The pause that reflexes

The solicitation process, from issuing the solicitation to commencement of contract work, can be a long, long time. But no part of it gets the knee-jerk "Oh Man!" reaction like the completely routine protest.

155 workers in Elizabeth City furloughed after protest over Coast Guard contract

After winning a five-year, $200 million contract from the Coast Guard, one Elizabeth City company still has to temporarily lay off more than 150 of their workers.

This protest is the latest in a long line of hiccups for DRS. Their contract was first put on hold because of sequestration, and now that is has been awarded, they still can only go ahead in a limited capacity.

It will take 90 days for the Government Accountability Office to decide on the protest, and the city is preparing for the effects of the temporary loss of these high paying jobs.

I have to wonder if the sequestration also made the news, or the other "long line of hiccups"?

Ever ever there was a whipping boy in government contracting, it was (and is) the protest, the only way the system can be policed in real time.