Among Budget Cuts $15M From MD 5 Project
The Trading Post in Great Mills was torn down in September 2023 to make way for a project to widen Route 5. (2012 file photo)
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.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s administration announced $3.3 billion in budget cuts for the state’s six-year transportation plan last week, reports US News. Among the major expansion project reductions to the capital budget is $15 million from the Maryland Route 5 Great Mills project, according to the Maryland Consolidated Transportation Program overview. The proposal does call for the retention of development funds for the Southern Maryland Rapid Transit and a few other state projects. The announcement left some county leaders scrambling to understand the exact effects on their budgets and searching for ways to avert the most serious cuts, reports Maryland Matters.
The Army Black Knights defeated the Navy Midshipmen in the two teams’ 124th meeting 17-11, reports CBS News on MSN. Despite Saturday’s loss, Navy football still leads the all-time series 62-55-7.
In the 124-year history of the Army Navy game, most of the games have been played in Philadelphia, PA. This year the game was played in Massachusetts, part of a four-year road trip. Look for the game to be played next year at the Washington Commanders stadium in Landover and the Baltimore Ravens stadium in 2025, reports Military Times.
The US military’s V-22 Ospreys had history of safety issues long before they were grounded last week following a deadly crash in the waters off the coast of Japan, reports Navy Times. While the Ospreys are grounded, US Air Force Special Operations Command said it is working to mitigate the impact to operations, training, and readiness.
The Navy said that the USS Carl Vinson‘s operations are ongoing while the Ospreys are grounded, reports USNI News. The Vinson and the other ships of the carrier strike group are deployed to US 7th Fleet.
Structural cracks forced the US Coast Guard to ground its fleet of C-27J Spartan maritime patrol aircraft, reports Forbes. A Coast Guard spokesperson said all 14 C-27Js in the inventory “have been inspected and have cracks of varying degrees.”
The F-22 Raptor’s reign is coming to an end, reports The National Interest. Though the F-22 is widely considered to be the most capable air superiority fighter on the planet, it’s still slated for retirement in the 2030s. Among the reasons: the aircraft’s upgrades have limits, it was an “endangered species” from the start, and the threat environment is advancing faster than the competition.
A compromise defense policy bill released Wednesday night in Congress, however, would grant the US Air Force’s request to retire older F-15 Eagle fighters, A-10 Warthogs, and other aircraft, but again block its attempt to mothball 32 older F-22A Raptors, reports Defense News. The new version of the bill would also delay establishing a permanent Space Command headquarters for another six months, reports CC4ISRNET.
The world’s first-ever fifth-generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor, only flies for US forces, reports The National Interest. In fact, foreign sales of these aircraft are not permitted by federal law.
Space Development Agency director Derek Tournear said the ongoing continuing resolution, which pauses spending at fiscal 2023 levels, has put some SDA projects on hold and could potentially force contract terminations, reports C4ISRNET. Along with agencies across the federal government, SDA faces an automatic 1% funding cut if Congress fails to pass all 12 appropriations bills before the end of the month.
The US Senate voted Thursday to keep US troops in Syria amid Iran-backed attacks that are targeting US forces, reports Navy Times. An overwhelming majority of Republicans and Democrats sided with the Biden administration and opted to vote in favor of keeping the 900 troops in Syria.
China said its warplanes shadowed a US Navy spy plane over the Taiwan Strait last week because the P-8A Poseidon was trespassing over Chinese waterways, reports CBS News. The US views that part of the South China Sea as territorial waters. Navy officials announced the plane’s transit over the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, saying the aircraft traveled through international airspace. In a separate incident, the US warship USS Gabrielle Giffords passed through the South China Sea early last week, sparking criticism from the Chinese military, accusing the US of unlawful maritime navigation, reports Breaking Defense.
The Naval Air Systems Command Digital Department is calling for white papers on research projects that could help NAVAIR digitization efforts with the aim of increasing workforce efficiency, streamlining business processes, delivering capabilities, and improving readiness, reports ExecutiveGov.com. The announcement was posted on SAM.gov last week.
The US Navy is set to complete the delivery of the VAMPIRE counter-unmanned air system (UAS) to Ukraine, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle. VAMPIRE is a rocket-launching platform developed by the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike program office (PMA-242). This is the first time we have seen the actual configuration of VAMPIRE, which is used to swat drones out of the sky, reports The Drive.
Twenty-three top military leaders’ promotions are still in limbo even after Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) ended his nominations blockade last week, reports Military Times. For several months, the senator had blocked consideration of nearly every senior military nomination over his objection to DoD’s abortion access policies.
A compromise draft of the annual defense authorization bill was released in Congress last week, stripping out several controversial social issues in favor of advancing a 5.2% pay raise for troops, reports Military Times.
The new “4 + 1 Commitment: The Formula for Military Spouse Success” was launched last week, reports Military Times. The program aims at providing better long-term job opportunities for military spouses in their careers as they move around with their husbands.
Eighty-two years later, Pearl Harbor survivors returned to the USS Arizona Memorial to honor those who died in the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, reports The Associated Press. The aging pool of survivors is rapidly shrinking, though Veterans Affairs doesn’t know exactly how many survivors are still living. Military Times offers a short history of Pearl Harbor before the sneak attack.
One of 16 sailors awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery this month, reports Task & Purpose. Navy Seaman 1st Class James Ward’s remains were identified by DNA analysis in 2021. He died on the USS Oklahoma helping fellow crew members escape. In total, 2,403 Americans were killed during the attack. Of that figure, 2,008 of them were enlisted with the Navy, 218 were members of the US Army, 109 were Marines, and 68 were civilians, according to PearlHarbor.org.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland received the largest gift commitment in its history, SMCM reports. To support the college’s $20 million Taking the LEAD campaign, which launched in September 2023, alumnus R. Scott Raspa included the college in his estate plans. LEAD stands for Learning Through Experiential and Applied Discovery. LEAD blends together academic experience with professional skill development, weaving credit courses and hands-on opportunities.
Contracts:
Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi, was awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contractor logistics support services contract with an estimated total value of $299,965,743 for the C-12 fleet used by Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The C-12 CLS contract is entering into Option Year VII. Task Order FA8134-24-F-6007 will be issued to fund work performed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Edwards Air Force Base, California; Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Madison, Mississippi; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Okmulgee, Oklahoma; San Angelo, Texas; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Gaborone, Botswana; Brasilia, Brazil; Bogota, Columbia; Cairo, Egypt; Accra, Ghana; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Budapest, Hungary; Yokota Air Base, Japan; Nairobi, Kenya; Rabat, Morocco; Manila, Philippines; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Bangkok, Thailand; Ankara, Turkey; and Oslo, Norway, and is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2024. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and three offers were received. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance funds for AFMC and PACAF, and some DIA and DSCA; fiscal 2024 research, development, test, and evaluation funds for Edwards AFB, California, and Holloman AFB, New Mexico; fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance funds for the remainder of DIA and DSCA; and fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement funds in total amount of $21,249,417 are being obligated at time of task order award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8106-17-D-0001).
The Survice Engineering Co. LLC, Belcamp, Maryland, is awarded an $11,025,156 modification (P00020) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N0001923C0033). This modification exercises options to provide for the production and delivery of 28 TRV-150C Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft Systems including 12 months of systems engineering program management support and program protection implementation plan services in support of the Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems program office. Work will be performed in Churchville, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in March 2025. Fiscal 2024 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $6,479,282; fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $2,386,113 and fiscal 2022 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $2,159,761 will be obligated at the time of award, $4,545,874 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
WSP USA Solutions Inc., Washington, DC, was awarded a $75,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide all labor, equipment, materials and supplies to support temporary emergency power activities prior to, during, and following a federally declared emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2028. US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W911WN-24-D-3000).
WSP USA Solutions Inc., Washington, DC, was awarded a $75,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide all labor, equipment, materials and supplies to support temporary emergency power activities prior to, during, and following a federally declared emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2028. US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W911WN-24-D-3001).
WSP USA Solutions Inc., Washington, DC, was awarded a $75,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide all labor, equipment, materials and supplies to support temporary emergency power activities prior to, during, and following a federally declared emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2028. US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W911WN-24-D-3002).
WSP USA Solutions Inc., Washington, DC, was awarded a $75,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide all labor, equipment, materials and supplies to support temporary emergency power activities prior to, during, and following a federally declared emergency. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2028. US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W911WN-24-D-3003).
