Arctic Blast Forces Inauguration Indoors

Donald Trump takes the oath of office to become the 45th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 2017.

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.

The 60th Presidential Inauguration is set to begin today, Jan. 20, 2025. The swearing-in is slated to start at noon, reports Fox5. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Friday that the inauguration ceremony will move indoors to the Capitol rotunda because of a frigid weather forecast today, reports NBC News. The last time the ceremony was held indoors was Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration when it was seven degrees. An indoor rally was planned Sunday at Capitol One Arena in downtown Washington. Supporters will be able to watch the inauguration ceremony from the arena today.

The coldest air of winter so far will blast into Washington, DC, on Monday, reports CNN. The temperature on noon is predicted to be in the low-20s. It’ll be the coldest Inauguration Day since former President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 when the temperature topped out at 30 degrees.

The National Guard will support the Trump/Vance inauguration today with about 7,800 soldiers and airmen, the Guard reports. The Guard will support the Secret Service, US Capitol Police and Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department, said MAJGEN John Andonie, commanding general of the DC National Guard. The Washington Post reports that 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel will be in the District to provide security, including the full activation of DC police, the 7,800 National Guard troops, and about 4,000 officers from around the country.

CNN says that Trump is planning for an aggressive push of Day 1 executive orders. “Shock and awe,” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso (R), predicted after Republicans members of Congress received a preview of the activity to come, reports USA Today on MSN.

Trump wants Troy Meink, second in command at the National Reconnaissance Office, to be secretary of the US Air Force, reports Navy Times. Meink began his career as a KC-135 tanker navigator in 1988. He has held a variety of roles across the Air Force’s space enterprise.

Former Space Force LTCOL Matthew Lohmeier has been nominated to be the next undersecretary of the Air Force, reports Air & Space Forces Magazine. If confirmed, Lohmeier would serve as the No. 2 civilian in the Department of the Air Force and the deputy to Trump pick Meink. In 2021, after criticizing the Pentagon’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, Lohmeier was relieved from his post as commander of 11th Space Warning Squadron over a loss of confidence in his ability to lead.

Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee, said last week that he would not support raising the minimum wage, reports The Hill. “I believe that the minimum wage is more of a statewide and regional issue,” Bessent said during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing.

The Israel and Hamas ceasefire was fully in place Sunday, reports AP News on MSN. Palestinians headed for the rubble of their former homes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday and Israelis prepared to receive the first hostages still held by Hamas after a ceasefire deal took effect, reports Reuters on MSN.

Starting Saturday night, TikTok was no longer accessible to users in the US, the result of a law forcing the platform offline unless it splits away from its China-based owner, ByteDance, reports NPR. The message then said President-elect Trump has promised to “work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”

Trump issued a two-word message Sunday morning on Truth Social: “SAVE TIKTOK!” reports Fox News. Trump is reportedly considering an executive order to save the platform, reports Fox.

A Defense Innovation Board report offers suggestions for how the Pentagon can broaden the pool of companies it works with to include firms, small and large, that have not typically been part of the defense industrial base, reports C4ISRNET. The January 2025 report says the role of the Defense Innovation Unit should be expanded and its budget increased.

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket 0n Thursday, catching the booster back at the pad but losing contact with the ascending spacecraft as engines went out, reports NPR. Company officials said the craft was destroyed. It was the first flight of this new and upgraded spacecraft.

Blue Origin successfully tested its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket for the first time last week, reports Breaking Defense, lofting the company’s Blue Ring Pathfinder demonstration spacecraft to orbit in a partnership with the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) reintroduced his measure — the SHOW UP Act — requiring federal workers to return to the office, ending pandemic-era norms that allowed them to work remotely, reports The Hill. The legislation, which passed in the House two years ago, was not approved by the Senate.

A new Pentagon report said its troops earn more than most of their full-time civilian counterparts, reports Marine Corps Times, and defends current troops’ salaries as “strongly competitive with the civilian labor market.” The Fourteenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation finds that after one year of service, the top 70th percentile of enlisted earners get about $1,000 a week, and troops would stand to lose out if they were to leave the service.

House and Senate Republican leaders introduced legislation — the Restore VA Accountability Act — designed to make it easier to discipline and fire Veterans Affairs employees, reports Army Times. This revives a priority of Trump’s first term in office.

CMDR Sarah Quemada was relieved of her duties as Naval Information Warfare Training Group Norfolk’s commanding officer last week “due to a loss of confidence in her ability to command,” reports Navy Times.

The director of the Space Development Agency, Derek Tournear, is on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation, reports Air & Space Forces Magazine. The nature of the investigation was not released.

The US Marines now allow mixed-gender drill instructor teams to train recruits, reports Marine Corps Times. The Corps assembles teams of both male and female DIs to train recruit companies and platoons at its two boot camps.

Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for two touchdowns as the Washington Commanders reached the NFC championship game for the first time since winning the Super Bowl 33 years ago, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Washington beat the Detroit Lions 45-31 on Saturday night.

No. 6 Ohio State will face No. 3 Notre Dame in the national college football championship tonight, Jan. 20, reports AP News. Ohio State is 6-2 all-time against the Irish.

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $17,947,770 modification (P00041) to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N0001922C0041). This modification exercises the option and fulfills the need for continued flight test support for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) country unique requirements. This support includes but is not limited to maintaining and supporting aircraft by replacing broken parts, performing scheduled checks and maintenance, conducting safety inspections, replacing perishables, and maintenance of developmental lab infrastructure to enable testing. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (30%); Palmdale, California (26%); Patuxent River, Maryland (23%); Orlando, Florida (11%); San Diego, California (3%); Linthicum, Maryland (2%); Manchester, New Hampshire (2%); Los Angeles, California (1%); Samlesbury, United Kingdom (1%); and various locations within the continental US (1%), and expected to be completed in March 2027. FMS funds in the amount of $2,200,000 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Direct Viz Solutions, Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $10,347,762 modification (P00046) to contract W91RUS-19-C-0014 for common-user services and operating, managing and defending enterprise IT infrastructure. Work will be performed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 28, 2025. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $10,347,762 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Exodus Advanced Communications Corp., Las Vegas, Nevada, is awarded an $8,978,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides the fabrication and delivery of Precision Approach Landing Systems, instrument carrier landing systems, and solid-state transmitters, in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Webster Outlying Field Air Traffic Control, and Landing Systems Division. Work will be performed in Las Vegas, Nevada, and expected to be completed January 2030. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N6833525D0010).

HGL-APTIM Technologies JV LLC, Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $49,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for environmental remediation services. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 15, 2030. US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City, Missouri, is the contracting activity (W912DQ-25-D-3000).