualification decision in Compliance, terming the contracting officer’s decision one which was taken with the purpose of protecting the procurement process, and a judgment call which was presumed to be made in good faith, and as to which the court would not substitute its judgment. Id. at 203-04.
The defendant and intervenor rely on Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. 1 (1999). In Synetics, as in the present case, the incumbent contractor raised the Procurement Integrity Act, alleging that a competitor and intervenor had obtained from the incumbent’s employees various personnel information such as salaries, bonuses, posi *190 tions, background, and availability, as well as a so-called “keepers list” from the incumbent’s deputy program manager, which consisted of the names and positions of twenty-eight employees of the incumbent and an opinion of their work habits and qualifications. Id. at 14 . The court in Synetics found no violation of the Procurement Integrity Act, concluding that the compensation information did not meet the definition of contractor bid or proposal information, that the information in the “keepers list” appeared to have been generally available, and that the incumbent’s confidentiality agreement did not prohibit disclosure of the information. Id. at 14 (citing Textron Marine Sys., B-255580.3, 94-2 CPD K 63, 1994 WL 424686 (Comp.Gen. Aug. 2, 1994) (finding that compilation of names, positions, and experience of incumbent contractor’s employees was not proprietary information) and RAM-COR Servs. Group, Inc., B-253714, 93-2 CPD H 213, 1993 WL 409526 (Comp.Gen. Oct. 7, 1993) (finding that list of names and telephone numbers of incumbent’s employees was not proprietary information)); see also Rothe Dev., Inc., B-279839, 98-2 CPD H 31, 1998 WL 421799 , at *3 (Comp.Gen. July 27, 1998) (the number of incumbent’s employees working on the contract was not considered proprietary; furthermore, “the information disclosed did not reveal what labor categories, mix, or rates would be appropriate, or how Rothe calculated its profit, overhead, and management costs—important elements of price and in some instances, technical approach.”).
While the Compliance and Synetics cases are noteworthy in this area of law, their relevance to the present case is that they establish a framework for deciding the legal issues based upon a ease specific, fact-by-fact inquiry which takes into account both the quality and specificity of facts. The determination of whether the decision not to disqualify King and the subsequent award decision were arbitrary and capricious may vary, depending on the particular facts of the case under review. See Compliance Corp. v. United States, 22 Cl.Ct. at 205 (noting that the contracting officer’s disqualification will vary based on the facts in each ease).
The Compliance and Synetics cases also provide guidance on establishing the standard of review the court applies to decisions of the agency and contracting officer. The court’s equitable powers should be applied to best minimize “judicial interference in contract procurement.” Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 5 (quoting United States v. John C. Grimberg Co., 702 F.2d 1362, 1372 (Fed.Cir.1983)). Courts provide wide discretion to government departments and agencies concerning the technical adequacy of bid proposals, evaluation of bids, and application of procurement regulations, in deciding whether the agency’s decision had a reasonable basis. See Impresa Construzioni Geom. Domenico Garufi v. United States, 238 F.3d at 1332 ; Bean Stuyvesant, L.L.C. v. United States, 48 Fed.Cl. 303, 320 (2000) (citing Analytical & Research Tech., Inc. v. United States, 39 Fed.Cl. 34, 42 (1997)). Furthermore, when a court does “review technical matters that are within the agency’s expertise, the highest degree of deference is warranted.” See Bean Stuyvesant, L.L.C. v. United States, 48 Fed.Cl. at 320 (quoting Cubic Defense Sys., Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. 450, 458 (1999) (citing G.E. Gov’t Servs., Inc. v. United States, 788 F.Supp. 581, 590 (D.D.C.1992))). This wide discretion is provided by the court in light of the presumption that government officials are held to high expectations in acting correctly, honestly, and with good faith when evaluating bids. See Bean Stuyvesant, L.L.C. v. United States, 48 Fed.Cl. at 320 (citing Analytical & Research Tech., Inc. v. United States, 39 Fed.Cl. at 42). Therefore, the court must not substitute its own judgment for that of the agency or contracting officer provided that decision is founded on a reasonable basis, even if reasonable minds might reach different results. See Bowman Transp., Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight Sys., Inc., 419 U.S. 281, 285-86 , 95 S.Ct. 438 , 42 L.Ed.2d 447 (1974), reh’g denied, 420 U.S. 956 , 95 S.Ct. 1340 (1975); Consolidated Eng’g Servs., Inc. v. United States, 64 Fed.Cl. 617, 623 (2005); Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 5; CRC Marine Servs., Inc. v. United States, 41 Fed.Cl. 66, 83 (1998); Analytical & Research Tech., Inc. v. United States, 39 Fed.Cl. at 42.
*191 The GAO has stated that “the responsibility for determining to what extent a firm should be excluded from the competition rests with the procuring agency, and we will overturn such a determination only when it is shown to be unreasonable.” Textron Marine Sys., 1994 WL 424686 , at *8. The first step in the court’s analysis is to examine the nature of the information obtained by King, in order to determine if the information is “clearly the type of information usually considered to afford an unfair competitive advantage.” Id. (In Textron Marine Systems, the GAO found that the incumbent contractor’s information, which had been obtained by the awardee, was not the type of information which afforded an unfair competitive advantage to the awardee.).
FAR 3.104-4(a) prohibits disclosure of contractor bid or proposal or source selection information unless one of the listed exceptions applies. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), government agencies are obligated to make information available to the public, unless one of the listed exceptions applies. See 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a), (b) (2000). Once information enters the public domain, however, it is no longer confidential and parties may not make claims of confidentiality regarding such information. In R & W Flammann GmbH v. United States, 339 F.3d 1320 (Fed.Cir.2003), the Army disclosed incumbent bidder Flammann’s unit price information to SKE GmbH, a competitor. Id. at 1322 . SKE had previously made FOIA requests for Flammann’s incumbent contract cost schedule, to which Flamman objected. Id. After rejection of its pre-award bid protest, Flammann claimed that the Army’s disclosure violated the FOIA and the Trade Secrets Act. Id. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concluded that Flammann’s unit price information was in the public domain, since the information, which was included in the contract, had been made public as a result of the bid opening process. Id. at 1323 . Because the information was already publicly available, the court approved its release to SKE. Id. Therefore, the court found that the Army did not violate the FOIA or the Trade Secrets Act. Id.; see also CNA Fin. Corp. v. Donovan, 830 F.2d 1132, 1154 (D.C.Cir.1987) (noting that if information is in the public domain, the submitter is unable to claim confidentiality), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 977 , 108 S.Ct. 1270 , 99 L.Ed.2d 481 (1988).
A claim that disclosure might result in a competitive advantage or disadvantage also is contingent upon whether the information or material sought to be protected is stale. In general, although largely a fact and case-specific inquiry, information loses its confidential nature once it becomes stale. See United States v. Int’l Bus. Machs. Corp., 67 F.R.D. 40, 49 (S.D.N.Y.1975) (holding that five-year-old information in that case was stale); Rosenblatt v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 54 F.R.D. 21, 23 (S.D.N.Y.1971) (holding that the need for the court’s protection was diminished because the information sought to be protected was one year old); Hecht v. Pro-Football, Inc., 46 F.R.D. 605, 605 (D.D.C.1969) (finding that information up to three years old was confidential and entitled to protection); United States v. Lever Bros. Co., 193 F.Supp. 254, 255-56 (S.D.N.Y.1961) (finding that information three to eight years old should not be protected), cert. denied, 371 U.S. 932 , 83 S.Ct. 310 , 9 L.Ed.2d 272 (1962); cf. Zenith Radio Corp. v. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 529 F.Supp. 866, 891-92 (E.D.Pa. 1981). In the above-noted International Business Machines case, the non-party deponent corporation objected to the public disclosure of its profits data for certain computer systems, products, and services, arguing that disclosure would place the deponent at a competitive disadvantage. See United States v. Int’l Bus. Machs. Corp., 67 F.R.D. at 48 . However, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York disagreed, stating that, “[t]o reveal any of this information would not erode the cornerstone of [deponent’s] competitive foundation.” Id. at 49 . The court’s reasoning was that the report at issue revealed little if anything about the contemporary operations of the corporation and was five years old, too old to be of value to a competitor. Id. With this foundation, the thirty-four specific information segments about which the plaintiff complains, will be reviewed below.
*192
Disqualification
1. Working Conditions, Pay, and Other Details of Deployments
Avtel argues that Avtel employee Donald Wilbanks provided King with information regarding working conditions, pay, and other Dash 7 deployment specifics. According to King employee Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks informed King that: “The employees are paid for [deleted] hours per week when in Columbia [sic] for a [deleted] day work week. They are given one of their days off with pay as a [deleted]. They work [deleted] hour shifts when on deployment. Past deployments have kept 8 employees in Columbia [sic] that get rotated [deleted] off at the halfway point of deployment____There is a [deleted] pay differential for when employees are on deployment.” Avtel argues that this information rises to the level of competition sensitive information because it details Avtel’s specific execution of the contract requirements.
In his December 8, 2004 decision, the Army’s contracting officer, Mr. Krahl, stated that information on the working conditions, pay, and other deployment details are publicly available through the contract documents and, therefore, did not provide King with an unfair competitive advantage. Specifically, the contracting officer cited several sections of the solicitation’s Statement of Work that describe the deployment requirements, the pay differential while deployed, and the government’s responsibility to provide all information regarding available equipment, support, and facilities.
The government and defendant-intervenor King similarly argue in this case that deployment information is in the public domain. The government claims that several relevant answers to questions from offerors were available on a government web site at https://army-aviation-systems.red-stone.army.mil/4fw04/, thus placing the information in the public domain. King further argues that an abundance of detailed deployment site setup information is available on the internet at www.jiatfs.southcom.mil/j4, regarding the Apiay, Colombia site. In addition, King asserts that Henrietta Maples’ Naval Postgraduate School thesis, titled “Contractors on the Battlefield: A Case Study of the Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL) Life-Cycle Logistics Support Contract—March 2000 through August 2001,” provided deployment information and, because the thesis is available on the internet, the information it contains also is within the public domain. Information presented in Ms. Maples’ thesis includes personnel turnover and its causes, the requirement for a 15 percent pay differential while deployed to hostile areas, duty time, beddown base information, and deployment conditions. The 1999 contract awarded to Avtel, which King obtained under the FOIA, also provides information about the detailed requirements of deployment personnel.
Avtel argues that the Wilbanks disclosure that Avtel pays a 15 percent hostile area pay differential is proprietary information. Avtel appears to believe that the 15 percent hostile pay differential is at the discretion of the contractor, citing the Maples thesis, which stated: “The ‘hostile area’ differential amounts to 15 percent (15%) of the employee’s yearly salary for the duration of such travel and work assignment in the designated hostile area. The Government cannot direct the contractor’s corporate headquarters to pay these individuals higher wages during deployments or even mandate that they pay deployment bonuses. It would seem a prudent contractor strategy to take care of their personnel .... ” Believing the pay differential to be discretionary, Avtel argues that the fact that it pays the differential is proprietary. Avtel is mistaken.
The Statement of Work for the 2004 Dash 7 solicitation, at section 3.12.5, “Hostile Area Differential,” states that:
In the event an employee is required to travel and work in a hostile area as defined by the U.S. State Department, a hostile area differential outlined in Title 37, chapter 5, Section 310 U.S.Code or current hostile location shall be paid at the percentage authorized. Differential shall be paid towards base salary for the duration of such travel and work assignment in designated hostile area. Differential pay shall be included in the 0 & A [Over and *193 Above] work request associated with the work effort supporting the assigned mission.
This solicitation language takes the discretion out of whether a contractor will pay the hostile area pay differential, and is consistent with the Maples thesis, which states: “The contract contains a Hazardous Pay clause. In the event an employee is required to travel to and work in a hostile area, the contractor is required to pay at the percentage authorized a hostile area differential ____” The Maples thesis later notes that other, additional wages or bonuses may be paid at the contractor’s discretion, and encourages such additional pay. But the hostile area pay differential is required by the contract, as is discussed in the publicly available Maples thesis. Therefore, Mr. Wil-banks’ disclosures about the pay differential on deployment provided King with no competitive advantage. Furthermore, the disclosure of employee compensation has not typically been considered contractor bid or proposal information. See Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 14-15 (finding that the release of compensation information did not violate the Procurement Integrity Act, 41 U.S.C. § 423 (b)).
The parties identify five primary information sources which discuss working conditions, pay, and other deployment details: the internet, the solicitation’s Statement of Work, Ms. Maples’ Naval Postgraduate School thesis, Avtel’s 1999 contract, and King’s meeting with Donald Wilbanks, an Avtel employee. As noted earlier, information available on the internet is within the public domain, since it is available to anyone who has access to a computer with internet capability. Likewise, information contained in the Statement of Work, which was included in the solicitation and released to the public on May 14, 2004, also is in the public domain. The Maples thesis was approved for public release with unlimited distribution and, therefore, also was in the public domain, a topic discussed further below. Moreover, information contained in the 1999 Army contract awarded to Avtel, which also is discussed more extensively below, including detailed requirements of deployment personnel, has been made public as a result of the bid opening process and contract award. See R & W Flammann GmbH v. United States, 339 F.3d at 1323 (“[T]he incumbent contract’s bids were publicly opened and became immediately available to the public____When a sealed bid is available to the public, whether or not it is consulted, it enters the public domain....”).
Not only was extensive deployment information already in the public domain, but Avtel also has not demonstrated to the court that disclosure of information claimed to be sensitive would cause Avtel to suffer substantial competitive harm. See Martin Marietta Corp. v. Dalton, 974 F.Supp. 37, 41 (D.D.C. 1997) (holding that release of contractor’s alleged proprietary information was proper since the contractor failed to demonstrate that such release would result in substantial competitive harm). The court concludes, therefore, that the deployment information was in the public domain, and the information provided by Mr. Wilbanks, and largely available from numerous other sources, affords King no unfair competitive advantage. Based on the information available in the public domain to all bidders concerning the working conditions, pay, and other details of deployment, combined with plaintiffs failure to demonstrate competitive harm, this court finds that the contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King based on this information had a reasonable basis.
2. Flying Hour Average
Avtel argues that the flying hour average information King sought and obtained from Mr. Wilbanks was proprietary. According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks informed King that the “[f]lying hours per the solicitation are predicated by the government to be 160 hours per plane per month (120 hrs missions and 40 hours training).” The meeting notes further indicate: “The program has [deleted]. In fact December with holidays and down time the planes only flew [deleted].” According to Mr. Weaver, Mr. Wilbanks further indicated that: “Flying schedules in El Paso are prepared and always changing based on the Army’s needs.” Avtel asserts that this sort *194 of information is not found in the contract documents.
In his final decision, the contracting officer concluded that flying hour averages were publicly available through the contract documents. Specifically, the contracting officer stated that: “Contract Line (CLIN) 0002AA, page 6 of the solicitation gives an estimate of 8801 flying hours.” In addition, the contracting officer found that Appendix G of the solicitation contained a two-year history of flying hours broken down by aircraft and by month. Both of these sources of information are in the public domain because they were attached to the solicitation, a public document available to all bidders.
The government and defendant-intervenor King also argue that flying hour information is in the public domain. The government noted that a question from a prospective offeror, provided on the internet and referred to in an amendment to the May, 2004 solicitation, projected the monthly average flying hours to be 81.5 hours per aircraft. King notes that the 1999 Avtel contract, obtained under the FOIA, provides a flying hours estimate of 160 hours per aircraft per month, but that actual flying hours are less than 160 hours per month, as disclosed in public documents. The Maples thesis discloses that “due to a shortage of ARL pilots and the long lead-times associated with applying the aircraft/PME modifications,” the government-estimated flying hours were not met. Additionally, the flying hour history found in the solicitation reveals that fewer than 160 hours per month were achieved. As discussed above, all of the information King obtained from the 1999 Avtel contract, the Maples thesis, and the internet are within the public domain.
Information King obtained from Mr. Wil-banks regarding flying hour averages is found within the public domain. The monthly flying hour average of 160 hours was stated, not only by Mr. Wilbanks during his meeting with King, but in the 1999 Avtel contract and the Maples thesis. Additionally, the Maples thesis states, “these flying hours have not materialized at Fort Bliss,” which is similar to Mr. Wilbanks’ comment that the program has never accomplished 160 flying hours per plane per month and that the flying schedules are constantly changing. In addition, the Statement of Work contains actual flying hour history, which can be calculated to arrive at a flying hour average. Thus, information obtained from Mr. Wil-banks was either the same or substantially similar to information that could be found in the publicly available documents. Furthermore, Avtel has not demonstrated competitive harm by the disclosure of flying hour information. See Martin Marietta Corp. v. Dalton, 974 F.Supp. at 41 (release of contractor’s information was allowed because contractor did not demonstrate that such release would result in substantial competitive harm). For these reasons, the court finds that the contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King based on disclosure of this sort of information had a reasonable basis.
3. Aircraft Painting and Washing
Mr. Wilbanks informed King that, “Currently the aircraft get painted every [deleted] years. They generally get painted at the Mohave location____” Avtel argues that the information King obtained from Mr. Wil-banks regarding aircraft painting and washing is competition-sensitive. The contracting officer determined that the aircraft painting and washing information is publicly available through the contract documents, particularly the solicitation and Statement of Work. The government and King similarly agree that the information is in the public domain.
The court finds that information regarding aircraft painting and washing was in the public domain and King was not provided with an unfair advantage in this regard. First, the publicly available solicitation, at CLIN 0006AA, provides a yearly estimate of three aircraft strip and repaints per year, as well as items to include in the price for the strip and repaint of the aircraft. Additionally, the solicitation’s Statement of Work contains a section titled “Painting of Aircraft,” which describes the contractor’s responsibility for aircraft painting, as well as a section titled “Aircraft Cleaning,” which provides aircraft washing requirements. A response to a question from an offeror, provided on a public web site and referred to in an amend *195 ment to the May, 2004 solicitation, also states that aircraft must be painted every three years. Additional information about the scope of the work required, quantities, and prices are located in the 1999 Avtel contract obtained under the FOIA. Through the publicly available Statement of Work, King, or any other offeror, could have learned that each aircraft would be painted every three years. The only additional information provided by Mr. Wilbanks regards the Mohave location where Avtel painted its aircraft. Av-tel, however, has not demonstrated to the court how this information provided King with any competitive advantage. The court finds that information on aircraft painting and washing was in the public domain and the contracting officer had a reasonable basis for his non-disqualification decision on this item.
Ip. Current Staffing Level
Avtel argues that Mr. Wilbanks inappropriately disclosed the actual number of employees Avtel maintained at the job sites. Avtel argues, for example, that through Mr. Wilbanks, King learned that, although the contract requires a minimum of 24 employees at Fort Bliss, Avtel is “understaffed with 22 people.” Keith Weaver’s notes on the meeting with Mr. Wilbanks further state: “The next contract will require a minimum of 35 [employees], [Mr. Wilbanks’] suggestion is that the contractor should bid at least 40.”
In his contracting officer’s final decision, Mr. Krahl found that information on Avtel’s current staffing levels was publicly available through the contract documents. To reach his conclusion, Mr. Krahl referred to the contract’s Statement of Work, paragraph 3.12, which states that “[t]he minimum manning level for each BB [beddown base] shall be no less than four (4) maintenance technicians per assigned aircraft.” The contracting officer also relied on Avtel’s Monthly Maintenance Report to determine that Avtel’s staffing level was publicly available. According to the documents in the Administrative Record, including a Monthly Maintenance Report from October, 2004, the report lists the number of employees per site, and neither the report nor any information in the report was marked as proprietary.
The government and King also contend that current staffing level data is available in the public domain. King asserts that, in addition to the requirement in the May, 2004 solicitation for a minimum of four maintenance technicians per aircraft, the Maples thesis lists the staffing levels as 24 technicians for Ft. Bliss and 20 technicians for Camp Humphreys. In addition, at each site, there would be a site manager as well as inventory and quality control inspectors. King argues that another method for estimating the current staffing level is through physical observation provided by the solicitation at clause H-22, “Site Visits,” which permits prospective bidders to undertake a site visit. King further claims that information about the number of employees maintained at each site was available on Avtel Services’ and Telford Aviation’s web sites, until that information was removed at some point after March 4, 2005. Finally, King notes that Mr. Wilbanks never disclosed the number of employees upon which Avtel based its latest proposal.
The court finds no issue with the contracting officer’s finding that much of the information on current staffing levels can be found in the public domain through the contracting documents, the Maples thesis, and on the internet. Likewise, site visits during Avtel’s tenure would have revealed to King or any other offeror the current number of Avtel employees, or a close approximation thereof, at each site. In addition, the Government Accountability Office has held in a bid protest that the number of incumbent employees was not proprietary. See Rothe Dev., Inc., 1998 WL 421799 , at *3 (the number of incumbent contractor’s employees did not reveal the contractor’s important pricing information and was not proprietary). The contracting officer’s conclusion that disclosure of staffing levels did not represent a basis for King’s disqualification was, therefore, reasonable.
5. Government Furnished, Equipment
Keith Weaver’s notes indicate that Mr. Wilbanks observed:
*196 Most all equipment is furnished. Avtel has between [deleted] that is Avtel property that it bought to support the program. The Government owned inventory is about $12 mil for Ft Bliss and $6 mil for Korea. The program includes 9 spare engines. Don felt the Government does a great job of funding for all equipment that is required for the ARL program in Ft Bliss. Contractor is responsible for the upkeep of Ground Support Equipment under CLIN 2.
Avtel argues that this information is proprietary and competition sensitive.
The contracting officer’s final decision found that information on government furnished equipment was in the public domain because it is provided in the contract documents. Specifically, the contracting officer identified Appendix F to the Statement of Work, which contains an inventory of government furnished property under the contract. As the “Government Property” section of the Statement of Work explains, “[sjpecial tools and equipment required to perform both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, when not issued as G.P. [government property], shall be provided by the contractor.” The contracting officer, therefore, concluded that when equipment is needed, but not listed in Appendix F, the contractor is responsible for providing the item.
The government similarly argues that information on government furnished equipment was in the public domain. The government states that, in addition to the information provided in the contract documents, several questions from offerors, responded to in contract modifications on the internet, addressed whether the current levels of government furnished equipment inventory would be replenished before the new contract was awarded. King agrees with the government and the contracting officer’s decision and includes other sources in support of its assertion that information on government furnished equipment was in the public domain, and notes that clause H-22 of the May, 2004 solicitation, which permits prospective offerors to perform site visits,-during which they may review the government furnished property list. King further argues that the amount of money Avtel spent to furnish equipment for the contract, [deleted] per flying hour ([deleted] Avtel spent divided by 13,940.8 flying hours, taken from Appendix G of the solicitation), is an insignificant amount and of no competitive value to King.
This court finds that the information King Aerospace obtained from Mr. Wilbanks is not proprietary because data on government furnished property is included in the Statement of Work, a publicly available document. Mr. Wilbanks provided, not a concrete amount, but a general price range that Avtel apparently had expended to buy equipment and parts not furnished by the government. This price range was vague and not precise enough to be sufficiently useful to provide a competitive advantage to a potential offeror such as King in formulating its price proposal. Mr. Wilbanks did not provide King with a list of Avtel furnished equipment, and Avtel has not demonstrated how the general information Wilbanks divulged provided King with any competitive advantage. The contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King on this item, therefore, had a reasonable basis.
6. Tooling or Equipment Lacking
According to Mr. Weaver’s notes, Mr. Wilbanks generally indicated that: “the government does an excellent job of rapidly supporting all equipment required for this program. He believes there is no readily identifiable missing equipment.” Avtel argues -that this information is competition sensitive, and argues that only the incumbent contractor possesses the relevant information on contractor furnished tooling or equipment. In his December 8, 2004 decision, the contracting officer stated that information on tooling or equipment needs is publicly available through the contract documents and does not meet the definition of contractor bid or proposal information. The Statement of Work at paragraph 3.4.3 states that any tooling or equipment that is needed, but not provided by the government must be provided by the contractor. Using this information in conjunction with Appendix F to the Statement of Work, which lists govern *197 ment-furnished items, the contracting officer concluded that the contractor is responsible for providing any needed item that is not listed in Appendix F.
Similarly, the government and King allege that the information on tooling or equipment needs is in the public domain. In addition to the information found in the contract documents, the government asserts that answers to offerors’ questions, previously on the internet, stated that the contractor is responsible for buying needed equipment not provided by the government and that the incumbent contractor must bring unserviceable property into serviceable condition prior to the beginning of the new contract. King cites to additional paragraphs in the Statement of Work, requiring the contractor to maintain all Ground Support Equipment in serviceable condition and address any shortcomings in equipment or inventory during the phase-out of the predecessor contractor.
The bulk of information on tooling or equipment is found in publicly available documents. Mr. Wilbanks did not identify any missing equipment for the old Dash 7 contract, and did not address tooling or equipment needs for the current contract, with its different requirements. Moreover, on a site visit permitted by the Site Visit clause in the solicitation, H-22, King would be able to observe the equipment and tools currently at the site and compare the inventory with the list of government furnished property contained in Appendix F of the Statement of Work, to determine equipment and tooling needs, if any. The court concludes that the information King obtained from Mr. Wil-banks did not give a competitive advantage to King, and that the contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King based on this item had a reasonable basis.
7. Vehicle Needs
According to Mr. Weaver’s notes, Mr. Wilbanks stated that: “[deleted].” Avtel believes this information to be competition sensitive. Avtel argues that a site visit would have only informed on how many vehicles were in use under the old contract, not whether more vehicles were needed, and not whether to factor in contingency pricing for vehicle needs.
On the issue of vehicles needed for the contract, the contracting officer reasoned that, “[a]s with all government furnished property, if it is not listed on Appendix F [of the solicitation], then the contractor should plan on providing the property themselves.” Additionally, the contracting officer concluded that offerors could easily observe vehicles during a site visit to the primary beddown base. King adds that “[government vehicles are easily distinguishable by their government license plates.” The contracting officer also found that information on vehicle needs did not fit the definition of contractor bid or proposal information which would assist an offeror and that such information was in the public domain. The government and King agree, and state that public information in the Statement of Work provided a basis for the contracting officer’s conclusions.
Avtel has not demonstrated that vehicle needs being furnished by the government on the prior Dash 7 contract, or in this case, the absence of additional vehicle needs, provided King an unfair advantage on the new solicitation, which had different requirements compared to the 1999 Dash 7 Contract. Because the vehicle information was provided in the contract documents and any further need for contractor vehicles could have been identified through observing contractor vehicles during a site visit, and also because the record does not reflect that King relied on the information for the new solicitation, with new requirements, the contracting officer’s conclusion not to disqualify King for this reason had a reasonable basis.
8. Role and Location of Program Management Office
According to Mr. Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks indicated that Avtel’s Program Manager and the Program Management Office were located in the [deleted] area. Avtel labeled this information competition sensitive and argued that the sensitivity was based on information Mr. Weaver sought as to why the program manager was located in [deleted]. According to the plaintiff, through Mr. Wilbanks, King learned that *198 there is no hard and fast reason to have the program office in [deleted]. Avtel argues that this information was not in the public domain, but that King learned that it would not be required to maintain the office in [deleted] and incur related costs. The contracting officer’s final decision notes that the role of the Program Manager is found in the 1999 Dash 7 contract under the section on key personnel. The information also is contained in the 2004 Dash 7 solicitation. Furthermore, as the contracting officer’s final decision notes, the name and location of the Program Manager and his office can be found on the internet. In addition, the location of the Avtel Program Management Office is found in the publicly available Maples thesis.
King argues that even without the information from Mr. Wilbanks, the conclusion that maintaining the [deleted] Program Management Office is not a requirement is determinable. Publicly available information makes clear that [deleted] is not a Forward Operating Location (FOL), Forward Operating Station (FOS), Army contracting office, or Avtel repair station. Therefore, one could deduce from this information that the [deleted] site is not one the contractor would be required to preserve.
Knowledge about why the Program Management Office is located in [deleted] would not confer a competitive advantage on King because maintaining a site, whether in [deleted] or any other location, required King to factor those expenses into its proposal cost. Furthermore, once information enters the public domain, it is no longer proprietary. See CNA Fin. Corp. v. Donovan, 830 F.2d at 1154 . For these reasons, information on the role and location of Avtel’s Program Management Office in [deleted] is not competition sensitive, and the contracting officer had a reasonable basis for not disqualifying King on this basis.
9. Number of Employees Required, in Avtel’s Program Office
According to Mr. Weaver’s meeting notes, Mi'. Wilbanks indicated that there were currently [deleted] people working in the [deleted] Program Office in the following areas: [deleted]. Avtel argues that the integrity of the procurement was impaired, and that by learning the number and type of personnel Avtel maintained in its Program Office, King gains insight into Avtel’s management and an approximation of the related costs.
In his final decision, the contracting officer concluded that knowing the number of employees required in Avtel’s Program Office “would not impair the integrity of the procurement.” He relied on Arctic Slope World Services, Inc., which stated, “There is nothing improper in releasing information on the number of personnel performing an incumbent contract.” Arctic Slope World Servs., Inc., B-284481, B-284481.2, 2000 CPD H 75, 2000 WL 675594 , at *3 (Comp.Gen. Apr. 27, 2000) (citing Rothe Dev., Inc., 1998 WL 421799 , at *3).
The government and King add that the type of employees needed in the Program Management Office can be inferred from the solicitation. The government and King note that the Statement of Work in the 2004 Dash 7 solicitation, for example, provides the roles and requirements of key personnel, including the program manager and contract manager. King also notes that the contract clauses at FAR 52.222-41 (Service Contract Act), 52.232-1 (Payments), and 52.232-7 (Payments under Time-and-Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts), require contractor financial support personnel. The 2004 Dash 7 solicitation contemplates contractor logistics support personnel, further identifying the types of personnel required in the program office. Finally, all offerors were permitted to participate in a site visit, which would reveal through observation the number of employees working at the Program Office. In other words, an offeror could infer from the available public documents that procurement, logistics, and finance personnel are needed in addition to a program manager and observe through a site visit the number of personnel working at the site. The general information disclosed did not rise to the level of competition sensitive information, and the contracting officer had a reasonable basis for not disqualifying King on this basis.
*199
10. Difficulty in Maintaining Mission Capable Shipping Rates
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks informed King that: “[deleted].” Avtel argues the information Mr. Wilbanks provided was useful for King’s pricing decisions.
The contracting officer concluded, however, that the difficulty in maintaining mission capable rates is publicly available in the contract documents. Avtel’s 1999 contract, for example, requires an “Aircraft Status Report,” which lists all aircraft, indicates if they are Non-Mission Capable (NMC) or Partially Mission Capable (PMC), and the cause of the impact on mission capability. In addition, the Maples thesis contains eighteen months worth of mission capable rates, and factors impacting mission capability including the difficulty of getting aircraft spare and repair parts to deployment sites. King notes that the route for shipping aircraft parts to Colombia, whether through [deleted], is determined by Federal Express, not the shipper, and is available on the Federal Express web site. King also argues that there is abundant information on the internet regarding difficulties a contractor might face in maintaining its mission capable rates in both South America, at the Colombia site, and at Camp Humphreys, in the Republic of Korea.
Mr. Wilbanks’ opinion on the mission capable rates added nothing significant to what was already available in the public domain. Nor does an employee’s opinion automatically rise to the level of contractor bid or proposal information. See Synetics Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 14; Textron Marine Sys., 1994 WL 424686 , at *6, 8. Under these facts and circumstances, the need to get parts to a deployment location does not rise to the level of competition sensitive information. The contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King for this item had a reasonable basis.
11. Parts Vendors
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks indicated that: “[deleted].” Avtel believes that its possession of a good supply of parts is competition sensitive information.
The contracting officer’s final decision noted that Dash 7 parts vendors may be obtained on the internet and were, therefore, in the public domain. The contracting officer named specific vendors’ web sites, and stated that a search for “DeHavilland Dash 7” on the internet revealed “several parts vendors.” The government and King similarly argue that information on parts vendors is within the public domain. King notes that many companies maintain large inventories of aircraft parts and, thus, the fact that Avtel keeps a supply of parts is not unique and does not provide special information to King. Additionally, King argues, “Avtel’s inventory is also not relevant because parts are not billable to the Government until they are needed, issued, and installed, under the provisions of FAR 52.232-7____”
The court does not find that King received a competitive advantage based on the information that [deleted]. DeHavilland is a public commercial vendor and a logical vendor for the DeHavilland Dash 7 (DHC-7) aircraft. Furthermore, according to King’s 2004 proposal, King will [deleted]. Nor has Avtel demonstrated that the virtue of generally maintaining a good supply of parts rises to the level of competition sensitive information. The contracting officer had a reasonable basis for not disqualifying King based on this item.
12. Whether Repair Station Violations Had Occurred
According to Keith Weaver’s notes, Mr. Wilbanks told King that Avtel’s “[deleted]” and that “FAA inspections are no more than a [deleted].” Avtel argues that this information is proprietary. The contracting officer’s final decision notes that information on repair station violations is in the public domain, citing the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) website at www.faa.gov, which provides a listing of violations by company, type, and sanction. The contracting officer concluded, therefore, that information on repair station violations was not proprietary. The government and King similarly argue that repair station violation information is not *200 proprietary and, therefore, could not give King a competitive advantage.
Furthermore, Avtel’s relationship with the FAA is not relevant to King’s relationship with the FAA at any given time. As King argues, “the relationship Avtel has with the FAA is insignificant to the relationship that King must develop at a new location,” and “such information and the length of time the FAA spent inspecting Avtel on a walk-through (brief, by definition) would be of no competitive advantage to King.” Plaintiff has not demonstrated that information as to whether or not Avtel had a good relationship with the FAA rises to the level of a competitive advantage. The court concludes that the information provided on the FAA’s website regarding any of Avtel’s violations is not proprietary and, therefore, did not give King a competitive advantage. The contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King based on this item had a reasonable basis.
13. The Strengths and Weaknesses of Av-tel and Subcontractors
Keith Weaver’s notes on King’s meeting with Mr. Wilbanks reflect the following questions and answers:
19. Who are the contractors that support the mission equipment? [deleted]
20. What are their strengths and weaknesses? The government is only so/so happy with them. The contract is being ready to be put out to bid. Don feels a strength is that they are both good at what they do but there is [delete] that is behind schedule and not working very well that is creating government disappointment. A weaknesses [sic] is that they are having trouble getting some new equipment working, (emphasis in original).
Avtel argues that, with such information, King could determine whether “it will need to price for contingencies or additional training in order to circumvent problems the incumbent contractor is currently experiencing.” In his December 8, 2004 decision, the contracting officer concluded that information on Avtel’s strengths and weaknesses is purely opinion, and not proprietary. To illustrate this conclusion, the contracting officer gave an example: “what an employee may see as a weakness such as low pay and minimal benefits, management could see as a budgetary strength for the company.” Thus, the contracting officer concluded that this information does not meet the definition of contractor bid or proposal information. The government echoed the contracting officer’s position that opinions about Avtel’s strengths and weaknesses are subjective and not bid or proposal information. Moreover, King contends that information on Avtel’s strengths and weaknesses is in the public domain. Av-tel’s strengths are available in letters from the Army, which were previously posted on Avtel web sites. The Maples thesis, an internet available, public document, also contains criticism of Avtel in meeting mission capable rates, personnel turnover, obsolescence, and Avtel’s corporate structure.
The court concludes that an opinion that an Avtel subcontractor is behind schedule on a tasking is neither unique nor sufficiently specific to rise to the level of competition sensitive information. Moreover, the opinion of one employee, which was not even the official corporate position, is not definitive. The contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King based on this item had a reasonable basis.
H. Engineering Support
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Avtel employee Wilbanks indicated that he received engineering support through “[deleted] for structural and electrical engineering diagrams that are sent for approval to DeHavilland,” and that Avtel either performs [deleted] engineering or outsources to DeHavilland. Avtel believes this information to be proprietary.
The contracting officer’s final decision concluded that companies offering Dash 7 engineering support are readily available on the internet and, therefore, are in the public domain. The government and King similarly contend that there are a numerous Dash 7 engineering support resources on the internet, including the web site of Bombardier, the parent company of DeHavilland. King *201 adds that the Maples thesis, which is in the public domain, “[deleted].”
In identifying [deleted] as a quality assurance employee, Mr. Wilbanks did not divulge information generally considered contractor bid or proposal information. See Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 4, 14 (finding that information, including the names and positions of twenty-eight employees of the incumbent contractor, obtained by a competitor, did not meet the definition of contractor bid or proposal information, and was not considered proprietary); Textron Marine Sys., 1994 WL 424686 , at *8, 10 (finding that information regarding the incumbent’s organizational structure and staffing was not proprietary information); RAM-COR Sens. Group, Inc., 1993 WL 409526 , at *2-3 (finding that the names and telephone numbers of incumbent contractor’s employees were not proprietary information). Furthermore, in naming DeHavilland as Avtel’s engineering support resource for the DeHavilland Dash-7 aircraft, Mr. Wilbanks did not confer on King a competitive advantage. Knowledge of the availability of the original equipment manufacturer, DeHavilland, for engineering support is easily available on the internet. According to King’s 2004 proposal, King [deleted]. Under these facts and circumstances, Avtel’s use of DeHavilland, the OEM, does not rise to the level of competition sensitive information. The fact that Avtel either performs work [deleted] or outsources it, without further detail, is unremarkable, and similarly confers no competitive advantage on King, The contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King for this item had a reasonable basis.
15. Annual Audit on Parts and Equipment
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks indicated that a local contractor performs Avtel’s parts and equipment inventory and the government performs an annual audit. Mr. Wilbanks also mentioned that “[deleted].” Avtel argues that this information shows King how the system “actually works” and is proprietary.
The contracting officer’s final decision concluded that annual audit information is publicly available through the contract documents. Specifically, the contracting officer cited to the CDRL (Contract Data Requirements List) A001, the “Status of Government Furnished Equipment Report,” stating that it provided the update on parts and equipment. The government also notes that Appendix F to the Statement of Work contains the inventory of government supplied equipment. To support its contention that annual audit information is in the public domain, King cites to FAR 45.508, “Physical Inventories” which provides for periodic contractor inventories of government property. King also cites to another public document, the “DoD Manual for the Performance of Contract Property Administration,” DoD 4161.2-M, at 60-65. This DoD Manual states that: “Often, contractors will hire a separate company, such as special service firms, to do the inventory.” In addition, King notes that using a local inventory firm is not a significant cost and is not a requirement of the contract.
The DoD Manual for the Performance of Contract Property Administration indicates that it is common for contractors to utilize special service firms to conduct parts inventories, and that hiring an outside firm “has proven to be a very effective method,” thereby encouraging the use of outside firms. Because the use of an outside contractor is not only common, but encouraged by the military, the fact that Avtel’s audits are performed by an inventory-taking firm instead of Avtel personnel is unremarkable and does not rise to the level of contractor bid or proposal information that would provide King a competitive advantage. The court finds that the contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King based on this item had a reasonable basis.
16. Insurance
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks told King that Av-tel’s employees were not happy with their employee insurance. Mr. Wilbanks had commented that there was no life insurance coverage on deployments, that dental coverage was “poor,” and that the disability insurance company was “slow to pay benefits.” The health insurance, for which families paid Blue *202 Cross & Blue Shield [deleted] per month on an [deleted] per month premium, “does not provide great coverage.” Avtel contends that with this information, King would be able to negotiate cheaper insurance.
According to the contracting officer’s final decision, insurance information is publicly available in the contract documents. Specifically, the contracting officer cites to the solicitation, which details the contract’s insurance requirements at paragraph H-4, “Required Insurance.” Paragraph H-4 requires the contractor to maintain workers’ compensation, employer’s liability insurance, general liability insurance, automobile liability insurance, and aircraft public and passenger liability insurance. The contracting officer also relies on clauses included in the solicitation regarding insurance, FAR 52.228-3, “Workers’ Compensation Insurance (Defense Base Act) (APR 1984),” and FAR 52.228-5, “Insurance—Work on a Government Installation (JAN 1997).” Furthermore, the Wage Determination portion of the solicitation provides that employees are to receive an average of $2.56 per hour for life, accident, health insurance plans, sick leave, pension plans, civic and personal leave, severance pay, and savings and thrift plans.
Insurance for the benefit of employees is part of employee compensation, the disclosure of which in the Synetics case was found not to be actionable. See Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 14-15 (finding that the release of compensation information did not violate the Procurement Integrity Act, 41 U.S.C. § 423 (b)); see also Martin Marietta Corp. v. Dalton, 974 F.Supp. at 41 (finding that release of the contractor’s alleged proprietary information was not improper since the contractor had failed to demonstrate that such release would result in substantial competitive harm).
The plaintiff has not demonstrated that Mr. Wilbanks’ information would lead King to cheaper insurance. For example, Mr. Wil-banks suggested that, to reduce personnel turnover, a contractor might provide better benefits, such as insurance coverage during deployment. Not only does this general statement not reflect any keen insights, but, by attempting to reduce turnover through this mechanism, there is a trade-off—increased costs. How much will turnover be reduced? How much will increased insurance benefits cost? Was Mr. Wilbanks speaking of his own situation, from his own viewpoint? How much have insurance rates changed since 1999, the award date of Avtel’s last Dash 7 contract? In short, the information provided by Mr. Wilbanks, beyond that contained in the solicitation, was too vague and unspecific to be of any real competitive use. There are simply too many relevant variables to conclude that King, somehow, could use Mr. Wilbanks’ information and, thereby, secure a competitive advantage. The contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King based on this item, therefore, had a reasonable basis.
17. Turnover
In response to the question of whether Avtel experiences [deleted] personnel turnover, Mr. Wilbanks’ answer was: “There is high turnover at least [deleted] every three months. Deployment has at least [deleted] a year that can’t survive it and must come home. Bringing back an employee while on deployment is at the contractor’s expense.” As for what could be done to alleviate the problem, Mr. Wilbanks suggested “[deleted].” Avtel argues that this knowledge enables King to adjust its contingent pricing to account for deployed individuals who decide to come home early.
The contracting officer concluded that information on Avtel’s employee turnover did not meet the definition of bid or proposal information, and did not confer a competitive advantage on King. King contends that information on Avtel’s personnel turnover is in the public domain. Specifically, the Maples thesis lists a number of factors such as physical danger, rigorous working conditions, and low pay as reasons for high turnover, and notes that contractors replace personnel at no cost to the government.
The court finds that the information obtained from Mr. Wilbanks on Avtel’s personnel turnover is in the public domain and, therefore, did not give King a competitive advantage. First, the Maples thesis, which is in the public domain, identified a high *203 turnover rate based on the conditions under which deployed individuals must operate. In addition, the Maples thesis observed that contractors must replace, at their own expense, employees who will not deploy, thus communicating to King and other offerors that they must adjust then* contingent prices accordingly. Avtel, therefore, has not demonstrated that the information Mr. Wilbanks conveyed to King conferred on King a competitive advantage. The contracting officer’s final decision not to disqualify King for this item had a reasonable basis.
18. Wages
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Avtel employee Wilbanks thought that wage levels were below what they should be, noted the 15 percent pay differential when employees deploy, indicated that the average mechanic made between [deleted] an hour, and indicated that the Quality Assurance and Avionics managers made [deleted] a year. Avtel believes this information to be competition sensitive information.
The contracting officer’s final decision concluded that information on wages is not proprietary, citing the Area Wage Determination attached to the solicitation, and its required minimum wages. The contracting officer also cited the Synetics case, for the proposition that the disclosure of compensation information does not rise to the level of a violation of the Procurement Integrity Act, 41 U.S.C. § 423 (b). See Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 14-15. The defendant and King agree that the information in the solicitation established that wages are not proprietary. King also notes that wage rates are available at the Department of Labor web site, and average salaries for employees in the Republic of Korea and El Paso, Texas, also are located on the internet. King further notes that the Maples thesis informs that Avtel is required by the contract to pay its employees a 15 percent differential while in hostile areas.
The court concludes that compensation information is not proprietary under these facts and circumstances, since minimum wages are found in the public contract documents, and average salaries for many types of positions are provided on the internet. Given the information available, King received no competitive advantage from Mr. Wilbanks’ information. The court agrees with the Synetics analysis, that the release of salary information does not violate the Procurement Integrity Act. See Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 14-15. Furthermore, the solicitation at section 3.12.5 (Hostile Area Differential) states that an individual required to travel and work in a hostile area “shall be paid at the percentage authorized.” Therefore, the information on wages that Mr. Wilbanks disclosed to King did not give King a competitive advantage. The contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King on this item had a reasonable basis.
19. Drug Testing
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks indicated that Avtel conducts “[deleted]” on its employees. Avtel claims that this information is proprietary.
The contracting officer’s final decision concluded that drug testing is either a regulatory or contractual requirement and not contractor bid or proposal information. The defendant similarly argues that the Dash 7 Statement of Work indicates that all Army contract non-crew members must undergo flight physicals, conducted in accordance with Army Regulation 95-20, “Contractor’s Flight and Ground Operations,” Nov. 13, 2002, and Army Regulation 40-501, “Standards of Medical Fitness,” Feb. 1, 2005, which require a determination of drug and alcohol abuse. King also argues that drug testing information is in the public domain and cites the solicitation clause at FAR 52.223-6, “Drug-Free Workplace (MAY 2001),” which provides for workplace drug program practices. King also notes that FAA regulations, found on the FAA web site, require implementation of a drug-free awareness program for this contract.
Mr. Wilbanks’ mention of “[i]nitial and recurring drug testing” is too vague and unspecific to provide any competitive advantage beyond the drug program sources for information noted above, such that the contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King on this item had a reasonable basis.
*204
20. Government!Army Information, Reference to Army Regulation 95-20
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks mentioned Army Regulation 95-20, which addressed flight and ground operations, such as towing airplanes and running engines. Avtel believes that this information from Mr. Wilbanks gave King an unfair competitive advantage.
The contracting officer’s final decision concluded that the Army Regulation is publicly available on an Army publications web site, www.usapa.army.mil, and, therefore, is not proprietary to any contractor. The government and King similarly argue that this regulation is in the public domain, noting that Army Regulation 95-20, “Contractor’s Flight Operations,” Nov. 13,2002, is referenced several times in the 2004 Dash 7 solicitation. King also notes that the 1999 Avtel contract obtained under FOIA references Army Regulation 95-20. This regulation as well as numerous other military regulations and manuals are incorporated by reference into the 1999 Dash 7 contract, as indicated by the Mapels thesis. Army Regulation 95-20 also is in the public domain because it is published and readily accessible. Therefore, Mr. Wilbanks’ mention of Army Regulation 95-20 did not give King a competitive advantage, and the contracting officer’s decision not to disqualify King based on this item had a reasonable basis.
21. How to Get Resumes
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks was asked for the best way to obtain resumes from employees, and responded that “[deleted].” Mr. Wilbanks also indicated that he would be forwarding the resumes of three Avtel employees interested in employment if King received the contract.
In his final decision, the contracting officer noted that King had held an “industry day” and had asked for references of qualified personnel. The contracting officer also concluded that personal resumes were not proprietary to a contractor, citing Synetics and FAR 3.104-1 (defining contractor bid or proposal information) for his conclusion. See Synetics, Inc., v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 14 (finding that a list of incumbent’s employees who were candidates for employment with a competitor did not meet the definition of contractor bid or proposal information). The court agrees. Plaintiff has not demonstrated that Avtel employees were forbidden to indicate their interest and availability to King, or that employees’ resumes were proprietary to Avtel. For this reason, the contracting officer’s final decision not to disqualify King based on this item had a reasonable basis.
22. Past Employees Who Can Help
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks was prepared to identify personnel who could be useful to King. Avtel argues that Mr. Wilbanks not only provided King with the names of Avtel employees who could help King with its Dash 7 proposal, but that those employees actually provided valuable information to King to help them with their contract proposal. The contracting officer addressed the first part of Avtel’s allegation in his decision by reasoning that information about past employees is “personal information of the employees,” that “does not fit the definition of contractor bid or proposal information.” Before the court, the government reiterated the contracting officer’s conclusions. For its part, King noted three web sites that provided information about numerous former employees who are sources of information on the Dash 7 program.
In support of Avtel’s second argument, that actual competition sensitive information was provided to King by Avtel employees, Avtel notes that former Avtel employee Kent Lebo provided King with Avtel’s 1999 proposal. Avtel’s 1999 proposal is addressed below, with the court concluding that no competition sensitive information was revealed to King through the proposal. Avtel also argues that Mr. Wilbanks shared “inside information” with King. According to Keith Weaver’s notes, Mr. Wilbanks “confirmed that there would be certain things he would not be at liberty to discuss as an employee of Avtel. He limited his answers for the questions below to topics he felt were fair to discuss.” After reviewing what information *205 Mr. Wilbanks did share with King in this section of the opinion, the court has concluded it did not include competition sensitive information. The contracting officer, therefore, had a reasonable basis for not disqualifying King on this issue.
23. Name of Site Manager
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks identified Avtel’s Korean site manager by name. Avtel argues that the name was proprietary. The contracting officer’s final decision concluded that the name of the site manager was not proprietary, reasoning that names and current positions are contained on resumes. King adds that the site manager’s name was in the public domain via the posting of his name on a web site. The Korean site manager was described, by name, as the person providing “direct leadership and guidance to twenty-one personnel.” Defendant argues that the name of the site manager, whether or not publicized, is not proprietary to a contractor. As the contracting officer’s final decision states, this is “resume information,” which does not rise to the level of contractor bid or proposal information. See Synetics, Inc. v. United States, 45 Fed.Cl. at 14. In the court’s view, the contracting officer had a reasonable basis for not disqualifying King on this basis.
21. Overtime Policy
Keith Weaver’s meeting notes indicate that Mr. Wilbanks informed King: ‘When the plane requires heavy maintenance they go 24/7 to get the plane back up,” and the contractor is not permitted to invoice the Army for overtime, but that overtime is bid into the contract. Avtel asserts that the fact “Avtel chooses to work ‘24/7’ to get the planes back up” is proprietary.
The contracting officer’s final decision cited the following language in the 2004 Dash 7 Statement of Work:
To support mission operations tempo, and training requirements, the contractor shall perform routine maintenance functions when aircraft are not performing missions. This shall require the contractor to perform maintenance before/after normal duty hours and on weekends at no additional cost to the government.
The solicitation, and the Dash 7 mission, therefore, require work before and after normal duty hours, including weekends, and at no additional cost to the government. There is little difference between Mr. Wilbanks’ statement on overtime and the solicitation language. For this reason, the contracting officer had a reasonable basis for not disqualifying King on this issue.
25. Duty Time
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks informed King, when asked about the normal duty time of Avtel’s Korea site employees, that: “Their normal shift week is a reliable 40 hour week. The work is [deleted] with [deleted] days on and [deleted] days off routine.” Avtel argues that this information is competition sensitive.
The contracting officer’s final decision concluded that duty time was not competition sensitive information because the Statement of Work “tells the contractor that the duty time will be irregular and determined by the mission requirements,” and the contracting officer “could not find evidence that this was contractor bid or proposal information.” The government and King also argue that the duty time information was in the public domain because it was described in the Statement of Work. The Statement of Work section relied on was quoted immediately above in the discussion of “Overtime Policies.” Duty time is driven by mission requirements, which will require maintenance services “before/after normal duty hours and on weekends ____” Given the mission-driven, overtime, nature of the Dash 7 contract, Avtel has not demonstrated how normal shift hours provided King any competitive advantage, or how King used this information in its proposal. The court concludes that the contracting officer had a reasonable basis for not disqualifying King on this item.
26. Special Equipment Required
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, when asked if there was special equipment required in Korea, Mr. Wilbanks *206 replied that, “[a]ll unique repairs that require special equipment are performed by [deleted] especially when there is damage or the plane requires painting.” Avtel argues that King gained a competitive advantage from this information.
The contracting officer’s final decision noted that Appendix F of the 2004 solicitation listed the equipment furnished by the government. Appendix F consists of a forty-four page inventory of government furnished property. The contracting officer explained in his final decision that, “[a]s with all government furnished property, if it is not listed on Appendix F, then the contractor should plan on providing the special equipment themselves.”
As for Avtel’s use of [deleted] as a subcontractor for work in Korea, the contracting officer concluded that Avtel has not demonstrated that such generalized information, without more, rises to the level of protected contractor bid or proposal information, or how this information gave King a competitive advantage. Avtel speculates that King can “try to forge a relationship with [deleted].” However, King’s 2004 proposal provides that King [deleted]. King’s proposal also states that King will then choose the “[deleted].” This selection process, as outlined in King’s proposal, indicates that mere awareness of specific vendors provides no competitive advantage. Nor has Avtel demonstrated that King took advantage of the information in preparation for its 2004 Dash 7 proposal. The court concludes that the contracting officer had a reasonable basis for not disqualifying King on this item.
27. A Contact at [deleted] for Parts
According to Keith Weaver’s meeting notes, Mr. Wilbanks provided King with contact information at [deleted] by instructing King “to talk to [deleted] about [deleted] parts.” Avtel believes that King derived a competitive advantage by knowing that Avtel used [deleted] as a supplier on its Dash-7 contract and had an employee contact at [deleted]. The contracting officer, however, found that contact information for personnel in [deleted] service and parts department was publicly available through [deleted] internet site.
The government and King echo the contracting officer’s findings that [deleted] contact information is in the public domain because it is on [deleted] website, which contains the names and numbers of several contacts for parts and services and describes the various aspects of [deleted] aircraft specialties, including products, services, engineering services, and inventory. As discussed previously, King’s proposal stated that it would acquire [deleted], Avtel has not demonstrated that King obtained a competitive advantage from general knowledge of the existence of any particular parts vendor, or how such general knowledge rises to the level of contractor bid or proposal information. The record does not reflect that Mr. Wilbanks provided detailed information, such as Av-tel’s specific pricing arrangements with [deleted] or other subcontracting details. This court, therefore, finds that the contracting officer had a reasonable basis for declining to disqualify King based on this item.
28. Maintenance of Propellers
An e-mail from Avtel employee Mike Barber to King Aerospace employee Larry Breau states in part: “The Props are [deleted] and we [Avtel] send them to several subcontracts but, one for sure is [deleted].” Avtel argues that this vendor information is proprietary. The contracting officer’s final decision stated that the requirements regarding maintenance of propellers were publicly available in the Statement of Work at paragraphs 3.19, “Propeller Assembly Maintenance,” and paragraph 3.50.5, “Propellers.” The contracting officer found that the propeller information was in the public domain because the Statement of Work “tells the contractor what is required and what is the

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/6654672. Public record. Not legal advice.