days before awarding the resulting contract. This authority is not del- egable. I personally have never seen this exception used. Justification and Approvals Many of the actions using other than FAOC require us to prepare a justification and obtain appropri- ate approvals—i.e., J&As. These are discussed in FAR 6.303 /RFO FAR 6.104-1 (Justification) and FAR 6.304 / RFO 6.104-2 (Approval). While I will not go into full details on the content of J&As, some points are worth men- tioning. First, the information form- ing the basis for the J&A should come from the technical and requirements personnel; they and the contracting officer both certify the information in the justification is accurate and complete. J&As can be made on an individual or class basis. Each J&A must include the statutory authority for the action as noted in this article (e.g., 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(1)). Each J&A must cite market research results to support the argument, state that as many sources as possible will be so- licited, and must include a statement on how the agency intends to over- come barriers to competition in the future. Approval of the justification depends on the dollar value of the action (Table 2). The approval levels
demonstrate how much the govern- ment values competition. Revolutionary FAR Overhaul No discussion of a contracting topic during this time would be com- plete without a brief discussion of the RFO. Because so much of FAR part 6 is based on statute, many of the changes clarify language or are organizational. For that reason, ref- erences in this article include both current FAR and RFO FAR references. Or, for example, the current FAR cites seven situations in which it is appro- priate to use FAOC after exclusion of courses. The RFO only cites three: establishing or maintaining alterna- tive sources, set-asides for small busi- nesses, and local firms in a major di - saster. However, the other five in the current FAR are all included in the sin- gle “set-asides for small businesses.” RFO FAR 6.102-2 specifically includes contract actions set-asides for spe- cific small business socioeconomic categories. These include SDVOSB, WOSB, and HUDZone small business categories, etc., as individually listed in the current FAR. Conclusion Competition is a powerful tool in the contracting portfolio. Its benefits include reduced prices, greater trans-
parency, and trust in the integrity of the procurement process, expan- sion of the industrial base, enhanced adoption of innovative technologies, and increased opportunities for small businesses. Not only that. It is the law. JONES s a professor of Contract Management at DAU’s South Region. She has worked in the defense contracting field for 44 years and holds a B.S. from the College of William and Mary. The author can be contacted at jennifer.jones@waru.edu . The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the Department of War. Reproduction or reposting of articles from Defense Acquisition magazine should credit the authors and the magazine.
Related Resources
– (ACON 011) Competition ( ACQuipedia Course Description) – (ACON 040) Justification
and Approval (J&A) ( ACQuipedia Course Description)
– (CCON 020) Contracting for Systems Acquisition Credential (“Contracting Conversations” Podcast) – (CCON 025) Contracting for Services Credential (“Contracting Conversations” Podcast) – Competition in Contracting Act Overview (Webcast) – (CON 0161) Competition in Contracting (Online Training) – Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) (“Contracting Conversations” Podcast)
Table 2. Approval Levels Effective Oct. 1, 2025
Approval Levels
Approving Authority
$10 million or below
Contracting Officer
Exceeding $10 million but less than $100 million Exceeding $100 million but less than $500 million
Competition Advocate (not delegable)
Head of the Procuring Activity, delegable in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section. Senior Procurement Executive (as defined in RFO FAR part 2), delegable in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section.
Exceeding $500 million
Source: RFO DFARs CD 2026- O0017 Rev. 1 DFARS 206.104-72 Table 206.1
MARCH – APRIL 2026 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE 21
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