Guard Troops in DC Can Now Carry Weapons

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, are now authorized to carry weapons if their mission requires it, reports Army Times. DefSec Pete Hegseth signed a memo Friday. The decision would allow the roughly 2,000 troops now mobilized in Washington to expand their operations. President Donald Trump hinted last week that he might send Guard troops to Chicago, reports Army Times.

The Space Force will begin assuming space missions currently conducted by the Air National Guard starting October 1, reports Air & Space Forces Magazine. The moves will involve Guard units in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, and Ohio.

New weapons and improved technology are at the forefront of budget priorities for the US Air Force and Space Force, reports Air Force Times. The plan also calls for cutting more than 5,700 civilian jobs and reduce contracting services.

The Pentagon announced a new military decoration–the Mexican Border Defense Medal–will recognize service members stationed at the US-Mexico border, reports Military Times. The new medal will replace the Armed Forces Service Medal.

A task force of 500 US Marines and sailors is building new fortifications at Arizona’s southern border with Mexico, reports Marine Corps Times. The task force is part of the US Border Patrol Yuma Sector working to secure 126 miles of the border from Arizona to California.

Soldiers on the southern border are using high-tech equipment ranging from drone-warfare systems to futuristic headsets to spot migrants, reports Task & Purpose. The gear includes drones, drone jammers, advanced sensors, and gaming-style headsets.

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence will cut 40% of its staff by October, reports The Hill. ODNI Director Tulsi Gabbard said the cuts would entail reassigning roles and eliminating various centers within the office, including those that monitor foreign efforts to influence Americans; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including biological weapons; and a team monitoring for cyberattacks.

Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has created a tool to detect nuclear weapons talk, reports The Hill.  “Nuclear technology is inherently dual-use: the same physics principles that power nuclear reactors can be misused for weapons development. As AI models become more capable, we need to keep a close eye on whether they can provide users with dangerous technical knowledge in ways that could threaten national security,” Anthropic wrote in the blog post.

Federal prosecutors in Alaska charged a 22-year-old for allegedly running a large-scale cyber operation that hit the Pentagon in at least three cyberattacks, reports DefenseScoop. The “Rapper Bot” Distributed Denial of Service-for-hire botnet impacted the Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN) in at least three attacks between April and August — when federal government authorities gained control of the disruptive malware web.

Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to restore the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, or CARE, for the relocation of Afghan allies and refugees, reports Military Times. The Trump administration closed the office last month. The Enduring Welcome Act would legally codify the office.

A group of US military vets, calling themselves the Battle Buddies, are helping Afghans fight deportation from the US, reports the BCC on MSN. Approximately 200,000 Afghans relocated to the US after Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, as the US left the country after two decades fighting the war on terror. The Battle Buddies say they have a moral and legal obligation to stand and support Afghans. The group says it now has more than 900 veteran volunteers across the US.

Defense Department civilians are waiting for a decision on whether their commissary shopping privileges will be expanded, reports Military Times. An ongoing pilot program at 16 commissaries is still scheduled to run through the end of the year. As of Aug. 12, sales have increased at the pilot stores by 4.98%, or $11.4 million, since the program was launched in December 2024.

Three US destroyers are making their way to Venezuela as the White House aims to pressure Latin American drug cartels, reports Navy Times. The Gravely, the Jason Dunham, and the Sampson are expected to arrive soon.

A US Navy pilot was rescued Wednesday morning off the coast of Virginia after ejecting from an F/A-18E Super Hornet, reports Navy Times. He was taken to a nearby hospital for further medical evaluation. The pilot, from Strike Fighter Squadron 83 at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, VA, was on a routine training flight.

Several sailors were treated for minor injuries after a fire broke out last week aboard amphibious transport docking ship New Orleans off the coast of Japan, reports Navy Times. The sailors have returned to duty, according to the Navy.

The Navy has officially named its next-generation Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission aircraft the E-130J Phoenix II, reports AeroTime. This marks a new chapter in the service’s nuclear command and control capabilities. “Phoenix II is the ideal popular name as we take the E-130J TACAMO mission into its next phase,” said Capt. Roger Davis, Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office (PMA-271) program manager. The plane—if everything else during a large-scale conflict went wrong—would play a critical role in ensuring a continuance of operations for the Navy’s nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines, says Breaking Defense.

Webster Outlying Field in St. Inigoes, MD, hosted an event in late July focused on demonstrating and evaluating emerging Counter Uncrewed Systems technologies, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle. The Thunderdome exercise with NAWCAD’s WOLF and Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 24 provided a platform to address the growing challenges posed by adversarial uncrewed capabilities.

Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, MD, is set to present its air show September 13 and 14. This year’s theme, “Where Legacy Fuels the Future,” places an emphasis on the rich heritage of Andrews that continues to draw the local community in and strengthen that partnership, reports somdnews.com.

Contracts:

Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Marlborough, Massachusetts, was awarded a $52,981,009 fixed-price incentive (firm-target) modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-22-C-5500) to exercise an option for hardware production of the AN/SPY-6(V) family of radars. Work will be performed in Andover, Massachusetts (31%); San Diego, California (9%); Sykesville, Maryland (9%); Scottsdale, Arizona (8%); Syracuse, New York (5%); Cerritos, California (5%); Stafford Springs, Connecticut (4%); Tulsa, Oklahoma (3%); Indianapolis, Indiana (3%); Portsmouth, Rhode Island (2%); Riverside, California (2%); and various locations across the US, each less than 1% (19%). Work is expected to be completed by September 2029. Fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $52,981,009 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Aug. 20, 2025)

Information Systems and Networks Corp., Bethesda, Maryland, has been awarded a $14,268,341 firm-fixed-price and cost contract (M9549425C0014) to provide housing property management support services for Marine Corps service members residing in unaccompanied housing (UH). Work will be performed at 26 installations located in both the continental U.S. and outside the continental U.S. including Okinawa, Japan (23%); Oceanside, California (21%); Jacksonville, North Carolina (21%); San Diego, California (6%); Port Royal, South Carolina (5%); Twentynine Palms, California (4%); Kaneohe, Hawaii (4%); Quantico, Virginia (4%); Havelock, North Carolina (3%); Yuma, Arizona (3%), and various other locations making up less than 1%. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $28,536,683. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2026. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $14,268,341 will be obligate at time of award. This contract was not competitively procured and was awarded under the authority of 10 US Code 3204(a)(1) as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Marine Corps Installations Command Contracting Office, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M9549425C0014).

Sedna Digital Solutions LLC, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $23,842,394 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-23-C-6132) to exercise options for Navy engineering design, development, production support, equipment, and supporting material for SONAR systems. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 30, 2029. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,070,204 (38%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia (HDTRA125DE001); Vertex Aerospace LLC, a V2X Co., Madison, Mississippi (HDTRA125DE003); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (HDTRA1DE004); Fluor Intercontinental Inc., Greenville, South Carolina (HDTRA125DE005); Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp., Overland Park, Kansas (HDTRA125DE006); and Parsons Government Services International Inc., Pasadena, California (HDTRA125DE007), are awarded a combined $3,500,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contract for the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program. The ten-year contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost, cost-plus-award-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, firm-fixed-price-level of effort, and time-and-materials contract. Each awardee is awarded a $10,000 minimum guarantee at contract award through Task Order Two on Sept. 10. This contract will deliver a broad range of services and products to provide sustainable chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threat reduction capabilities to partner nations. The CTR Program partners with willing countries to reduce threat from weapons of mass destruction and related materials, technologies, facilities, and expertise. Work will be performed at various locations throughout the world. Task orders issued under the contract may be for a duration of up to five years and may be extended up to three years past the last ordering date of the contracts. Funding will be obligated for each Task Order and no funds are obligated on the basic contracts. This contract was competitively procured via solicitation HDTRA1-24-R-0001 through the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment, solicitation module; the Government received seven offers. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, CTR Contracting Office/DTRA/AL-ACC, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Technologies Corp., doing business as Pratt and Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a not-to-exceed $2,878,495,761 cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive-fee, undefinitized contract modification (P00008) to a previously awarded contract (N0001923C0030). This modification adds scope for the production and delivery of 141 F135 propulsion systems in support of Lot 18 F-35 aircraft production for the Joint Strike Fighter program for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, F-35 Cooperative Program Partners, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (17.3%); Indianapolis, Indiana (10.4%); Middletown, Connecticut (8%); Kent, Washington (7%); North Berwick, Maine (4%); El Cajon, California (3%); Cromwell, Connecticut (3%); Whitehall, Michigan (3%); Portland, Oregon (2%); San Diego, California (2%); South Bend, Indiana (2%); Columbus, Georgia (1%); Hampton, Virginia (1%); Manchester, Connecticut (1%); Cheshire, Connecticut (1%); Elmwood Park, New Jersey (1%); various locations within the continental US (27.3%); and various locations outside the continental US (7%) and is expected to be completed in February 2028. Fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $575,726,390; fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funding in the amount of $537,304,610; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $79,962,704; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funding in the amount of $77,336,243; FMS customer funds in the amount of $513,763,860; and non-US Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $228,500,253, will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Savvee Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $44,092,088 firm-fixed-price, level of effort task order (N3220525F1267) under General Services Administration (GSA) multiple award schedule contract (47QTCA19D00J0) for information technology (IT) engineering support services. The contractor will provide technical support services to help satisfy current and emerging requirements to enhance IT capabilities and help develop and maintain solutions to satisfy emergent cybersecurity mandates and provide continuous life cycle sustainment for deployed systems. The contract contains a 30 day phase-in period, a base period of 11-months and four 12-month options, and a six-month option under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8 which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $44,092,088. Work under this task order will be performed on a world-wide basis beginning Sept. 8, 2025, and will conclude March 7, 2031, if all options are exercised. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $5,784,009; and working capital funds (Transportation) in the amount of $473,649, are obligated for fiscal 2025 and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was solicited through the GSA E-Buy system and 11 proposals were received. Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Fleet Support Group LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia, was awarded a $16,813,248 delivery order (N55236-25-F-9982) off indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00024-21-D-4114) in support of Task Order 25-P114 for global engineering and technical support for the overhaul and repair of equipment and systems associated with west coast aircraft carriers and surface ships. The overall total contract value ceiling remains unchanged on the contract at $272,977,437. Work will be performed at the naval ship repair facilities in San Diego, California (40%); Bremerton, Washington (40%); and Yokosuka, Japan (20%), and is expected to be completed July 2026. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $16,813,248 was obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

Sigmatech Inc., Colorado Springs, was awarded a $9,728,495 firm-fixed-price contract for systems engineering and technical assistance. This contract provides for systems engineering and technical assistance support for Office of the Assistant Secretary for Space Acquisition and Integration. Work will be performed in the National Capital Region and is expected to be completed by Feb. 23, 2026. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance appropriations funds in the amount of $9,728,495 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force District of Washington Contracting Directorate, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity (FA7014-25-C0041), (Awarded Aug. 21, 2025).