Dwyer Nominee for 2nd Fleet Commander
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RADM Daniel Dwyer has been chosen to lead the US 2nd Fleet, reports USNI News. He will replace VADM Andrew Lewis. RADM Dwyer has been director of plans and policies for US Cyber Command. The Navy reestablished 2nd Fleet, which is based in Norfolk, VA, in 2018 as the Pentagon shifted its strategy toward focusing on Russia and China.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she will appoint a select committee to investigate the events leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and the federal response to events that occurred, reports Politico. Pelosi said the group will look into both the “root causes” of the storming of the building, as well as broader security concerns for the government complex.
The Pentagon said US military forces carried out defensive airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran-backed militia groups that were behind drone attacks on American personnel, reports NBC News. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the attacks were necessary, appropriate, and deliberately designed to prevent an escalation in the conflict while sending “a clear and unambiguous deterrent message,” reports UPI.
The investigation into the death of a US Air National Guard officer continues in Qatar, reports Military.com. Lt. Col. James Willis, 55, of New Mexico died in a non-combat incident at Al Udeid Air Base over the weekend. Willis was deployed there in support of the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The US Navy has contracted with Lockheed Martin to build nine more CH-53K King Stallion helicopters in a $735 million deal, reports Naval Technology. Naval Air Systems Command said the contract also has an additional option for another nine CH-53Ks.
US Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA), unhappy with the Biden administration’s decision to seek a permanent increase in federal remote work, wants an Inspector General investigation on the impact that mass telework has had on mission delivery from various federal agencies, reports Federal News Network. The request follows a memo issued by the White House instructing agencies to allow all employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic to remain permanently eligible for at least some telework.
A survey conducted in April showed federal workers who have been doing their jobs remotely during the pandemic are happier and feel they are just as productive – if not more — as they are when in the office, reports govexec.com. Many workers also reported greater job satisfaction.
A group representing employees at the Justice Department is urging the agency to make permanent many of the workplace flexibilities leaders put in place for the pandemic, reports Federal News Network. The Biden administration gave agencies until July 19 to finalize agency reentry plans and urged them to “reimagine” their telework, remote work, and other workplace flexibilities.
The European Union will update its rules on worker safety to reflect the shift millions employees made to working from home during the pandemic and to reflect the anticipated digital and green recovery, reports Reuters.
The region’s heatwave continues through at least the middle of the week, reports WTOP News. Monday’s temperatures were in the 90s and more hot weather is predicted and likely to top 90-something highs and humidity sending heat indexes soaring to near or over 100. “June felt more like May until just a few days ago, and now it feels like July,” said StormTeam4 meteorologist Chuck Bell said. “The heat and humidity that rolled in Saturday, and then hung around yesterday, will be here in full force until at least Thursday, when rain chances will go up and temperatures will go down.”
The most severe heat wave in the history of the Pacific Northwest is nearing its end, reports The Washington Post. Meteorologists described the situation as “insane,” “bonkers,” and “incredible.” The record-setting heat swelled north of the international border as Canada saw its highest temperature ever recorded Sunday afternoon, when Lytton in British Columbia surged to 116 degrees. For perspective, that is just one degrees from the all-time record in Las Vegas.
The Transportation Security Administration said that it screened the highest number of travelers since the beginning of the pandemic over the weekend, reports The Hill, tracking more than 2.1 million air passengers. The TSA said it screened 2,137,584 travelers Saturday, more than three times the 632,984 screened the same day last year. The American Automobile Association is predicting the July 4 weekend will see as many 3.5 million air travelers.
Some experts for the Food and Drug Administration want the FDA to move more quickly to fully approve the COVID-19 vaccines, reports The Hill, in what could be a key step to address the hesitancy of some to get the vaccine.
Astronauts concluded a spacewalk late last week outside the International Space Station and installed a second of six new solar arrays that will boost the orbiting laboratory’s electrical power supply, reports UPI. The installation of the 60-foot-long solar array, known as iROSA or International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, took two astronauts 6 hours and 45 minutes.
NASA’s suborbital sounding rocket launched Friday from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, included 40 university student experiments, reports NASA. The launch was part of the RockOn! and RockSat-C programs designed for students to learn and apply skills in building experiments for suborbital space flight.
Comet 2014 UN271 was first observed during a mission called the Dark Energy Survey in 2014. The mega comet is about 60 miles wide. A comet unlike any other in recorded history, it is on a trajectory to zip through the inner solar system in less than a decade, but astronomers say this one isn’t anything to lose sleep over, reports Accuweather.com.
The US Geological Survey recorded a minor aftershock to Friday’s 2.6-magnitude earthquake just before 2 am Sunday in West Baltimore, reports The Baltimore Sun. The aftershock registered at 1.7 and had an epicenter close to the Edmondson Village Shopping Center.
The family of a Florida man who was given an ancient Japanese temple bell from the residents of Okinawa after a battle there during World War II is returning the bell, reports Marine Corps Times. The “treasure” will be given to the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum. GEN Roy S. Geiger, a four-star general who was one of only two Marines to receive the Navy Cross for heroism in both world wars, has held possession of the bell for 74 years.
Those supporting a proposed high-speed Maglev train between Baltimore and Washington, DC, tout the project as a boon for both cities and the Maryland economy, but Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration doesn’t see it that way, reports Maryland Matters. Scott’s team urged the Maryland Department of Planning to reject the project.
Contracts:
Imagine One Technology & Management Ltd., Lexington Park, Maryland, is awarded a $37,729,626 cost-plus-incentive-fee, level of effort option to contract (N00178-14-D-7755-EH03) for information technology support to provide sustainment and development/modernization solutions for current and future government and commercial off-the-shelf systems. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) (25%) $9,575,242; and 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) (6%) $2,400,000 funding 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.
Oasis Systems, Burlington, Massachusetts, has been awarded $9,723,160 value, to exercise an option year on Modification 26, to previously awarded FA4890-17-F-0008 for A589 staff support. The contract modification provides Headquarters Air Combat Command A5/8/9 support in the areas of plans, programming and requirements, weapons system team and resource management. The modification exercises Option Year Four from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, and adds incremental funding. The work will be performed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,341,137 are being obligated at the time of award. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $36,915,488. The Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
AT&T Corp., Columbia, Maryland, was awarded a non-competitive, firm-fixed-price contract for the Northstar Long-Haul Telecommunications Network and associated transmission circuits for an ultra-high frequency/line of sight communications system network. The face value of this action is $12,781,033.37, funded by fiscal 2021 and 2022 operation and maintenance funds. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $63,598,063. Primary performance will be at AT&T Corp., Waldorf, Maryland. The period of performance, which consists of a one-year base period and four 1-year option periods, is July 1, 202, through June 30, 2026. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity. (HC1013-21-C-0006)
CACI Technologies LLC, Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $19,235,143 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for all-source and technical intelligence analytical support. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Charlottesville, Virginia; Tampa, Florida; Huntsville, Alabama; Miami, Florida; San Diego, California; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Arlington, Virginia; and Colorado Springs, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2023. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $19,235,143 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W50NH9-21-C-0008).
