Arlington Nat’l Cemetery Takes Land to Expand
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As space concerns mount at Arlington National Cemetery, Department of Justice officials move to expand the historic site, reports Military Times. Paperwork was filed Monday to take land owned by Arlington County through eminent domain powers. Army officials, who oversee the cemetery, estimate the move will provide about 49 acres of space for up to 60,000 additional burial sites in coming years.
Several high-ranking military IT officials are preparing for a second wave of the coronavirus and expect the network infrastructure they scrambled to piece together three months ago to remain in place after the pandemic, reports C4ISRNET.
Economic shock waves from the coronavirus pandemic are threatening US arms sales to its allies and partners, who may suddenly have less to spend, reports Defense News. The US made $55 billion in foreign military sales in fiscal 2019, observers see headwinds in declining oil prices and the potential for allies to prioritize their domestic response to COVID-19 over defense spending.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has advanced an amendment aimed at reducing the amount of time it would take to carry out a nuclear test, reports The Hill. The amendment, offered by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), would make at least $10 million available to “carry out projects related to reducing the time required to execute a nuclear test if necessary.”
An agreement on a US troop increase in Poland will be announced shortly and could be larger than originally planned, reports Stars and Stripes.
President Donald Trump confirmed Monday he is looking to cut the number of US troops stationed at American military bases in Germany because of his lingering concerns that leaders of the European power aren’t spending enough on their own national defense, reports Military Times.
US unmanned aircraft are operating for the first time out of Estonia, reports Stars and Stripes, where they will be temporarily based in support of allied intelligence gathering missions. The MQ-9 Reaper aircraft were moved from Miroslawiec Air Base in northwestern Poland while a runway there is under construction. The move, while temporary, could give NATO a surveillance boost around the upper Baltics, where Russia’s military is active, according to a USAF statement.
Israelis to boost F-35 fleet’s electronic warfare, reports Breaking Defense. The Israeli air force’s F-35 special test aircraft is set to arrive July 4, along with three more Joint Strike Fighters. The arrival will start a planned process of upgrading the IAF’s F-35 aimed at making them the main target supplier for the Israeli defense forces.
Fleet Readiness Center East is now certified to repair and test 14 F-35 components as part of a new public-private partnership with Lockheed Martin, reports Aviation Week. FRCE, located in Havelock, NC, is the lead site for depot-level maintenance on the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant. Since 2013, the depot has conducted modification and repair for all three F-35 variants.
US Cyber Command’s annual training exercise will rely entirely on a new platform this year, a move that will allow most participants to compete remotely, reports Fifth Domain. This year’s Cyber Flag exercise, which began June 15, will use the Persistent Cyber Training Environment, which has been described as one of the DoD’s most critical projects.
North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the border, in an explosive rebuke to Seoul that appeared designed to draw maximum global attention with little immediate risk of war, reports Bloomberg.
North Korea’s military threatened to move back into zones that were demilitarized under inter-Korean peace agreements, reports Military Times, as the country continued to dial up pressure on rival South Korea amid stalled nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration.
The family of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen is asking that the missing soldier’s case be taken out of the hands of Army CID and moved to the FBI, after nearly two months have passed with no resolution since she disappeared from Fort Hood, TX, on April 22.
Defense Department leaders are considering the Army’s Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool as a primary option for the joint force to coordinate actions in the electromagnetic spectrum, reports C$ISRNET.
Raytheon says that a Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has successfully conducted a guided release of a GBU-53/B StormBreaker glide bomb for the first time, reports The War Zone. The test comes as deliveries of these bombs to the Navy and Air Force have been halted for months over a number of issues, including the premature failure of clips that help prevent its folding tail fins from springing open and inadvertently, potentially damaging the aircraft carrying them.
Former DefSec Robert M. Gates joined the call on Sunday to rename Army bases named after Confederate generals despite President Trump’s opposition, saying that it was time to rid the American military of symbols that represent “the dark side of our history,” reports The New York Times.
Nine Army families are suing their privatized housing landlord at Fort Hood, TX, reports Military Times, alleging the company failed to fix their mold-infested, dilapidated housing — sickening their families, and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to their belongings.
Contracts:
EA-Wood-2 MP JV, Hunt Valley, Maryland (W912DY-20-D-0073); and Gsina-Gilbane JV LLC, Flemington, New Jersey (W912DY-20-D-0075), will compete for each order of the $400,000,000 hybrid (cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price) contract to procure the services of small business firms to perform Military Munitions Response Program responses involving conventional munitions; environmental compliance and remediation services; and other munitions-related services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 18 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 3, 2025. US Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
Northrup Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, was awarded an $89,551,256 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for Long Range Radar-Enhanced and Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar program efforts. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 15, 2025. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W56KGY-20-D-0012).
Civil Works Contracting LLC, Wilmington, North Carolina (N40085-15-D-0847); Hager Construction Co., Jacksonville, Florida (N40085-15-D-0848); Onopa Services LLC, Sanford, Florida (N40085-15-D-0850); and Quadrant Construction Inc., Jacksonville, North Carolina (N40085-15-D-0851), are awarded a $60,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification to increase the maximum dollar value of indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contracts for general construction services within the Marine Corps Installations East area of responsibility. Work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps installation locations including, but not limited to, North Carolina (90%); Georgia (3%); South Carolina (3%); Virginia (3%); and other areas of the US (1%). The work to be performed provides for general construction services including, but not limited to, new construction, demolition, total/partial repairs, interior/exterior and the alteration/renovation of buildings. Other systems and infrastructure may include civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, communication systems and the installation of new or extensions to existing high voltage electrical distribution systems; high pressure steam distribution systems; potable water distribution systems and sanitary sewer systems. Additional work provides for storm water control systems, painting, removal of asbestos materials, lead paint and incidental related work. Work is expected to be complete by June 2021. After award of this modification, the total maximum dollar value for all six contracts combined will be $150,000,000. No funds will be obligated at the time of award, and will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) and military construction funds. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
AH Environmental Consultants Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $15,000,000 for professional environmental consulting services within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast area of operations (AO). Initial task order is being awarded at $61,661 to update the storm water pollution prevention plan and annual comprehensive evaluation plan at the Naval Support Activity, Panama City, Florida. The work provides for professional architect-engineering services for potable water, wastewater, storm water, spill control and other related miscellaneous environmental services, to include various forms of support for these environmental programs. Work for this task order is expected to be complete by September 2020. All work on this contract will be performed at various activities in the NAVFAC Southeast AO and is expected to be complete by June 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M,N) contract funds in the amount of $61,661 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by O&MN. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and five proposals were received. The NAVFAC Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-20-D-0031).
Forward Slope Inc., San Diego, California (N66001-20-D-3430); ODME Solutions LLC, San Diego, California (N66001-20-D-3431); SOLUTE, San Diego, California (N66001-20-D-3432); and Syneren Technologies Corp., Arlington, Virginia (N66001-20-D-3433), are awarded a $11,288,928 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee multiple-award contract to support meteorological and oceanographic capabilities for Foreign Military Sales systems, expeditionary/joint systems and projects supporting ashore and afloat operations worldwide. Work will be performed in San Diego, California. All four awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This two-year contract includes three one-year option periods, which will bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $29,115,178 if exercised. The period of performance of the base award is from June 16, 2020, through June 15, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through June 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using operations and maintenance (Navy); other procurement (Navy); research, development test and evaluation (Navy); and Foreign Military Sales funds. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-20-R-0088 which was published on the beta.SAM.gov website and the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Five offers were received and four were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
