Don’t know the rules, then hard to play the game.

Welcome to the forest circus. The matoc is a huge mess. They've dropped the ball at every opportunity. Type 3 contracts should be announced any minute but the way things have been going it could also be 2024.

if they offered you a job and you'll be on payroll go for it. Easy money waiting but who knows where your contract base may be. 

I am sorry to share that they are not coming soon. In speaking with USFS management, the program is too busy carding Type 2 aircraft, pilots, mechanics, and other aircraft for the season and haven't had time to finish evaluating the Type 3 MATOC TORPs.  i would not expect awards in anything less than 2 weeks and honestly more likely another 2-4 weeks. It's not their highest priority at the moment. Plus being the first contract award of its kind, the agency is planning on extra scrutiny, by a larger contingent of agency officials further on this award further slowing the award timeline.  I know this is bad news, but maybe knowing some insight will help your situation, definitely don't count on it happening in the next week to 10 days. 

For those of us not real familiar with the fire contract world, just looking for some clarification.

The Matoc is the updated equipment required, and these TORP contracts are this season's type 3 exclusive use that are up for re bid? Am I correct that type 3 operators still don't know if they will get an EU contract this year and where that will be? How many are yet to be assigned? aren't they supposed to start about nowish? 

MATOC stands for Multple Award Task Order Contract and is the new "parent" contract. It replaces the old BOA's (Basic Ordering Agreements) that were the CWN's.  The TORPs (Task Order Requirememt Package) replace the old EU contracts that were solicited as stand alone contracts and the TORPs are now the "child" contract under the MATOC.  All of this contracting stucture and acronyms have been imported from the DOD side of the government.  

Yes, there are 30 Type 3 contracts that were supposed to have started already, would be starting this weekend, or were supoosed to have started in the next 2 weeks.  Those starts will be delayed. It's also very likely due to all the new equipment requirements of the MATOC the USFS is not likely to get 30 MATOC contract compliant aircraft offered to start this summer's TORPs either.  My guess is the USFS will order up the needed Type 3's call when needed (CWN) and fill those bases that way until the TORPs are awarded which means it's most likely luck if the draw who goes to work and who doesn't.  

The Type 2's are one 1 season BOA's and the Type 1's are strictly CWN this summer which is of course off to a very slow start, unless you're working in Canada.