Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Chaplin Priest Services
Department of Defense · Department of the Navy
AI summaryQuoters must be ordained Roman Catholic priests to be considered for solicitation N0018927QW013, Chaplin Priest Services, a small business set-aside. NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk wants Mass, reconciliation and other services at the Naval Air Station Oceana and Dam Neck Annex chapels in Virginia Beach, under a firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work costs) contract with a 12-month base year and options. The response due date is November 23, 2026, 11:00 AM Eastern. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Quoters must be ordained Roman Catholic priests to be considered for solicitation N0018927QW013, Chaplin Priest Services, a small business set-aside. NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk wants Mass, reconciliation and other services at the Naval Air Station Oceana and Dam Neck Annex chapels in Virginia Beach, under a firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work costs) contract with a 12-month base year and options. The response due date is November 23, 2026, 11:00 AM Eastern.
Who can bid (7)
- Be an ordained Roman Catholic priest with the skills and experience the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS) accepts.
- Hold ecclesiastical faculties from the AMS to give valid, authorized sacramental ministry within AMS jurisdiction.
- Have an approved Statement of Ecclesiastical Endorsement (DD Form 2088).
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- Have references from his diocese or religious order.
- Be able to qualify for a Confidential Security Clearance at a minimum.
- Small business under NAICS 813110 (size standard $13 million), as this is a total small business set-aside.
- Be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before award, during performance and through final payment.
How to submit: Email to contract specialist Sarah Celestin (sarah.n.celestin.civ@us.navy.mil) and Carlton Walton (carlton.t.walton.civ@us.navy.mil). What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
From the version posted Oct 23, 2026.
- Serious: Only ordained Roman Catholic priests can send quotes. The technical submission is limited to ordained Roman Catholic priests, so a business can bid only through a priest who meets every personal requirement.
- Serious: Four supporting items required or the quote is not evaluated. Quotes without ecclesiastical faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), a resume, diocese or order references, and the approved DD Form 2088 endorsement will not be evaluated.
- Worth checking: Security clearance and base access. The priest must be able to qualify for a Confidential Security Clearance and keep current certification for installation access.
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- Worth checking: Performance period dates differ. The performance work statement (PWS) gives July 10, 2026 to July 9, 2027, while Section F gives December 13, 2026 to December 12, 2027 for the base year. The notice text also says delivery is due not later than 30 days after award.
- Worth checking: Option periods differ between sections. Section B lists four 12-month option years and a 6-month option line, but the price evaluation says to price a 12-month base, one 12-month option and up to 6 months under FAR 52.217-8. Ask which to price.
- Worth checking: Weekly hours limit given two ways. The PWS says no more than 30 hours per week in one place and a minimum of 7 and maximum of 15 hours per week in another.
- Worth checking: Questions were due Jul 17, 2026. Check the amendments for the agency's answers.
- Worth checking: Contractor must supply and pay a substitute. When the priest cannot serve, the contractor must provide and pay a pre-approved substitute, and must list possible substitutes for approval 30 days after award.
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. Show which files.
- Solicitation - N0018927QW013.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Provide Roman Catholic Mass, reconciliation (confession) and special services at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana Chapel and Dam Neck Annex Chapel in Virginia Beach, and at other Navy sites within a 25-mile radius of NAS Oceana Chapel when directed.
- Base year minimums (one unit equals one and a half hours): 104 weekend Masses, 104 reconciliation units, 11 Holy Day services, 10 sacramental or emergency ministrations, 30 baptisms or weddings, and 156 office-hour units, 415 units in all.
- Conduct Mass every Sunday morning and/or Saturday evening as scheduled, with confessions on site one hour before Sunday Mass and fellowship for one half hour after. Also conduct Mass on Holy Days of obligation and Advent services.
- Baptisms, Anointing of the Sick, funeral and memorial services, counseling, and religious education programs, including the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD).
- Train and certify worship volunteers; write the Prayers of the Faithful; attend staff meetings of the Command Religious Program when called by the Command Chaplain.
- Do administrative work: quarterly reports and other documents the Archdiocese requires, lessons learned to the Command Chaplain within 5 days, and installation access certification kept current.
- After award, give the Command Chaplain a list of possible substitutes for approval 30 days after award, and arrange coverage for absences three weeks in advance. The contractor provides and pays any substitute.
- Options add more years of the same services; the work is under the Command Chaplain, NAS Oceana, who schedules Masses.
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP)
- Period of performance
- 12-month base year, then four 12-month option years and a final 6-month option line; a 6-month extension of services clause (FAR 52.217-8) is also included. The documents give different start dates; see the red flags.
- Place of performance
- Naval Air Station Oceana Chapel and Dam Neck Annex Chapel, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and other Navy sites within 25 miles of NAS Oceana Chapel as directed. SAM.gov lists Norfolk, VA.
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price among acceptable quotes. The technical factor is pass/fail, and price is checked for reasonableness. A price and past performance tradeoff may be used if the contracting officer knows of past performance information about the low-priced quote.
- Offers due
- November 23, 2026, 11:00 AM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to contract specialist Sarah Celestin (sarah.n.celestin.civ@us.navy.mil) and Carlton Walton (carlton.t.walton.civ@us.navy.mil)
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical (acceptable or unacceptable): ordained Roman Catholic priest; resumes judged against PWS section 6, including understanding of Navy organization and pluralistic ministry, references from his diocese or religious order, and an approved Statement of Ecclesiastical Endorsement (DD Form 2088)
- Price: reasonableness compared with other quotes and Government cost estimates; base and all option prices are added together, and significantly unbalanced option prices can make a quote unacceptable
- Past performance: considered only if the contracting officer knows of past performance information related to the low-priced quote
What to include when you submit
- Send the quote in two parts: 1. Technical and 2. Price.
- Technical: resumes for the priest(s), references from his diocese or religious order, the approved Statement of Ecclesiastical Endorsement (DD Form 2088), and proof of ecclesiastical faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS).
- Show in the technical part a clear understanding of Navy organization and the pluralistic ministry requirements that affect the use of chapel facilities and staff.
- Price: the completed Schedule of Supplies/Services for all contract line item numbers (CLINs, the priced lines of the order), plus a complete breakdown of prices and rates.
- Include one original signed Standard Form 1449 (SF 1449, the form you sign and return as your offer), executed copies of any amendments, and executed representations and certifications. Electronic copies are accepted.
- Hold quote prices firm for 120 days.
- Send all questions by email to the contract specialist, Sarah Celestin, at sarah.n.celestin.civ@us.navy.mil.
Not in the notice text
- Which performance period dates and which option structure apply (see the red flags); ask the contract specialist.
- The Government's estimated value is not stated.
- The Service Contract Labor Standards clause is listed, but no wage determination is attached and the statement of equivalent rates is blank.
- The price schedule's unit prices and amounts are blank for the quoter to fill in.
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 813110
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to contract specialist Sarah Celestin (sarah.n.celestin.civ@us.navy.mil) and Carlton Walton (carlton.t.walton.civ@us.navy.mil). Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- NAVSUP FLT LOG CTR Norfolk, VA
- Product/service code
- G002 · Social – Chaplain
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Synopsis The Contracting Department, NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center, Norfolk, VA, 23511-3392 intends to negotiate a Firm Fixed Price type contract. Roman Catholic Priest services are required to meet the Religious Program requirements for Naval Air Station Oceana Chapel and Dam Neck Annex Chapel under OPNAVINST 1730.1E (Religious Ministry within the Department of the Navy). Delivery is FOB Destination and is required not later than 30 days after contract award; Delivery Location is multiple locations in the US. Responsibility and Inspection unless otherwise specified in the order, the supplier is responsible for the performance of all inspection requirements and quality control. The Government will conduct an acceptance inspection at the point of delivery. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 813110 with a size standard of $13 million. Potential contractors are hereby notified that the solicitation and subsequent amendments to the solicitation will ONLY be available for download at the above site; this office will no longer issue hard copy solicitations. By submitting a quote, the vendor is self-certifying that neither the requestor nor the principal corporate officials and owners are currently suspended, debarred, or otherwise ineligible to receive contracts from any federal agency. Failure to do so may represent grounds for refusing to accept the quote. By submission of a quote, the contractor acknowledges the requirement that a prospective awardee must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract resulting from this solicitation, except for awards to foreign vendors for work to be performed outside the United States. Lack of registration in the SAM database will make a contractor ineligible for award. Contractors may obtain information on registration and annual confirmation requirements by calling 866-606-8220, or via the Internet at https://www.sam.gov. Please direct all questions regarding this requirement via e-mail to the POC identified in this synopsis: Sarah Celestin, Contract Specialist, sarah.n.celestin.civ@us.navy.mil, (757) 443-2105.