(d) (3) As soon as practicable, the contracting officer must consult with the legal office concerning the protest. Protests received at a level higher than the contracting office must be referred to the contracting office for resolution. Concurrent with this referral, the office that initially received the protest must inform the protester, identifying the contracting office that will handle the protest and giving the point of contact within that office.
(4) Protests requesting an independent review at a level above the contracting officer will be handled as follows:
(i) For contracting officers under the jurisdiction of the Headquarters, Army Materiel Command (HQ, AMC), in accordance with procedures established by the Commander, AMC.
(ii) For contracting officers under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in accordance with the procedures established by the Chief of Engineers.
(iii) For all other contracting activities, in accordance with procedures established by the HCA. If the independent review will be conducted within contracting channels, the HCA will appoint a review authority at least at the level of Director of Contracting. The HCA may also appoint individuals assigned outside contracting channels as a review authority (e.g. attorneys, chief of staff, installation commanders).
