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CONTRACTING OFFICER WARRANT BOARD EXAM
2025/2026 NEWEST ACTUAL EXAM WITH COMPLETE
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED ANSWERS |ALREADY GRADED
A+|
You are the PCO for a major competitive negotiated source
selection. The RFP, which reflects the user's requirements and is
based on the user's budget, has a requirement for 220 cargo
loaders to be delivered at 55 per year over the next four years.
One offeror proposes to deliver all 220 loaders in the first year at
a dramatically reduced price. Can you accept the offeror's
proposal? What factors should you consider in your decision? -
ANSWERS-You can accept the offeror's proposal under certain
circumstances. Firstly, what did the RFP say about alternate
proposals? Is this a situation where requirements are changed
and the other offerors should be allowed to propose on the basis
of the changed requirements? You need to ask the user if he
wants all 220 in the first year and are the operating locations
physically able to accommodate their loaders in the first year.
Finally, the offeror could be taken into discussions and asked to
conform to the RFP with there being the possibility of not being
selected for award or elimination from the competitive range if the
proposal is not made compliant with the RFP.
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You are the PCO on a new $2B aircraft development program.
The program is in contract negotiations for a Fixed Price Incentive
(Firm Target) System Development and Demonstration contract
award to a sole source contractor. The program director, a fast-
burning young colonel, e-mails you that she is very concerned
with the aircraft's ultimate speed at the full specification payload.
She would like the contractor to achieve the faster, desired
objective speed rather than the mandatory threshold speed, and
thinks that an objective performance incentive would be the way
to go to achieve her goal. You are asked to go to her office and
discuss the matter and the issues involved in using such an
incentive. What do you tell the colonel? -ANSWERS-There are a
number of considerations for the colonel:
The desired additional speed should provide benefit to the
Government in order to justify the expenditure of funds to achieve
it. The colonel should be able to articulate the justification.
The situation is very amenable to a classic performance incentive
that would allow the contractor to earn profit for achieving the
desired speed above and beyond what the final FPIF profit would
be for achieving threshold speed. If the contractor perceives this
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can't happen, he will either not sign up to the incentive or will
ignore it from Day One.
The incentive and resulting payment have to be structured so as
to be based on observable, measurable results that would
determine how much is earned by the contractor. Subjectivity is
not allowable under current AF policy without HCA approval.
We have to be very careful to understand what possible
unintended consequences could be caused by the existence of
this feature in the contract. For example, will the contractor
reduce aircraft weight beyond safe limits in order to help achieve
the payment? Also, will the contractor consume excessive
schedule to get the extra speed?
There has to be a cost incentive in place so that the contractor
doesn't spend an unconstrained amount of money to win the
payment, such as under a CPFF contract. The FPIF share line
serves this purpose when balanced against the incentive.
The incentive has to be balanced with the FPIF share line so that
the contractor doesn't spend more money to achieve the desired
speed than he has potential to earn by receiving the payment.
Similarly, the contractor can't be allowed to spend an excessive
amount of money with little cost penalty to achieve success.
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In some cases, Contracting Officers are also Grants Officers.
They can award Grants and Assistance Instruments as well as
contracts. What is Assistance? How does it differ from
Acquisition? What gives the Grants Officers their authority to
enter into assistance? What are the types of Assistance? -
ANSWERS-When the principal purpose is to transfer a thing of
value, to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation
authorized by law of the United States, it is Assistance.
Acquisition, by contrast, has the principal purpose of acquiring
property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United
States Government.
Federal agencies must be authorized by statute to support or
stimulate a public purpose. The statutory authority from Congress
must exist either in broad legislation or in a program-specific
statute. Absent that statutory authority, a Grants Officer may not
use an assistance instrument.
Authorities to issue Assistance can be of three types: (1) Provide
to the Secretary of Defense by statute, e.g., 10 U.S.C. 2391; (2)
Authority provided to DoD components that requires no
delegation by the Secretary of Defense, e.g., 10 U.S.C. 2358; (3)
Authority coming indirectly from statutes, i.e., federal statute
CONTRACTING OFFICER WARRANT BOARD EXAM
2025/2026 NEWEST ACTUAL EXAM WITH COMPLETE
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED ANSWERS |ALREADY GRADED
A+|
You are the PCO for a major competitive negotiated source
selection. The RFP, which reflects the user's requirements and is
based on the user's budget, has a requirement for 220 cargo
loaders to be delivered at 55 per year over the next four years.
One offeror proposes to deliver all 220 loaders in the first year at
a dramatically reduced price. Can you accept the offeror's
proposal? What factors should you consider in your decision? -
ANSWERS-You can accept the offeror's proposal under certain
circumstances. Firstly, what did the RFP say about alternate
proposals? Is this a situation where requirements are changed
and the other offerors should be allowed to propose on the basis
of the changed requirements? You need to ask the user if he
wants all 220 in the first year and are the operating locations
physically able to accommodate their loaders in the first year.
Finally, the offeror could be taken into discussions and asked to
conform to the RFP with there being the possibility of not being
selected for award or elimination from the competitive range if the
proposal is not made compliant with the RFP.
, Page |2
You are the PCO on a new $2B aircraft development program.
The program is in contract negotiations for a Fixed Price Incentive
(Firm Target) System Development and Demonstration contract
award to a sole source contractor. The program director, a fast-
burning young colonel, e-mails you that she is very concerned
with the aircraft's ultimate speed at the full specification payload.
She would like the contractor to achieve the faster, desired
objective speed rather than the mandatory threshold speed, and
thinks that an objective performance incentive would be the way
to go to achieve her goal. You are asked to go to her office and
discuss the matter and the issues involved in using such an
incentive. What do you tell the colonel? -ANSWERS-There are a
number of considerations for the colonel:
The desired additional speed should provide benefit to the
Government in order to justify the expenditure of funds to achieve
it. The colonel should be able to articulate the justification.
The situation is very amenable to a classic performance incentive
that would allow the contractor to earn profit for achieving the
desired speed above and beyond what the final FPIF profit would
be for achieving threshold speed. If the contractor perceives this
, Page |3
can't happen, he will either not sign up to the incentive or will
ignore it from Day One.
The incentive and resulting payment have to be structured so as
to be based on observable, measurable results that would
determine how much is earned by the contractor. Subjectivity is
not allowable under current AF policy without HCA approval.
We have to be very careful to understand what possible
unintended consequences could be caused by the existence of
this feature in the contract. For example, will the contractor
reduce aircraft weight beyond safe limits in order to help achieve
the payment? Also, will the contractor consume excessive
schedule to get the extra speed?
There has to be a cost incentive in place so that the contractor
doesn't spend an unconstrained amount of money to win the
payment, such as under a CPFF contract. The FPIF share line
serves this purpose when balanced against the incentive.
The incentive has to be balanced with the FPIF share line so that
the contractor doesn't spend more money to achieve the desired
speed than he has potential to earn by receiving the payment.
Similarly, the contractor can't be allowed to spend an excessive
amount of money with little cost penalty to achieve success.
, Page |4
In some cases, Contracting Officers are also Grants Officers.
They can award Grants and Assistance Instruments as well as
contracts. What is Assistance? How does it differ from
Acquisition? What gives the Grants Officers their authority to
enter into assistance? What are the types of Assistance? -
ANSWERS-When the principal purpose is to transfer a thing of
value, to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation
authorized by law of the United States, it is Assistance.
Acquisition, by contrast, has the principal purpose of acquiring
property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United
States Government.
Federal agencies must be authorized by statute to support or
stimulate a public purpose. The statutory authority from Congress
must exist either in broad legislation or in a program-specific
statute. Absent that statutory authority, a Grants Officer may not
use an assistance instrument.
Authorities to issue Assistance can be of three types: (1) Provide
to the Secretary of Defense by statute, e.g., 10 U.S.C. 2391; (2)
Authority provided to DoD components that requires no
delegation by the Secretary of Defense, e.g., 10 U.S.C. 2358; (3)
Authority coming indirectly from statutes, i.e., federal statute
