Congress Backs Big Military Pay Raise – But Not Medical Job Cuts

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 lawmakers back big 3.1 percent military pay raise, block plans to cut 18,000 defense medical jobs, reports Military Times. The plan follows draft legislation released last month from Senate defense lawmakers and would be the largest troop pay raise in a decade.

 A B-52 bomber and an aircraft carrier dispatched to the Mideast over a perceived threat from Iran have conducted a joint exercise together in the Arabian Sea. Military Times reports that the exercise saw F/A-18 Super Hornets, MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters, and E-2D Growlers from the USS Abraham Lincoln fly with the B-52 bomber, simulating strike operations.

A more accurate, completely digital DD 214 is on its way, reports Military Times. The days of having to keep a tidy copy of your discharge paperwork to prove you were in the service could be coming to an end. The Defense Department is working on creating a fully electronic version of the seminal DD 214 document.

Poor fire safety practices in the yard are putting at risk the two-year, $523-million effort to repair USS Fitzgerald, the destroyer heavily damaged in a deadly 2017 collision, warns the ship’s commanding officer. USNI reports that Cmdr. Garrett Miller, commanding officer of Fitzgerald, noted a series of more than 15 fire safety incidents aboard the ship since it arrived at the Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Miss., nearly 18 months ago.

Lead Navy prosecutor in SEAL war crime case is out over email spying on defense teams and a Navy Times journalist, reports Navy Times.

Military Times reports what war with Iran could look like based on interviews with more than a dozen military experts, including current and former US military officials.

A military convoy halted in Virginia Beach when a vehicle got stuck under an overpass, reports Military Times, despite the clearly displayed height restriction of an overpass.

Amazon offered a job to Pentagon official involved in $10B DoD contract competition, reports The Intercept. The federal lawsuit alleges that Amazon secretly negotiated a job offer with a then-Department of Defense official who helped shape the procurement process for a massive federal contract for which Amazon was a key bidder.

In a male-dominated administration, Pentagon chief seeks more women, reports Foreign Policy, but critics are skeptical that Patrick Shanahan will fill senior Defense posts with female nominees after a series of resignations.

Army investigators warn of schemes to blackmail soldiers for Bitcoin or steal social identities for romance scams, reports Army Times. Army Criminal Investigation Command has recently seen a resurgence of scammers that use fake Common Access Cards and send blackmail letters to soldiers in an effort to extract cash payments.

Navy begins immediate drug testing for synthetic opioid, reports Navy Times, checking all urinalysis samples for the synthetic opioid fentanyl and norfentanyl.

Revolutionary War shipwrecks get first good look in years, reports The Associated Press. In May, for the first time in nearly three decades, archaeologists slipped into the murky York River to assess what’s left of the Lost Fleet at Yorktown, a British convoy sent to its doom during the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: June 3, 2019.

Contracts:

Leidos Innovations Corp., Reston, Virginia, has been awarded a $23,217,007 firm-fixed-price modification (P00007) to previously awarded contract FA701418F3042 to exercise option year one. This modification provides program support for The Air Force National Capital Region Information Technology services. Work will be performed at Air Force District of Washington or other Operations Center areas in the National Capital Region, and is expected to be complete by Dec. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at time of award. This modification brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $88,914,006. Air Force District of Washington Contracting Directorate, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity. (Awarded May 22, 2019)

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,000,000 ceiling increase modification (P00010) to previously awarded contract FA8501-15-D-0008 for product data systems, data management and migration support. This contract provides for all labor, supplies, and technical support services necessary to operate and maintain Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, product data hardware and software; to aid government customers in managing and executing technical data generation, acceptance and sustainment activities, processes, and products within the product data environment; and to support data improvement, cleansing and migration efforts necessary to prepare data for transition into modernized and/or Air Force enterprise-level systems. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $93,000,000. Work will be performed at Robins AFB, Georgia, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 9, 2020. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins AFB, Georgia, is the contracting activity.

Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,014,209 delivery order (FA8534-19-F-0046) against previously awarded contract FA8533-15-D-0001 for the Base Expeditionary Airfield Resources (BEAR) Kitchen Program. This delivery order provides for fourteen Bear Kitchens, which are modular, deployable kitchens with the electrical and water systems to connect to the BEAR power grid and water distribution systems. The kitchens are used in deployed locations for feeding USAF personnel – military, civilian, and support members. This delivery order brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $54,033,811. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by March 31, 2021. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and four offers were received. Fiscal 2019 procurement funds in the full amount are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, SE&V/ATS/Human Systems Contracting Office, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.

Rohde & Schwarz USA Inc., Columbia, Maryland, is awarded a $7,327,350 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for vector network analyzers to support the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division, Measurement Science and Engineering Department. The vector network analyzers are used to calibrate various devices such as attenuators, power sensors, filters, terminations and other microwave passive devices. Work will be performed in Columbia, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by June 2024. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $146,547 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division, Corona, California is the contracting activity (N64267-19-D-0020).