Northrop Grumman Moving & Storage Co.?

The request by the National Geo-Spatial Intelligence Agency 9NGA) for contractors to move the agency from six locations in the Washington, D.C., area to new digs at Ft. Belvoir, Va., in 2011 has attracted the attention of not only moving and relocation management companies, but also aerospace contractors and systems integrators.

Steve DeLane, business development veep at Alexander's Mobility Services (an Atlas Van Lines affiliate in Baltimore), told me that representatives from Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin showed up earlier this month for an informal NGA presentation and walk-through on its requirements for the move.

Delane said the two companies may have been attracted by the requirement that the movers have Top Secret/Special Intelligence/Talent Keyhole clearances, and he wondered if the solicitation was written in such a way as to attract players from outside the moving industry.

If either Northrop Grumman or Lockheed Martin wins the job, they’re going to need a lot of trucks to move 8,500 NGA employees, the contents of their offices and assorted highly classified gadgets and gizmos, Delane said. He estimated it would take about 400 tractor trailer loads to handle the NGA move, which he estimated could take a year and cost about $2 million.

Delane said his company is well positioned to handle the NGA move. Alexander's Mobility Services is currently handling the move of the Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command from the Washington area to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. But Delane may be reluctant to bid on the NGA move if a wide range of vendors decide to go after the job.

Katrina Redmond, a spokeswoman for Fox Relocation in Boston, said her company has personnel who can meet NGA’s security requirements, and she added that the agency’s planned move is the kind of work her company does well. However, she didn’t say whether Fox intended to bid on the job.

I have yet to hear back from Northrop Grumman or Lockheed with official word on whether or not they intend to get into the moving business. But after a flurry of calls on this and other stories today, I am convinced I am one of the few people working in the federal space not on vacation this week.