Budget Cuts Could Mean Federal Worker Layoffs

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 budget cuts President Donald Trump plans to propose this week are expected to lead to layoffs among federal workers, The Washington Post reports. The president’s budget will cut back numerous programs and expedite a historic contraction of the federal workforce. Aides say the president sees a new Washington emerging from the budget process, one that prioritizes the military and homeland security while slashing other areas, including housing, foreign assistance, environmental programs, public broadcasting, and research.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to make his first trip in office to Asia this week. Stops in Tokyo, Seoul, and Beijing are expected. Los Angeles Times reports Mr. Tillerson will be faced with a range of options that include opening a dialogue with North Korea, adding new sanctions, or even launching a pre-emptive strike on North Korea.

The Navy is accelerating efforts to acquire small, mobile command and control centers around the world as part of a broader effort to consolidate IT networks and streamline operations, Defense Systems reports. The service is modernizing its Deployable Joint Command and Control — DJ2C — technology to reduce the hardware footprint and increase software-defined storage.

MSN News reports that Japan plans to dispatch its largest warship on a three-month tour through the South China Sea beginning in May, in its biggest show of naval force in the region since World War II.

VASec David Shulkin told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that he supports expanding his department’s caregiver benefits to families of veterans of all eras, and thinks the move may be far less costly than most critics expect, Military Times reports.

The Pentagon has stepped up drug testing requirements for new military recruits, DoD reports. The changes will take effect April 3.

Recent US Bureau of Labor Statistics  show the unemployment rate for veterans who served in the military after 9/11 dropped to 4.6 percent in February, Military News reports. This is the most significant month-to-month dip in nearly a year, and a rate lower than non-veteran civilians.

Politico magazine asks, “Can Iraq Survive Trump?” with his foreign policy premised on the idea of America First and having said the invasion of Iraq was a terrible mistake, and that the US should have just taken the country’s oil and gotten out. “The world looks at America, and when America disengages, usually the world also disengages,” said Jalal Talabani, Iraq’s post-invasion president from 2005 to 2014.

The US Air Force Air Combat Command has a new chief. AF Gen. James Holmes, former deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, assumed leadership of the command Friday, Executivegov.com reports. Holmes succeeds Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, who retired after a 39-year military career.

DefSec James Mattis is troubled by the reports that nude photos of female service members were secretly posted online without their permission, Military Times reports. The Pentagon chief is expected to meet with military and civilian leaders in coming days to determine what action the military will take.

Engineers from US Naval Sea Systems Command partnered with The Lamps, a nonprofit organization, to bring power to school children in Senegal. As a part of The Lamps “Let There Be Light” campaign, three Navy engineers used personal leave last month to visit the coastal city of Mbour.

Numerous NAS Pax River personnel were honored late last month during command quarters. To view photos from the event, click here.

Contracts:

URS Federal Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, is being awarded a $35,134,428 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide maintenance services, including integrated support equipment (SE) maintenance repair and overhaul services to reduce repair cycle time and the availability of ready for use SE in the fleet and the Fleet Readiness Center Aviation Support Equipment sites. Work will be performed in Solomons, Maryland (15 percent); Jacksonville, Florida (12 percent); North Island, California (12 percent); Portsmouth, Virginia (11 percent); Cherry Point, North Carolina (10 percent); Beaufort, South Carolina (10 percent); El Centro, California (8 percent); New Orleans, Louisiana (5 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (5 percent); Comalapa, El Salvador (4 percent); Cheatham Annex, Virginia (3 percent); North Island, California (2 percent); Whidbey Island, Washington (2 percent); and Futenma, Japan (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2022. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $100,000 are being obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; one offer was received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N68335-17-C-0272).

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Orlando, Florida, is being awarded a $9,642,689 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide training material, development and maintenance, instructor services, program management, administration and training systems in support of the Center for Surface Combat Systems for foreign military sales (FMS). This contract involves foreign military sales with the countries of Australia, Japan, Norway, and South Korea.  The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $49,804,865.  Work will be performed in Dahlgren, Virginia (70 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (29 percent); and Orlando, Florida (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2022. FMS funding in the amount of $5,599,030 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code § 2304(c)(4) – full and open competition need not be provided for when precluded by terms of an international agreement. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00178-17-C-0006).

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia, is being awarded an $87,242,797 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, level-of-effort contract to provide technical, analytical, and managerial services in support of the Naval Aviation Enterprise efforts to sustain required current readiness and advance future warfighting capabilities at the best possible cost. Work will be performed at various locations inside and outside of the US, and is expected to be completed in April 2022. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funding will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; three offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-17-D-0021).