Team Sheppard employees reminded to abide by procurement rules Published Feb. 22, 2008 82nd Traing Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- As Sheppard enters the source selection phase of the A-76 process, military, civil service and contractor employees in the areas under study are reminded to exercise care when discussing relevant information such as bid proposals and prices, and technical information including how many people or how much time it takes to do certain work. While we don't think any employee would give such information away on purpose, you would be surprised at the type of information that you might inadvertently give away that could benefit a contractor interested in doing work at Sheppard AFB. For example, someone whom you know informally from your work together in a local charity, but who isn't in your organization, might ask you how many people you have in your unit working on a given task. Initially, you probably think to yourself, that's an odd question, but I'll answer it because this person is nice and just being naturally curious. However, in answering a question like this, you may have inadvertently given an unfair competitive advantage to a contractor who happens to share your interest in charitable work. The Procurement Integrity Act sets limits on what information may or may not be shared. This includes information such as operations or techniques currently used by positions included in the A-76 study. Keep in mind that in rare cases, unscrupulous representatives of some organizations may seek information without identifying themselves. Therefore, it is best not to discuss procurement sensitive information with anyone unless you can verify that they are authorized to receive it. Penalties for deliberately disclosing procurement sensitive information range from administrative action to prison. If you have any questions at all on this subject, please call the 82d Contracting Squadron at 676-5185.