Bill Aims to Avert Government Shutdown

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.

House Democrats introduced legislation Monday that would keep the government running through December 11, reports Forbes. Senate Republicans have said they will oppose the spending bill, reports The Washington Post. The stopgap spending measure would avoid a government shutdown and keep DoD and other federal agencies operating beyond September 30. Defense News reports the continuing resolution would allow the Navy to begin design and construction work on two Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, but leaves out White House requests for Space Force and nuclear weapons programs. The bill doesn’t include $30 billion for farm aid that the White House had sought, reports Bloomberg.

Twenty years after the first woman took to the skies as Israel’s first combat pilot, a female pilot will join the ranks of the 116th Lions of the South Squadron and fly the F-35i Adir variation of the aircraft, reports The National Interest.

The US Navy’s newest America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli has arrived at its new homeport at Naval Base San Diego, reports Navy Recognition. Tripoli is the second America-class ship to join the fleet.

The business community near Naval Air Station Whidbey Island was updated by commanding officer CAPT Matthew Arny on the base’s future and its upcoming construction projects and its efforts to support new technology. The station is now prepared to support the MQ-4C Triton, reports the South Whidbey Record. The base was awarded the Tritons in 2017, and the mission control station for the Triton is complete.

The US State Department on Friday posted a tweet to honor the Air Force on the occasion of the service’s 73rd birthday, reports Military.com, but used a photo of the Blue Angels, the Navy’s elite demonstration team by mistake. The Twitter post has since been deleted. Air Force Times marked the 73rd birthday with a video.

US Space Force now has a squadron of 20 airmen stationed at Qatar’s Al-Udeid Air Base in its first foreign deployment, reports Military Times.

An outbreak of coronavirus at a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine is being investigated by that state’s Center for Disease Control, reports Fox News.

The Navy has released its investigation into the communication, decisions, and actions that took place during a coronavirus outbreak in March on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, reports Military.com.

 

 

Active coronavirus cases in the Veterans Affairs health care system are at their lowest levels in nearly three months, reports Military Times, but the department remains on pace to add another 600 deaths from the illness by the end of the month.

The Navy recently christened its newest nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, the USS Montana, at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, reports Navy Times. It was a virtual ceremony due to COVID-19 restrictions. Due to delays in construction, the float-off is taking place a few months later than originally planned – though a company official told USNI News they are confident they can keep to the late 2021 planned delivery.

The US Army’s Bradley fighting vehicles have headed back to Syria, reports Army Times. This comes after an encounter with Russian forces left four US service members injured last month.

The nonprofit organization Project Recovery is continuing its efforts to recover World War II service members still missing, reports Military Times. During WWII, some 400,000 Americans were killed out of the 16 million who served and there were approximately 79,000 unaccounted for. More than 81,900 Americans remain missing since WWII.

Divers have found what they believe is the wreck of a US Navy submarine lost 77 years ago in Southeast Asia, reports The Associated Press. The divers have sent  evidence from six dives to the US Naval History and Heritage Command for verification that they have found the USS Grenadier, one of 52 American submarines lost during World War II.

The Hallmark Channel is looking to cast Navy sailors as extras in its upcoming holiday movie, “USS Christmas,” reports Military.com. Filming runs from Sept. 28 through Oct. 1 in Charleston, SC.

Former DefSec Jim Mattis gave a tribute to the legacy of singer and former enlisted sailor Bill Withers last week at the annual Lone Sailor Awards sponsored by the US Navy Memorial, reports Military.com. Mr. Withers died March 30 from heart complications. The 2020 awards program is available for viewing.

A former defense contractor was sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison for soliciting as much as $4.1 million in illegal kickbacks to steer defense subcontracts that worked on helping wounded veterans, reports Military Times. Brodie Shaw Thomson created fake business plans to try and hide his fraudulent dealings, according to court records.

The Pentagon has issued new guidance on religious liberty within the military — following pressure from Republican lawmakers to “prioritize protecting the rights and freedoms of service members” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, reports Military Times.

Contracts:

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $351,810,277 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-4314 for the USS Boise (SSN 764) early production period that encompasses continued advance planning, execution services, production and availability preparations for the USS Boise engineered overhaul. This contract modification includes options, which if exercised, will bring the cumulative value of this action to $355,015,496. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by May 2023. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $351,810,277 will be obligated at time of award, of which, funds in the amount of $351,810,277 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Management Services Group Inc., doing business as Global Technical Systems, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $21,580,941 firm-fixed-priced modification to previously awarded contract N63394-19-C-0008 to exercise options for the production of ordnance alteration kits, on-board allowance spares and installation and checkout kits for Technical Insertion 12H of the Common Processing System. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by April 2021. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2019 procurement (defense-wide) funding; and fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,580,941 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity.

Delphinus Engineering Inc., Eddystone, Pennsylvania (N55236-18-D-0001); Q.E.D. Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N55236-18-D-0002); Epsilon Systems Solutions Inc., National City, California (N55236-18-D-0003); Tecnico Corp., Chesapeake, Virginia (N55236-18-D-0004); Southcoast Welding and Manufacturing LLC, Chula Vista, California (N55236-18-D-0005); Bay City Marine Inc., National City, California (N55236-18-D-0006); Pacific Ship Repair and Fabrications Inc., San Diego, California (N55236-18-D-0007); and Miller Marine Inc., San Diego, California (N55236-18-D-0008), are each awarded firm-fixed-price contract modifications with a combined overall ceiling increase of $7,208,259 to exercise Option Year Three of their respective previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contracts to provide depot level repairs, interior and exterior preservation, barge modernization upgrades, dockside and dry dock services for Navy barges. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by October 2021. No funding is being obligated at time of award. Each contractor was awarded one contract and subsequently will compete for each delivery order when a requirement is identified. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

The MITRE Corp., Bedford, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $463,002,062 cost reimbursement option contract for support to the Air Force from MITRE as the administrator of the National Security Engineering Center Federally-Funded Research and Development Center. Work will be performed in Bedford, Massachusetts; McLean, Virginia; and various locations throughout the continental US and outside the continental US, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $158,100 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8702-19-C-0001).