Biden: Postwar, Prioritize Two-State Solution

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.

As the Israel-Hamas war enters what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says could be a “long and difficult” new stage, President Joe Biden is calling on Israeli and Arab leaders to think hard about their eventual postwar reality, reports Military.com, which he says should prioritize finding agreement on a long-sought two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

The Pentagon is deploying 300 more troops to the Middle East as attacks against US military bases in Iraq and Syria continue to grow and have taken on a near-daily frequency. Military.com reports, “These additional troops will provide capabilities in explosive ordnance disposal, communications, and other support enablers for forces already in the region,” Pentagon top spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday.

With the Israel-Hamas war escalating, the United States risks becoming involved in a larger conflict that could entangle some of the more than 40,000 US military personnel based across the region, says Axios, and provides a map of where 45,400 US troops and contractors are currently based in the Middle East.

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and its carrier strike group crossed the Atlantic Ocean and entered the Mediterranean Sea over the weekend, reports Navy Times. Ike left Norfolk, VA, on Oct. 14, and though initially believed to be replacing the carrier Gerald R. Ford, the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and fears that the conflict could engulf the region, will keep the Ford strike group on station in the eastern Mediterranean as well.

USS Bataan (LHD-5) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) are expected to remain in the Red Sea for an extended period as part of the US naval buildup in the Middle East, reports USNI News.

Two F-16 fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, reports Military.com, in retaliation for a slew of drone and missile attacks against US bases and personnel in the region that began early last week.

The total number of drone attacks on bases in Iraq and Syria housing US troops reached at least 23, a senior defense official told reporters Monday. That amounts to at least 14 attacks in Iraq and at least nine attacks in Syria since Oct. 17, reports Military Times.

The DoD is moving forward with a new version of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, reports Defense News. The Pentagon said the decision to build this weapon reflects a changing security environment in line with the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review. That study said the military needed to modernize its nuclear forces to properly deter its two main nuclear-armed competitors, China and Russia.

In June 2021, a Navy barge used in dockside nuclear refueling operations arrived in Mobile to be dismantled. The company handling the multi-million-dollar job has announced that work is complete, reports Stars and Stripes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent the ratification protocols for Sweden’s NATO accession to parliament this week, but it’s unclear whether that’s enough to lock down the $20 billion sale for 40 new F-16s that Ankara seeks, reports Defense News. Key US lawmakers needed to greenlight the Block 70 F-16 fighter jets to Turkey are voicing concerns about other issues unrelated to Sweden’s NATO accession.

Chinese and Russian military chiefs targeted the United States for criticism at a security forum in Beijing on Monday, even as China’s second most senior military commander vowed to boost defense ties with Washington, reports Reuters.

The United States has started bulk buying Japanese seafood to supply its military there in response to China’s ban on such products imposed after Tokyo released treated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. Reuters reported the US ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, said China’s ban was part of its “economic wars” and the US should broaden its offsetting efforts.

House Republicans unveiled a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel on Monday, a show of support for the embattled US ally amid its war against Hamas, reports The Hill. To pay for the foreign aid, however, the legislation includes $14.3 billion in cuts to funding for the Internal Revenue Service, a key detail that will likely be a non-starter for Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is at odds with new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who wants to split off Israel aid from Ukraine funding rather than pass a sweeping national security package, reports Politico. McConnell also faces brewing discontent within his own conference.

DefSec Lloyd Austin and SecState Antony Blinken pitched Congress on Tuesday on the president’s $106 billion supplemental budget request for Ukraine and Israel aid even as House members insist the package has little chance of becoming law, reports Military Times. Austin pushed back during the Senate hearing against the Republican’s $14.3 billion stand-alone funding for Israel, telling senators money for the war in Ukraine must also be included in national security aid being considered by Congress, reports Stars and Stripes.

The Washington Post reports House Republicans’ plan to pay for emergency aid to Israel by cutting the IRS’s budget would increase the deficit by $90 billion over 10 years, according to the chief of the tax agency.

Breaking Defense reports the US budgeted just shy of $100 billion for intelligence-gathering in fiscal 2023, a nearly $10 billion jump over FY22, according to newly released figures from the director of national intelligence and the Pentagon.

US regulators sued SolarWinds, a Texas-based technology company whose software was breached in a massive 2020 Russian cyberespionage campaign, for fraud for failing to disclose security deficiencies ahead of the stunning hack, reports C4ISRNET.

North Korea is poised to close as many as a dozen embassies including in Spain, Hong Kong, and multiple countries in Africa, according to media reports and analysts, in a move that could see nearly 25% of Pyongyang’s missions close worldwide, reports Reuters. North Korea’s recent closing of its diplomatic missions was a sign that the reclusive country is struggling to make money overseas because of international sanctions, South Korea’s unification ministry said Tuesday.

No F135 fighter engines are yet known to have parts made from contaminated powdered metal — a situation affecting much of Pratt & Whitney’s commercial engine fleet — but if detected, they’ll be replaced at depot and shouldn’t have a major impact on operations, a F-35 Joint Program Office spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The Army has renamed the last installation named after Civil War-era Confederates, reports Military.com. The base near Augusta, GA, is now Fort Eisenhower, following a renaming ceremony Friday.

The military and federal government continue to grapple with states legalizing and decriminalizing drugs. A cadet at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, pleaded guilty for using psilocybin — a natural psychedelic compound found in certain mushrooms that were largely decriminalized in Colorado last year. The academy is working out the full punishment for the cadet.

According to the Veterans Association, there are more than 18.2 million veterans currently living in the US. WalletHub compares the 100 largest US cities across 19 key indicators of livability, affordability, and veteran-friendliness.

CMDR Steven J. Green was relieved as head of Transaction Service Center Great Lakes “due to a loss of confidence” in his ability to lead, the service announced in a brief statement Tuesday. Navy Times reports Green is one of at least nine Navy commanding officers relieved in 2023, and the second Navy HR leader to be fired in the past two months. The Navy ousted the executive officer of the Navy Pay and Personnel Support Center, CMDR Brandon T. DeHaan, in September following a command investigation.

Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour Nov. 5 as daylight saving time ends. As countries including the United States, Canada, and Cuba prepare, Reuters reports on the debate once again emerging in the US over whether and how to end this practice.

Contracts:

Resource Management Concepts Inc., Lexington Park, Maryland, is awarded a $46,166,398 modification (P00010) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0042119D0065). This modification increases the contract ceiling to provide continued research development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) network engineering, infrastructure design, installation, and operations, as well as system administration across the entire RDT&E environment, to the Naval Air Systems Command RDT&E networking and computing infrastructure. This includes the Air Interoperability Center and High-Performance Computing and Cyber Range test and evaluation assets. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (85%); St. Inigoes, Maryland (9%); Cherry Point, North Carolina (2%); Jacksonville, Florida (2%); and San Diego, California (2%), and is expected to be completed in September 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

The MIL Corp., Bowie, Maryland, is awarded a $54,299,122 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00015) to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0042121D0010). This modification adds scope to allow for Global Radio Frequency and Intelligence Networks (GRFIN) related top secret/sensitive compartmented information requirements to be completed in support of the integration and installation of GRFIN related technologies, systems and equipment; the update and modernization of existing systems and equipment; and the use of legacy, current, and emerging GRFIN technologies to meet unique requirements in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Webster Outlying Field Integrated Command, Control and Intel Division. Work will be performed in St. Inigoes, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in April 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. NAWCAD, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

ASRC Federal Cyber LLC, Columbia, Maryland, is being awarded a noncompetitive, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a total value of $99,578,037. Under this new contract, the contractor will provide 24 hours a day, seven days a week maintenance, repair, and sustainment services for the facilities, real property, and building equipment at the Missile Defense Complex and Cantonment area in Fort Greely, Alaska. These services are in direct support of the operational Ground-Based Midcourse Defense weapon system under the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) mission umbrella. The work will be performed in Fort Greely, Alaska. The performance period is from November 2023 through December 2028. One offer was solicited, and one offer was received. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $900,000 are being obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. MDA, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0856-24-C-0001).

Cashman Dredging & Marine Contracting Co. LLC, Quincy, Massachusetts, was awarded a $29,131,250 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2024. Fiscal 2023 civil construction funds and fiscal 2023 and 2024 civil operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $29,131,250 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-24-C-0006). 

MCR Federal LLC, McLean, Virginia, has been awarded a $9,433,467 firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00032) to previously awarded contract FA8806-20-F-0002 to exercise Option 1 for software development operations environment. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $61,866,330 from $52,432,863. Work will be performed at El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,000,000 are being obligated at time of award. Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity.

PAE Applied Technologies LLC, Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $8,402,045 firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable contract modification (P00006) to previously awarded FA4890-23-C-0003 to exercise Option Period 1 for base operations support at Forward Operating Location Curacao. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $45,898,599. Work will be performed in Curacao and is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $8,402,045 are being obligated at time of award. Air Combat Command Acquisition, Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Peraton Inc., Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $14,885,326 time and material and firm-fixed-price task order for commercial agile software development services in support of the Command and Control, Software Engineering and Support 4 suite of software applications. This contract provides agile software development services including continuous, incremental software deliveries for the maintenance, sustainment, and development of the system in support of the U.S. Strategic Command mission and requirements. The location of performance is Bellevue, Nebraska; and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2025. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and three offers were received. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $47,707 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Offutt AFB, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (FA2217-24-F-B001).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded a $542,926,499 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, fixed-price incentive (firm-target) modification (P00046) to a previously awarded contract (N0001919C0008). This modification provides for the production and delivery of MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System Low-Rate Initial Production Lot Six, to include three unmanned aircraft (UA) for the Navy; one UA for the government of Australia; and one main operating base for the Navy, as well as associated support and related technical and administrative data. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (25.7%); Palmdale, California, (18.4%); Red Oak, Texas (10.1%); Linthicum, Maryland (9.5%); Grand Rapids, Michigan (5.1%); Bridgeport, West Virginia (5.1%); Indianapolis, Indiana (4.3%); Rolling Meadows, Illinois (2.5%); Moss Point, Mississippi (2.5%); Chantilly, Virginia (1.7%); Longueil, Quebec, Canada (1.1%); San Clemente, California (1.1%); various locations within of the continental U.S. (CONUS) (12.1%); and various locations outside of the CONUS (0.5%), and is expected to be completed in January 2028. Fiscal 2023 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $411,380,298; fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $971,678; and Royal Australian Air Force cooperative funds in the amount of $40,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award, $971,678 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Consulting Inc., Phoenix, Arizona, has been awarded an $11,915,833 firm-fixed-price modification (P00010) to previously awarded contract FA4890-23-F-0005 to exercise Option Year 1 for F-15E, F-16, and F-22A contract aircrew training and courseware development. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $59,700,952. Work will be performed at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Shaw AFB, South Carolina; and Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2024. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,971,238 are being incrementally obligated at time of award. Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Langley AFB, Virginia, is the contracting activity.