March 28, 2024

Del Toro Confirmed As Next NavSec

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Morning Coffee logoeconomic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Carlos Del Toro, a retired Navy commander and businessman, was confirmed over the weekend as the 78th secretary of the US Navy and the second Hispanic American to lead the department, reports Navy Times. During a July nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Del Toro supported plans to maintain a 355-ship Navy and said that he sees climate change and China as top threats to the US.

Meredith Berger is the new assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment (EI&E), reports the service’s public information office. She was sworn in by Deputy DefSec Kathleen Hicks at the Pentagon last week.

An RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk crashed in a rural field in North Dakota at about 7 am Friday as it was returning to Grand Forks Air Force Base, reports Air Force Times. No injuries were reported. An investigation is underway. Task & Purpose reports the Air Force drone is more costly than the F-35 fighter jet.

The guided-missile destroyer Mahan has returned to Norfolk, after being deployed to the US 5th and 6th fleet since February, reports Navy Times.

The US Army said it will keep six sites originally scheduled to be returned to Germany and Belgium. Military.com reports there is an increasing demand for US facilities in Europe.

The Taliban seized two provincial capitals in Afghanistan – Talegan and Kunduz — on Sunday, reports NPR, the latest to be overtaken by the insurgents since the US began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban now have a hold on four provincial capitals across the country. The Afghan government in Kabul denies it has lost Kunduz, Navy Times reports.

NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity made its 11th off-Earth flight,  early Thursday, Aug. 5, reports space.com. The 4-pound helicopter landed with the Perseverance rover on Mars in February.

BAE Systems, the manufacturer of the amphibious assault vehicle involved in a fatal accident last year, is being sued by the families of the service members who died in the incident, reports Marine Corps Times. Lawyers are citing a design flaw in the top cargo hatch of the AAV and are asking the corps to stop all waterborne training for the AAV and its replacement.

Peter Gallagher, a retired US Army major general and former director of the service’s Network Enterprise Technology Command, has joined CACI International Inc., reports Navy Times. According to a company news release, Gallagher has been named a senior vice president to enhance CACI’s expertise and innovative technology for national security.

Australia is entering the next phase of the competition of find a company to build its Joint Air Battle Management System, or JBAMs, reports Defense News. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have moved to round two.

 

 

Shock trials on the USS Gerald R. Ford were completed Sunday, reports Defense News. The Navy conducts the shock trials of new ship designs using live explosives to make sure the vessels can continue under harsh conditions they might encounter in battle. Sunday’s trials were the third of three to be conducted.

DefSec Lloyd Austin said members of the US military would be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Sept. 15, under a new plan he announced Monday, reports The Associated Press.

Fifty percent of the US population is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports UPI. According to DoD, 73% of active duty personnel have at least one dose of the vaccine.

Here’s a warning to federal government employees who lie about their vaccination status. Federal News Network reports that those not being truthful could face criminal penalties and/or disciplinary actions.

Maryland has established a commission to study the need for more state parks, reports Maryland Matters. The State Park Investment Commission will make recommendations on the need for new parks in “recreational deserts” and whether existing parks are accessible to certain populations such as those who do not have a car or are low-income.

Seventy-five House Democrats are calling for President Joe Biden to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, reports The Hill. “We ask that as you take the steps necessary to finally close the prison, you act immediately to further reduce its population, ensure that the remaining detainees are treated humanely and increase the transparency of military commission proceedings at the Guantanamo detention facility,” reads a letter organized by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA).

Large wildfires are raging across Greece, reports ABC News, and they are threatening several towns and forcing thousands to evacuate. The US Navy has sent a P-8 Poseidon to help with the firefighting efforts there, reports Navy Times. The aircraft was stationed at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy.

COL Dave Severance, a Marine Corps officer among those storming Iwo Jima during World War II, died last week, reports The Washington Post. He was 102. He led a group of men to the island’s Mount Suribachi to raise an American flag in victory, a moment caught in a famous picture by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal on Feb. 23, 1945.

Contracts:

Balfour Beatty, Falls Church, Virginia, is awarded a $57,795,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a consolidated communication center at Joint Base Andrews. The contract also contains five unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $61,738,711. Work will be performed in Camp Springs, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by August 2023. The work to be performed provides for construction of a new consolidated communication center for the Air Force’s 89th, 744th, and 83rd Squadrons within a single structure, and the demolition of two facilities (Buildings 1539 and 1558). The options, if exercised, provide for the audiovisual services, landscaping, water infiltration testing, air infiltration testing, and furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Fiscal 2017 military construction (Air Force) contract funds in the amount of $57,795,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website with six proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Washington, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N40080-21-C-0055).

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