[Protest of Air Force Rejection of Bid for Laboratory Support Services]

A firm protested the Air Force's rejection of its bid for laboratory support services, contending that the Air Force: (1) failed to be specific during discussions, rendering them useless; (2) unreasonably required that proposed staff have direct work experience, since the solicitation did not specify such a requirement; and (3) improperly determined that the protester could not subcontract some of the required work. GAO held that the: (1) Air Force clearly communicated to the protester its bid's deficiencies; (2) solicitation, read as a whole, clearly required staff with direct work experience; and (3) Air Force reasonably determined that the protester's proposal to subcontract some of the required work did not offer the required experience. Accordingly, the protest was denied.