Army Ousts Civilians for Tech Advisers

Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth meets with civilian aides to the Secretary of the Army during the 2024 Army Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, DC, October 15, 2024. CASAs are business and community leaders appointed by the secretary to advise and support Army leaders across the country. (US Army photo by Staff Sgt. Alexander Nieves)

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.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll terminated his entire slate of civilian advisers to clear way for the tech world, reports Military.com. The 115 members of the century-old, all-volunteer Civilian Aide Program were considered the secretary’s eyes and ears in communities across the country. “Moving forward, the Civilian Aide Program will focus on leveraging civilian expertise in strategic communications, advanced technology, innovation, and digital transformation,” Driscoll wrote last week to all civilian aides.

The four big tech executives directly commissioned as Army lieutenant colonels will not be recusing themselves from business dealings with the DoD, says Military.com. The Army has not articulated exactly what these executives of Palantir, Meta, and OpenAI will do, instead focusing on recruiting talent and creating jobs around them. None of the men have a military background.

SpaceX has secured an $81.6 million contract to launch a US military weather-monitoring satellite in 2027, reports Space News. The contract for the mission designated USSF-178 was awarded June 27 by the Space Systems Command and represents SpaceX’s third consecutive win under the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 program.

Parsons Corp. has acquired Chesapeake Technology International, an integrator of software for defense and intelligence agencies headquartered in Prince Frederick, MD, in a transaction valued at $89 million, reports Washington Technology.

The Senate’s massive spending package passed last week includes a one-time $150 billion surge in defense spending that the Pentagon is counting on for its upcoming FY26 budget, reports Military Times. The DoD has requested $848 billion for FY26, plus an immediate $113 billion from the supplemental spending bill in Congress, bringing the total request to more than $960 billion.

The US Air Force’s FY26 budget proposal requests funds to explore adding external fuel tanks to the F-35, reports The War Zone. The current combat radius of the land-based F-35A is generally stated to be around 670 nautical miles. The reach of the carrier-based F-35C variant is slightly longer and the short-takeoff and vertical-landing capable F-35B version is significantly shorter. All F-35s also can be refueled in flight.

The Supreme Court, last week, upheld the federal subsidy helping rural and low-income Americans pay for phone and internet service, reports Route Fifty-one. A 6-3 majority said the FCC legally raises money for the fund. Legal conservatives had argued the funding mechanism gave the FCC too much leeway on how to set rates. The fund, established in 1996, assesses a contribution from each telecom service provider.

President Donald Trump, as he was about to depart from a NATO summit last week, seemed to say he gave Iran the green light to attack a US military base in retaliation for his own strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, reports Military.com.

Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, NSA, and the DoD’s Cyber Crime Center specifically warned US defense contractors working in Israel that they may find themselves the target of Iranian cyber attacks, reports Breaking Defense.

Nearly one in 10 “Tier 1” subcontractors to defense primes are Chinese firms, reports Breaking Defense. Despite a bipartisan push to disentangle the US economy from China, the military-industrial base still relies heavily on Chinese suppliers, a new study from analysis software firm Govini warns. And, the company’s leader says, that’s not the only weak link.

The Pentagon has halted shipments of some air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine due to worries that US weapons stockpiles have fallen too low, reports Politico. In an update, Politico reports, Ukraine summoned a US diplomat on Wednesday to warn that the Pentagon’s decision to withhold already-agreed military aid is positive news for Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree June 29 initiating his country’s withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, the international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, reports Defense News.

Roughly 400 Marines are rotating into the 700-Marine contingent that arrived in Los Angeles in mid-June to assist the California National Guardsmen after protests broke out against ICE raids, reports Task & Purpose. Ultimately 4,100 Guardsmen were deployed, 150 are slated to be sent home. The Marine force will remain at 700.

More than half of the California National Guard’s specialized firefighting teams are deployed to Los Angeles County as part of the federal mission in the area, leaving the Guard at only 40% of its firefighting operation capacity, reports Task & Purpose.

Defense News reports the top military commander in charge of troops deployed to Los Angeles has asked DefSec Pete Hegseth if 200 of those forces could be returned to wildfire fighting duty, two US officials told The Associated Press on Monday.

The Air Force and Space Force have hit their 2025 recruiting goals early. The Space Force was seeking 800 enlistees this year and the Air Force sought more than 33,000, reports Stars and Stripes. The Army and Navy hit their goals before the Sept. 30 conclusion of the fiscal year.

Ten universities will drop an existing Army ROTC unit and another 46 programs will reduce on-campus resources and staff, reports Stars and Stripes. Nearly 300 college students will see their units affected by the cuts to the civilian workforce behind the program. The changes are scheduled for summer 2026 and will not affect those entering their senior year.

Another stretch of federal land along the Rio Grande River in South Texas is being transferred to the Air Force, creating the largest militarized border area to date as the Trump administration seeks harsher legal punishments of migrants who cross into the US, reports Military.com. The new land comes from the International Boundary and Water Commission, which settles boundary and water treaty issues between the US and Mexico.

Netflix finally broke ground on its $903 million plan to transform a  289-acre former Army base in Monmouth County, NJ, into one of its largest film and television production hubs, reports Military.com. Netflix won a $55 million bid in 2021, reported NJ.com, to acquire the base, originally established in 1917 as Camp Little Silver and home to several major innovations, including the development of FM radio. Fort Monmouth officially closed in 2011, relocating more than 5,000 civilian and military jobs to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.

Maria Derisavi was crowned Miss Maryland 2025 on June 21, reports The BayNet. She becomes the first Iranian-American Miss Maryland in the organization’s 104 year history and the first Miss Maryland from St. Mary’s County. Maria immigrated to the United States when she was 9.

Maryland vehicle registration fees rose this week, although not as much as last year’s nearly 80% hike, reports The Baltimore Sun. This year the one-year renewal for passenger cars under 3,500 pounds increased by $10 and $191.50 for vehicles over 3,700 pounds. For vehicles in between those two weight classes, the increase is only $5. Motorcycle registrations will increase by $10.

Contracts:

Systems Planning and Analysis Inc., Washington, DC, is being awarded a $25,313,188 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification, (P00004) to a previously awarded contract, (N0003024C7002) to provide research and development services including program office support of the Nuclear-armed, Sea-Launched Cruise Missile Program. Work will be performed in Washington DC (80%); Cape Canaveral, Florida (5%); Sunnyvale, California (5%); Kings Bay, Georgia (2%); Silverdale, Washington (2%); Centennial, Washington (2%); Magna, Utah (2%); and Pittsfield, Massachusetts (2%). Work is expected to be completed on July 11, 2026. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,484,524 will be obligated at time of award. No funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was awarded as a sole source acquisition pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1) and was previously synopsized on the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) online portal. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Airbus Helicopters Inc., Grand Prairie, Texas, is awarded a $39,834,430 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide performance based logistic support services required to support five Navy UH-72A helicopters owned by the US Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. This effort shall include all maintenance support services and equipment including sustaining engineering. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in July 2030. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $20,952,910; fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,365,230; and fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,516,289, will be obligated at the time of award, $20,952,91 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competed. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042125D0051).

Amentum Services Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded a $47,624,250 modification (P00012) to a previously awarded contract (FA2860-23-F-0060) for executive airlift aircraft maintenance and back shop support services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $128,092,127. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2028. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance appropriations funds in the amount of $41,966,123 are being obligated at the time of award. The 316th Contracting Squadron, Services Flight, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded June 30, 2025)

Tyto Government Solutions Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $25,928,257 firm-fixed-price contract for weapon system support services primary to support the electronic warfare mission set. This contract provides for technical systems engineering, logistics, product support, and software prototyping services necessary to perform advisory and assistance services for the Space Force Space and Missile Systems Special Programs Directorate. Work will be performed at El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2026. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,822,869; and fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance appropriation funds in the amount of $1,633,000, are being obligated at time of award. The Space System Command Space Superiority Systems Directorate Contracting Division, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8819-25-C-B010).

Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a $23,036,389 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00053) to a previously awarded contract (FA7014-21-F-0108) for strategic plans and policy support services. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract from $80,153,353 to $103,189,742. Work will be performed in Washington, DC; Hawaii; and Germany, and is expected to be completed August 25, 2026. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance appropriation funds in the amount of $11,316,305 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force District of Washington Contracting Directorate, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Ernst & Young LLP, Washington, DC, was awarded a $52,571,428 modification (P00125) to contract W91CRB-18-F-0238 for audit infrastructure. Work will be performed in Tyson, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2025. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $29,447,729 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Norfolk Dredging Co., Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded a $17,116,750 contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Wilmington, North Carolina, with an estimated completion date of March 21, 2026. Fiscal 2023 and 2024 civil operation and maintenance funds; and 2025 operation and maintenance, Recovery Act funds in the amount of $17,116,750, were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington, North Carolina, is the contracting activity (W912PM-25-C-A007).

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $78,471,591 cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price incentive (firm-target), firm-fixed-price, and cost only modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-18-C-5218) to exercise the option and provide funding for fiscal 2025 Hypervisor Technology Zero AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 surface ship undersea warfare combat systems and spares in support of the continued AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 development, integration, manufacture, production, and testing. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (70%); Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania (15%); Syracuse, New York (13%); Clearwater, Florida (1%); and Owego, New York (1%), and is expected to be completed by February 2028. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $42,849,529 (55%); and fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $35,622,062 (45%), 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.

Stratascor LLC, doing business as StratasCorp Technologies, Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $46,251,598 firm-fixed-price task order (N3220525F1292) under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N3220519D1000) for continued command, control, communications, and computers afloat operations and sustainment support. The contractor will provide technical support services for the various C4 capabilities aboard Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) fleet of ships, the operation and sustainment of the MSC Network Operations Centers. Work under this task order will be performed at various world-wide locations beginning June 30, 2025, and will conclude by June 29, 2026. Fiscal 2025 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $13,070,035 are being incrementally funded for at the time of award. MSC, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Oceaneering International Inc., Hanover, Maryland, is awarded a $34,800,326 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-20-C-4315) to exercise options for continued support of the Navy’s domestic and international submarine rescue program, Submarine Rescue Operations Maintenance Contractor. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by June 2026. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,534,094 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Schuyler Line Navigation Co. LLC, Annapolis, Maryland, is awarded a $18,303,118 firm-fixed price, requirements contract for liquefied natural gas (LNG). This contract provides for the supply and delivery of an estimated 571,231 million British thermal units of LNG during a nine-month term. Work will be performed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and is expected to be completed by April 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2025 and 2026 operation and maintenance, Navy contract funds for the LNG supply will be obligated on individual delivery orders issued during the base period. This contract was not competitively procured; it was negotiated pursuant to US Code 3204(a)(2), Unusual and Compelling Urgency, as implemented by Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-2. Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N6945025D1010).

Science Applications International Corp., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $14,488,780 indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to obtain the required engineering, technical, program management, and administrative services that will significantly improve and maintain Airborne Threat Simulation Organization’s capabilities to provide complete operational and maintenance support to the Canadian Armed Forces. Work will be performed in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (60%); Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (30%); and various other location across the continental US (10%) and is expected to be completed in June 2030. No funding 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 pursuant to 10 US Code 3204(e)(4)(E). Naval Air Warfare Division, Weapons Division China Lake, California, is the contracting activity (N6893625D0016).

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $13,137,998 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-19-C-5602) for test procedures, test sequence network, and master test plans for Guided Missile Systems. Work will be performed in Moorestown, Mt. Laurel, and Camden New Jersey (57%); as well as Virginia Beach, Virginia (24%); Marinette, Wisconsin (10%); and Washington, DC (9%), and is expected to be completed by June 2026. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $865,512 (22); fiscal 2021 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $905,849 (23%); fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $494,288 (13%); fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $790,183 (20%); and fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $849,952 (22%), will be obligated at time of award; and funds in the amount of $3,905,784 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, is awarded a $9,935,387 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-23-C-5325) to exercise options for MK 41 Vertical Launching System module production and ancillary equipment. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (31%); Indianapolis, Indiana (27%); Saginaw, Michigan (7%); Farmingdale, New York (6%); St. Peters, Missouri (3%); San Jose, California (2%); Radford, Virginia (1%) and various other locations (23%), and is expected to be completed by November 2029. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,935,387 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.

Centerra Construction Partners LLC, Herndon, Virginia, was awarded an $8,560,164 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modification to a contract (N62742-24-D-3601) for base operations support services at military and civilian installations in Singapore. This award brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $14,627,350. Work will be performed in the Republic of Singapore and is expected to be completed in June 2026. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance (O&M), (Navy) funds; fiscal 2025 O&M, (Air Force) funds; and fiscal 2025 non-appropriated funds, in the amount of $7,789,071, was obligated for recurring work at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The remaining $212,618 is subject to the availability of funds for the next fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-24-D-3601). (Awarded June 24, 2025)

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., McLean, Virginia, was awarded a ceiling $23,540,188 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for engineering services and technical support to meet mission requirements of the AN/ALR-56M Integrated Support Station and other interfaced systems and processes. This contract provides for the sustainment of the Integrated Support Station and the compilation of systems that create the F-15 Tactical Electronic Warfare System. Work will be performed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by June 29, 2035. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance appropriations funds in the amount of $2,455,604 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8523-25-DB-002).

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded a $14,372,285 modification (P00014) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0001923D0011). This modification increases the contract ceiling to provide continued integrated logistics support, sustaining engineering, spares support, material management, component overhaul, and training activities in support of sustaining the VH-92A Patriot in-service helicopter for the Navy. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut (17.07%); Sylmar, California (10.87%); Woodland, Washington (9.84%); Irvine, California (5.09%); Olathe, Kansas (4.69%); Sarasota, Florida (3.95%); Phoenix, Arizonia (3.25%); Fort Worth, Texas (2.8%); Twinsburg, Ohio (2.64%); Charlotte, North Carolina (2.51%); Berlin, Connecticut (2.21%); Fountain, California (1.96%); Johnstown, Pennsylvania (1.79%); Enfield, Connecticut (1.64%); Vergennes, Vermont (1.35%); Rockford, Illinois (1.28%); Blacksburg, Virginia (1.16%); Grand Prairie, Texas (1.03%); various locations within the continental U.S. (CONUS) (7%); and various locations outside the CONUS (17.9%), and is expected to be completed in September 2027. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The contract that is being modified was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.