DoD Wants the Force More Capable, Not Bigger

US Navy recruits receive weapons familiarization training. More than 40,000 recruits train annually at Great Lakes, IL, the Navy’s only boot camp. (US Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Christopher M. O’Grady)

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 Defense Department is looking to reduce 25,000 military positions, reports Army Times. DoD Comptroller Michael McCord said the goal is not to make the force bigger. “That is not what … our review concluded we needed to do. We’re looking at making the force more capable,” he said. The new budget request would put the Navy at 346,300 active-duty sailors, down by 1,184; and 57,700 in the Reserve, down 951.

US Navy CMDR Jared Severson was relieved of his duties as head of Submarine Training Facility San Diego due to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead the center, reports Navy Times. LT CMDR Chris Lindahl will fill the role of commanding officer.

The Navy plans to move 260 sailors off the USS George Washington to an offsite barracks-type living arrangement at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, reports Military.com. This comes after a string of suicides and complaints from service members about conditions aboard the ship. After seven deaths in a year among the crew of a single aircraft carrier, including three suicides in just more than a week, lawmakers want answers from the service.

Dr. Shereef Elnahal, nominated earlier this year to be the Department of Veterans Affairs undersecretary for health, testified before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee last week. He said one of his top priorities for the job will be improving recruiting and retention for clinical care positions at the Veterans Health Administration, reports Navy Times.

The US Navy and Marine Corps’ recent fleet tests were aimed at evaluating the services’ ability to operate together, reports The National Interest. The Corps is undertaking its most significant force redesign in more than a generation and is returning to its maritime roots to keep forces in an Indo-Pacific combat scenario.

US Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) has introduced an authorization for use of military force, or AUMF, resolution that would authorize President Joe Biden to utilize American forces to defend Ukraine if Russia uses chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons against its neighbor, reports The Hill.

The combat death last week of Willy Joseph Cancel has put the spotlight on Americans fighting in Ukraine, reports Navy Times. Cancel, 22, a former Marine, was working for a military contracting company. It is not known how many Americans are in Ukraine battling Russian forces.

The Florida National Guard 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team is headed to Eastern Europe to train Ukrainian troops, reports Navy Times. The same unit helped to evacuate Ukrainians in February. The Guardsmen will train troops on the equipment sent in two aid packages from the US. The training will take place outside of Ukraine, according to DoD.

Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia National Guards are sending their aging M113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, reports Army Times. The aid stems from the $800 million US weapons package announced last month that included 200 M113s.

 

 

The Washington, DC, National Guard has opened a recruiting office, reports Army Times. The city hasn’t had a recruiting office since 2010. MAJ GEN Sherrie McCandless said the move was a push for visibility and an emphasis on the Guard’s local connections at a time when many residents might be ripe for recruitment.

Europe’s special operations forces are watching the Russian-Ukrainian war closely for lessons learned, reports Breaking Defense, taking notes on tactics and technology that is being used.

An Australian tanker has refueled a Japanese jet midair for the first time, reports Defense News. A Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A tanker participated in a flight test program with Japan Air Self-Defense Force Mitsubishi F-2 jets last month.

Thales and CS GROUP will develop and deliver the PARADE drone countermeasures program capability for France, reports Homeland Security Today. PARADE will be a modular, multi-mission system that can be deployed by the military on a temporary basis to protect a fixed site or as part of military operations.

To track hypersonic missiles, the US Space Force will develop at least four new satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) by 2028, reports Breaking Defense. A study has recommended a multi-layered network of satellites in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO), highly elliptical polar orbit, Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and Medium Earth Orbit is necessary to provide comprehensive ballistic and hypersonic missile warning and tracking.

Sixty-two members of the US House of Representatives are pushing for a 5.1% pay raise for federal workers, reports Federal News Network. This would be the highest pay raise in 25 years. The Biden administration has asked for a 4.6% raise.

Businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies in Brevard County, FL, want to help military spouses find jobs, reports WFTV9. They will be partnering with Hiring Our Heroes to support military families. Florida’s Space Coast is now a military spouse economic empowerment zone. Hiring Our Heroes is a program of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It currently works with municipalities in 12 states.

Leaders from several Maryland counties are urging the Maryland Transportation Authority to replace the current Chesapeake Bay Bridge with a new eight-lane span, reports Maryland Matters. Last week, the Federal Highway Administration approved the state’s plan build to a new bay bridge near the existing two spans that cross between Annapolis and Kent Island, reports The Baltimore Sun.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality plans to regulate solar panels as impervious surfaces, reports Bay Journal. Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said he sees the change in the regulations as a slight against the state’s renewable energy sector. The state said the regulations are needed to deal with stormwater management issues associated with the solar developments.

Contracts:

L3Harris Technologies Inc., Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $16,515,647 contract modification (P00100) to previously awarded contract FA8823-20-C-0004 for Space Fence sustainment services. This modification adds depot level maintenance, modification and sustainment services for the Space Fence System. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Moorestown, New Jersey; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands; and Dahlgren, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by April 30, 2023. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,341,637 are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $517,528,546. The Space Systems Center Directorate of Contracting, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the contracting activity.

American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $11,112,720 modification (P00168) to a 50-year contract (SP0600-09-C-8257), with no options periods for the ownership, operation and maintenance of water and wastewater utility systems at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. This is a fixed‐price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Locations of performance are Virginia and New Jersey, with a March 5, 2060, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2060 Army operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Federal Prison Industries, doing business as UNICOR, Washington, DC, has been awarded a maximum $9,822,180 modification (P00003) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-21-D-1472) with two one-year option periods for physical fitness uniform trunks. This is a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are New Jersey, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado and Washington, DC, with a May 18, 2023, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Huntington Ingalls Inc. – Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded an $11,051,638 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-2112 to extend the delivery date for vessel storage and towing preparation services of the aircraft carrier ex-USS Enterprise (CVN-65). Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,051,638 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Resolution Consultants, an AECOM-EnSafe Inc. JV, Los Angeles, California, is awarded a $400,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract for comprehensive long-term environmental action services in the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Atlantic area of operations (AO). The work to be performed provides program management and technical environmental services in support of the Department of the Navy’s Environmental Restoration Program, Munitions Response Program, and other similar programs, at any Navy and Marine Corps activity in the NAVFAC Atlantic AO. Work will be performed in, but not limited to, Florida (15%); Maine (14%); New Jersey (10%); Indiana (9%); Massachusetts (9%); New York (8%); Texas (8%); Pennsylvania (5%); Rhode Island (5%); South Carolina (4%); Illinois (3%); Mississippi (3%); Alabama (2%); Connecticut (2%); Georgia (1%); Louisiana (1%); and Tennessee (1%), and is expected to be completed by May 2027. The initial task order is being awarded at $200,000 for architect engineering services at the Program Management Office in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by March 2023. Fiscal 2022 environmental restoration (Navy) funds in the amount of $200,000 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by environmental restoration (Navy) funds. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov contract opportunities website with five proposals received. NAVFAC Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-22-D-0005).