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Reporter's Notebook: Stephen Peacock

DHS 'Tactical Infrastructure' Border Project Underway

The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) is embarking upon a five-year, $363 million "tactical infrastructure" project along both the northern and southern U.S. border, where it will build Customs- and Border Protection-related "roads, low-water crossings, temporary and permanent vehicle barriers, pedestrian barriers, stadium lighting, fencing, and bridges." According to a sources-sought notice located during a routine search of the FedBizOpps database, about 90% of that work will take place in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. Representing the first step toward launching this ambitious endeavor, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, on behalf of DHS, is conducting a "market survey" of potential contractors capable of providing the necessary equipment and services.

The Nov. 3 document emphasizes that contractors must be capable of making equipment deliveries on short notice to remote locations:

"The time between notification of items to be delivered and the required delivery date can range from twenty-four (24) hours notice to two (2) weeks notice. Large deliveries may be staggered to accommodate mission requirements. Typical orders run from $500 thousand to one (1) million dollars and consist of numerous different items."

DHS apparently wants to move quickly on the operation, as the deadline to submit proposals -- contrasted to actual bids, which it will solicit at a later date -- is Nov. 14.

About Stephen Peacock

Biography
I'm a former Washington, DC, journalist (1998-2003) who most recently worked for Communications Daily and Washington Internet Daily (WID), investigative newsletters that cover the telecommunications, broadcast and Internet industries. Following the 9/11 attacks, my news beat expanded beyond Capitol Hill telecom/TV/IT policy and began to include technology-policy coverage at the Pentagon and Dept. of Homeland Security. I've written over a thousand articles about government and industry affairs, and I'm pleased to say that I was the reporter who broke the story about the Total Information Awareness surveillance/data-collection initiative of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. I've written articles for publications including NACLA Report on the Americas, Drug Enforcement Report, Corrections Journal, SoJo Mail (Sojourners), and the Tampa Tribune. I've also written a memoir about my former career as a plainclothes security officer of the Helmsley Palace hotel in New York City, Hotel Dick: Harlots, Starlets, Thieves & Sleaze. I look forward to contributing to the fine work being done here at NarcoSphere.

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Reporters' Notebooks