Blog 67 USMC 20150815 W912D1-15-R-0014 ATTCH 6 Tab 18 - Affidavit Of Anthony Elmore- LEFT 10 APRIL 2015

1. Declaration of Anthony S. Elmore GAO Bid Protest B-411489 I, Anthony S. Elmore, declare as follows, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746; 1. I am a Contracting Officer in Regional Contracting Center - Kuwait (RCC-KU). I was the Contracting Officer who initially authorized release of Solicitation No. W912D1- 15-R-0014 on March 20, 2015. 2. On April 10, 2015, I set my Outlook out-of-office assistant to provide notice, internally and externally, of my absence from April 11 through May 3, as I was sent TDY to class in CONUS. That automatic message also advised anyone needing assistance during my absence to contact MAJ Eric Brooks at eric.a.brooks3.mil@mail.mil. Others have confirmed receipt of that out-of-office response during my absence, so there is good reason to believe that Latvian Connection LLC also received that notice when it submitted its initial quote and again when it submitted its revised quote. During my absence from April 11 through May 3, I could not access my official email nor did I forward any Latvian emails. While I was gone, RCC-KU amended the solicitation four times. Amendment 0004 stated clearly that MAJ Eric Brooks replaced me, effective April 28, 2015, as Contracting Officer for that solicitation. 3. When I left work on April 10, I no longer was Contracting Officer with regard to this solicitation, but I have learned that no amendment notified sources of that change until Amendment 0004 on April 28. When I returned to work on May 4, I had weeks of email to sort through, but no reason to expect that sources would have sent me their quotes for this solicitation. I did not come across emails from Latvian Connection forwarding its quotes, until on May 14 Legal Counsel Mr. Charles Wilder advised me that Latvian Connection had sent me its initial quote on April 20 and its revised quote on May 4. At his urging, I then searched those dates and found that my email had received quotes, even though I had not been the contracting officer as of either of those dates. My email shows that Latvian Connection LLC's revised quote was received at 3:02 pm on May 4. I have read the foregoing declaration. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that it is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Executed on 3 June 2015 at 3:00 PM. Digitally signed by ELMORE.ANTHONY.STEVEN.1067438473 DN: c=US, o=U.S. Government, ou=DoD, ou=PKI, ou=USA, cn=ELMORE.ANTHONY.STEVEN.1067438473 Date: 2015.06.03 14:57:57 +03'00' ANTHONY ELMORE Contracting Officer 1