Federal News Radio reported last week that contractors saw more protest success in 2016 at the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  The sustain rate was last this high in 2001, the year in which statistics were first kept.  Total protests were also up, indicating continued tightness in the government market and contractor willingness to fight over each major award decision.  The 2016 sustain rate was nearly double that of just one year ago and may be an indication that retirements of experienced personnel, coupled with a lack of training and experience among younger officials, is starting to take a toll.  The real benefit of filing a GAO protest, though, is not only reflected in the sustain rate.  A significant number of agencies will pull an acquisition off the street and take remedial action if a protest is filed.  Data on these actions are not kept, but if remedial action occurs just 20% of the time, probably a conservative estimate, contractors would get some positive benefit from protesting nearly half the time.  While companies have to be careful about when and how often they protest, such an action is thoroughly justifiable if a company has legitimate grounds to believe proper procedures weren’t followed.