Burial Rules at Arlington Likely to Change

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.

Burial eligibility rules at Arlington National Cemetery are expected to change in the fall, reports Military Times, due to space limitations. “It’s really an impossible problem for us,” said Karen Durham-Aguilera, cemetery executive director. “The eligible population is more than 22 million … currently today, we have less than 85,000 spaces.”

House lawmakers are showing support for the F-35 program, reports Defense News. In a letter late last month to the House Armed Services Committee, 132 legislators urged the panel to fully fund DoD’s budget request for the aircraft.

General Atomics will open an office at NAS Pax River, ExecutiveBiz.com reports. James Donnelly, director of maritime program operations, will manage the office.

Honeywell will pay the US State Department $13 million after it transferred to China and other countries unauthorized technical data on the F-35 and F-22 fighter jets, reports The Hill. The North Carolina-based company had faced 34 charges.

China reportedly has plans to build an airstrip on the island of Kanton, reports The Drive. The island is situated between North America and New Zealand. Any significant build-up on the island would offer a foothold to China in an area that has been aligned with the US since World War II, reports Reuters.

GEN Stephen Townsend of the US Africa Command said that a growing threat from China may come not just from the waters of the Pacific Ocean, but from the Atlantic as well, reports Military Times.

The Greek navy has taken delivery of the first of 11 Aegean Hawk helicopters from Lockheed Martin, reports Naval Technology. Greece is also set to receive seven MH-60 Romeo helicopters by the end of this year and in early 2022.

NAS Pax River will begin construction on its $3.5 million Hot Pit Refurbish Project, reports The Tester. When completed, the Hot Pit will put the base in compliance with NAVAIR 00-80T-109, Aircraft Refueling NATOPS Manual. Hot Pit refueling refers to fueling fixed and rotary wing aircraft while engines are still running, or partially running, depending on the aircraft; and it provides rapid turnaround of an aircraft.

The US has sent additional warplanes to Afghanistan to bolster protection of American and coalition troops making a final withdrawal, reports Military Times, as Taliban insurgents step up pressure on Afghan government forces.

Pentagon officials are holding out hope the Afghan government will be able to withstand the latest Taliban military offensive, reports Voice of America. “Hope” may not be a strategy, but for the US it has become a substantial part of its plans for withdrawing from Afghanistan, reports US News & World Report.

 

 

China said a core segment of its biggest rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, reports The Associated Press, and that most of it burned up early Sunday.

The 18-month-long post delivery tests and trials for the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford are finished, reports Navy Times. That included certifying the flight deck and embarking the air wing and other tasks.

Joint Command Norfolk will lead the first phase of the Steadfast Defender 2021 exercise, reports UPI. More than 20 NATO allies and partners from North America and Europe will participate in the NATO table-top exercise this month.

The US Air Force’s Skyborg drone made its first flight at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, reports Defense News. A UTAP-22 equipped with the Skyborg autonomy core system performed a serious of flight maneuvers to demonstrate the safe operation of the system, according to the service.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his country would invest $32 billion to create the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm, reports UPI.

New research from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom has found that a vertical turbine design is far more efficient than traditional turbines in large scale wind farms, reports techxplore.com.

The US Labor Department said 266,000 jobs were added in April 2021 and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.1%, reports UPI.

Veterans jobless rates stayed largely flat in April with slight improvements in job prospects among younger veterans as the US finished its first full year under business restrictions from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, reports Military Times.

COL Andrew Morgan, NASA astronaut and Army flight surgeon, took an armband into space that had been worn by an Army medic in 1944. Morgan spent 272 days on the International Space Station, returning to Earth in April 2020. Last week, he returned the brassard to the National Museum of the US Army at Fort Belvoir, VA, in honor of National Astronaut Day.

The US Army will now allow its female troops to wear single ponytails and single braids, reports Army Times.

Contracts:

Acts/Meltech JV2, Virginia Beach, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0002); Athena, Triangle, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0003); Argus CJW JV3, Leesburg, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0004); Belt Build, Crofton, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0005); Binary Technologies, Germantown, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0006); CCI Alliance of Companies, Stafford, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0007); CCSI DCI JV, Windsor Mill, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0008); Constructure, Chantilly, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0009); Cypress SDC Group, Essex, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0010); EB MEI One, Accokeek, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0011); FCC ICC JV, Exton, Pennsylvania FA2860-21-D-0012; GBoss, Herndon, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0013); GM Hill, Alexandria, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0014); Impyrian, Fulton, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0015); Kekolu Contracting, LLC, La Plata, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0016); MaChis Mid Atlantic, Clinton, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0017); Miami Wiipica, LLC, Reston, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0018); Midnight Sun Centennial JV, Vienna, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0019), Mountain Consulting, Dover, Delaware (FA2860-21-D-00020); SUCCOR Ocean, Chesapeake, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0021); Puyenpa, Gaithersburg, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0023); QED, Woodbridge, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0024); Reliance Construction, Wake Forest, North Carolina (FA2860-21-D-0025); Ritz, Fredrick, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0026); SanDow RSC, Landover, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0027); Silver Lake TMG JV2, Purcellville, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0028); Snodgress SJV2, Annapolis, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0029); Superior Structures, La Plata, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0030); TSC Edifice, Front Royal, Virginia (FA2860-21-D-0031); Vanguard Pacific, Rockville, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0032); VHB LLC, Boyds, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0033); Westerly, Gaithersburg, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0034); and XL Construction, Laurel, Maryland (FA2860-21-D-0035), have collectively been awarded a not-to-exceed $700,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for streamlined means to complete minor construction projects, maintenance and repair. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Maryland, and is expected to be completed April 20, 2028. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 43 offers were received. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,000 per contractor are are being obligated at the time of award. The 316th Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

RQ Construction LLC, Carlsbad, California, is awarded a $48,938,699 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build services at combat service support facilities, Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) Little Creek- Fort Story. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by March 2024. The work to be performed is construction of several JEB Little Creek-Fort Story combat service support facilities to include addition to the existing armory, demolition of existing ordnance operations building, construction of new operations building, addition of overhead coiling door to existing boat storage building, construction of a new vehicle maintenance facility and boat-shop building. Fiscal 2021 military construction funds in the amount of $48,938,699 are obligated on this award will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-D-0034).

The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Greenbelt, Maryland, is awarded a $44,471,400 firm-fixed-price contract for design-build services at Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) Little Creek- Fort Story. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 2023. The work to be performed will be construction of a new dry combat submersible operations facility at JEB Little Creek-Fort Story. Fiscal 2021 military construction funds in the amount of $44,471,400 are obligated on this award will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website with four proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-D-0036).

Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is issued a modification (P00029) to exercise Option Period Four with a ceiling value of $32,101,802 for a time-and-materials contract (HDTRA1-17-C-0019) for scientific and technical services in support of various projects under the Biological Threat Reduction Program. Work will be performed at various locations throughout the world. The anticipated completion date for Option Period Four is May 13, 2022. The contract was a competitive acquisition; the government received 11 offers. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Cooperative Threat Reduction Contracting Office, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

CACI Inc. – Federal, Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded an estimated maximum $496,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Automated Test System Sustainment Initiative II (ATSSI II). This contract provides support to the Ogden Air Logistics Complex’s (OO-ALC) ATSSI II program for the continued development and sustainment of a depot technology infrastructure supportive of the OO-ALC mission to perform critical test functions important to the ongoing operational safety, suitability, and effectiveness of multiple Air Force weapon systems/subsystems. Work will be performed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and is expected to be completed May 5, 2030. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2021 working capital funds in the amount of $266,679 are being obligated on the first task order. Air Force Sustainment Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8227-21-D-0004).

IBM Corp., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded $14,345,290 firm-fixed-price modification (P00016) to contract FA7014-19-F-A152 for advisory and assistance support. This modification exercises Option Year One that continues support for the development, implementations, analysis and provision of policies, guidance, oversight, career-field management and human-capital management programs across the civil engineer enterprise. Work will be performed in Washington, DC, and if all options are exercised, work is expected to be completed Aug. 2, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $14,201,188 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force District of Washington Contracting Directorate, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Raytheon Co., Dulles, Virginia, is awarded a $495,000,000 hybrid firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursement, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, single award contract to provide logistics consulting services to coordinate the complex repair process for the supply chain management center logistics integration support secondary repairable program. The contract has a five-year ordering period and a six-month option to extend services with a maximum value of $495,000,000. Work will be performed in Albany, Georgia (46%); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (19%); Camp Pendleton, California (15%); Okinawa, Japan (13%); Barstow, California (6%); and Kaneohe, Hawaii (1%). Performance is expected to be complete in November 2026. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $5,000 is being obligated under the contract’s initial task order to fund the minimum guarantee and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively solicited via beta.sam.gov, with six proposals received. The Marine Corps Logistics Command, Albany, Georgia, is the contracting activity (M67004-21-D-0002).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Mission Systems Sector, Linthicum Heights, Maryland, is awarded a $74,829,628 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-5519 to exercise an option for production of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 3 Hemisphere systems. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland (55%); Tampa, Florida (6%); Andover, Massachusetts (5%); Chelmsford, Massachusetts (4%); Rochester, New York (3%); San Diego, California (3%); Los Angeles, California (2%); Winona, Minnesota (2%); Stafford Springs, Connecticut (2%); Glendale, Arizona (1%); Nashua, New Hampshire (1%); Elk Grove Village, Illinois (1%); White Marsh, Maryland (1%); Tucson, Arizona (1%); Chandler, Arizona (1%); Washington, North Carolina (1%); Woodridge, Illinois (1%); Richardson, Texas (1%); Minneapolis, Minnesota (1%); El Cajon, California (1%); Hiawatha, Iowa (1%); Littleton, Colorado (1%); Glendale, California (1%); and miscellaneous locations each less than 1% (4%), and is expected to be completed by October 2023. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $74,829,628 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a maximum $325,533,853 firm-fixed-price contract for Global Positioning Systems receiver parts and vendor-managed inventory services. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 US Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year one-time procurement with nine one-year option periods. The first option is being exercised at the time of award. Locations of performance are Iowa, New Hampshire, and Virginia, with a May 5, 2022, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 procurement funds, and operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7MX-21-C-0002).