A Navy 1st: Woman to Command Nuclear Carrier

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.

Another first for the US Navy. CAPT Amy Bauernschmidt is now the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, reports Navy Times. She becomes the first woman to lead a nuclear-powered carrier. In 2016, Bauernschmidt made history when she became the Lincoln‘s first female executive officer, leading Military.com to ask if she could be the first female carrier CO in Navy history.

About 20,000 people were still awaiting evacuation from Afghanistan as of Monday morning, reports CNN. Plans were to send 33 US Air Force C-17s to Kabul to help with the effort. Also, commercial aircraft — three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines — are being used to transport those already moved from Kabul to transit points in Europe and the Middle East, reports CNBC.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is the latest military installation that is ready to accept Afghani refugees, DoD announced Monday afternoon. The New Jersey base joins Fort Lee, VA; Fort McCoy, WI; and Fort Bliss, TX.

Singapore has offered use of a tanker aircraft to help with evacuations in Afghanistan, The Strait Times reports. The announcement came during a visit to Singapore by US Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris is scheduled to deliver a speech aboard a US combat ship in Singapore, reports Fox News.

US military special operations and intelligence community operatives are using their networks of contacts to get Afghan soldiers, intelligence assets, and interpreters to safety, reports ABC News.

President Joe Biden again defended the US’ evacuation efforts in Afghanistan in a national address on Sunday, reports Military Times. Chris Miller, former defense secretary, said that with a “little diligence and planning” much of what is being seen in Afghanistan could have been prevented, reports Military Times.

The Islamic Center of Virginia is helping hundreds of Afghan refugees who have landed at Fort Lee in Central Virginia. The center is accepting hygiene products, diapers, game snack toys for children, and travel kits for both men and women. They encouraged you to donate money through their website because of space limitations. The extra funds also allow them to buy the necessary items in bulk. Maryland is expecting at least 180 Afghan refugees, reports The Baltimore Sun. Here are three ways to help.

The Food and Drug Administration has granted the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine full approval, reports The Hill. The announcement is expected to boost vaccinations and spark more mandates. The vaccine will be marketed as Comirnaty, with the full authorization applying to vaccine recipients 16 and older.

St. Mary’s residents with compromised immune systems can now schedule appointments to receive a third additional vaccine dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID vaccines through the St. Mary’s County Health Department, in accordance with updated vaccination guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports smchhd.org.

Five service member deaths from COVID were reported between Aug. 11 and Aug. 18, reports Military Times.

VASec Denis McDonough urged veterans to get vaccinated, speaking at the AMVETS national convention in North Carolina last week, reports Stars and Stripes. “We’ve already lost thousands of veterans from this deadly disease,” he said. “Now with Delta, there’s an exponential increase. That’s why everyone needs to be vaccinated.”

 

 

DoD has canceled this year’s Warrior Games scheduled for Sept. 12-22, reports Army Times, due to the surge in COVID cases.

The Air Force Marathon slated for Sept. 18 in Ohio will now be a virtual event, reports Stars and Stripes. Runners who had signed up for any of the races at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base can either take part virtually, defer participation to next year, or request a refund.

The US Navy sent the amphibious warship USS Arlington to assist with the humanitarian aid mission in Haiti in the aftermath of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Aug. 14, reports UPI. The Haitian Civil Protection Agency puts the number of confirmed dead at 2,207, reports The Washington Post.

Two contracts were awarded for further development of the autonomous Skyborg drone wingman, reports C4ISRNET. Kratos received $13.2 million to continue work on its XQ-58A, while General Atomics got $7 million for its MQ-20 Avenger.

General Dynamics has been awarded a contract to prototype a Multi-Domain Operations Weapon System on the new Infantry Squad Vehicle, reports Military Times. The company is building six prototypes that the Army can test.

Amaka Chidozie, a member of the Air Combat Electronics program office (PMA-209) at NAVAIR, has been chosen as the vice chair and the only Navy representative on the Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Consortium, reports Tester.

The US Naval Academy’s Class of 2023 finally took part in the Herndon Monument Climb on campus Sunday, after it was delayed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports WTOP News. The climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year, demonstrating the teamwork and perseverance the freshmen have learned during their first year at the academy, according to USNA.

As more than a dozen wildfires rage in California, US Forest Service officials said the agency will close nine national forests in the state this week leading up to the Labor Day holiday, reports Patch.com.

The New York Times is tracking wildfires in the western US. Its map includes active and recent fires reported by the Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services Group.

The Minnesota National Guard has been called in to help fight a wildfire in northern Minnesota, reports minnesotacbslocal.com.

Wildfires are also threatening communities in Canada near the Washington state border. Some local governments officials in the Kamloops region are asking for support from the Canadian military to relieve “worn out” emergency operations volunteers, reports Kamloops This Week.

Contracts:

Stratasys Inc., Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is awarded a $20,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract procures 25 F900 production 3D printer systems and initial support and sustainment to include technical support, installation, support equipment and ancillary equipment problem resolution, technical publication logistic support, original equipment manufacturer reach-back capability for software and hardware components, engineering investigations and corrective actions for system anomalies, and development of initial training for the supplied systems. Work will be performed in Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey (6%); Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (4%); Yuma, Arizona (4%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (4%); Miramar, California (4%); New River, North Carolina (4%); Beaufort, South Carolina (4%); Camp Pendleton, California (4%); Fort Worth, Texas (4%); Newburgh, New York (4%); Lemoore, California (4%); Whidbey Island, Washington (4%); Oceana, Virginia (4%); North Island, California (4%); Norfolk, Virginia (4%); Jacksonville, Florida (4%); Mayport, Florida (4%); Point Mugu, California (4%); Fallon, California (4%); Camp Springs, Maryland (4%); New Orleans, Louisiana (4%); Patuxent River, Maryland (4%); China Lake, California (4%); Iwakuni, Japan (3%); and Okinawa, Japan (3%), and is expected to be completed in August 2026. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 US Code 2304(c)(1). The Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N6852021D0006).

ARNE Aviation LLC, Suffolk, Virginia (H92240-21-D-0023); Construction Helicopter Inc., Howell, Michigan (H92240-21-D-0024); Erickson Inc., Portland, Oregon (H92240-21-D-0025); Paraclete Aviation, Raeford, North Carolina (H92240-21-D-0026); Rampart Aviation LLC, Colorado Springs, Colorado (H92240-21-D-0027); Marana Tactical Flight LLC, Marana, Arizona (H92240-21-D-0028); and Win-Win Aviation Inc., DeKalb, Illinois (H92240-21-D-0029), were awarded a $200,000,000 maximum ceiling value across all contracts, multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for contractor-provided, non-personal services for military freefall and static line support servicing for Naval Special Warfare Command requirements in various continental US locations. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds will be used for the initial task orders. Thereafter, the appropriate fiscal year operation and maintenance funds will be used for each task order executed. The period of performance is up to five years. The contract was awarded competitively with eight proposals received. US Special Operations Command Headquarters, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $64,883,410 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for engineering and technical support (ETS) services including supporting systems in the field and maintaining integrated systems. The execution of ETS services involves multiple information technology disciplines for design, integration, testing, certification, and fielding, training and sustainment activities. The ETS services shall encompass multiple activities associated with the intelligence systems and applications that fall under the responsibility of Hopper Information Services Center in support of the Office of Naval Intelligence. The contract will include a four-year base ordering period beginning in September 2021 with no options and is expected to be completed by August 2025. Work will be performed in Suitland, Maryland (89%); Reston, Virginia (10%); and various locations throughout the continental US and outside the continental US (1%). Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds (Navy) in the amount of $10,000 will be obligated to fund the contract’s minimum amount and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted on Navy Electronic Commerce Online and beta.sam.gov, with five offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-21-D-Z043)

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $28,546,651 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N0002419C6400 for systems engineering and integration on Navy submarines. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (68%); Waterford, Connecticut (10%); Groton, Connecticut (10%); Middletown, Rhode Island (7%); and Newport, Rhode Island (5%), and is expected to be completed by August 2022. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $12,608,398 (46%); fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,444,538 (34%); and fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,410,961 (20%) will be obligated at time of award, of which $12,608,398 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Cohere Solutions LLC, Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $10,574,045 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Secure Trusted Environment (STE) software. This contract provides identification, innovation, development, maturation, testing and assessment of embedded STE and its component capabilities, transitional into military systems. The location of performance is Reston, Virginia, and work is expected to be completed by Nov. 22, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and offers were solicited electronically via an open broad agency announcement where two offers were received. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-21-C-1012).