DynCorp Out; Workers Likely Remain
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.
Amentum, owner of DynCorp, St. Mary’s County’s third-largest employer, lost its Pax River contract and is transitioning out of the area, reports The BayNet. DynCorp has worked with the Naval Test Wing Atlantic at Patuxent River Naval Air Station for almost 50 years. Amentum officials expect the 900-plus local employees — more than half aircraft mechanics — will continue their employment with the new contract winner, Vertex Aerospace LLC, to provide a seamless transition.
NASA has begun releasing the first wave of full-color scientific images the James Webb Space Telescope has gathered. The first photos reveal a massive galaxy cluster, reports Axios. The galaxy is so massive it warps the light of other galaxies behind it, acting as a magnifying glass in space, permitting the telescope to see galaxies even farther away, according to NASA.
China’s commercial capital of Shanghai and dozens of other Chinese cities baked in scorching temperatures this week as unusually hot weather buckled roads, popped roof tiles, and drove people to seek the cool in raid shelters underground, reports Reuters. Yesterday, Tuesday, 86 cities had issued their top-tier alerts warning of temperatures of higher than 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) in the next 24 hours. Construction and other outdoor work were to be halted.
The Navy has not yet decided whether to recover the F/A-18 Super Hornet blown into the Mediterranean off the deck of the Harry Truman. The Navy announced Sunday that the Super Hornet was blown overboard Friday due to heavy weather, reports USNI. No one was aboard the aircraft at the time.
The euro sank to near parity with the dollar on Tuesday, and stock markets fell. The prospect of further central bank tightening and worries about the health of economies worldwide unnerved investors, reports Reuters. The dollar’s role as the safe-haven, go-to currency for investors worried about the economic outlook has been burnished in recent weeks, with the US currency roaring to two-decade highs against multiple currencies.
US TREAS SEC Janet Yellen discussed an oil price cap yesterday in a global economic development meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, reports Reuters. The global price of oil could surge by 40% to around $140 per barrel, according to a Treasury official, if a proposed price cap on Russian oil is not adopted, along with sanction exemptions that would allow shipments below that price.
After more than a decade, the Army says it sees progress on its report on the long-running groundwater contamination at Fort Detrick, MD, reports The Associated Press. Part of the base was used as a test site for the Army’s biological warfare program. The service has been studying the remaining groundwater contamination for over a decade. The Army expects it to take another year or two more to finish a report summarizing what has been learned.
Car sales at Renault fell 30% in the first half of 2022 after the closure of its Russian operations, one of the first Western carmakers to reveal the pain of losing the prized market in the wake of the Ukraine war, reports Reuters.
Iran is set to deliver armed drones to Russia, reports Military Times. According to the White House, Russia is turning to Iran to provide “hundreds” of unmanned aerial vehicles, including weapons-capable drones, for use in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said it was unclear whether Iran had already provided any of the unmanned systems to Russia, but said the US has “information” that indicates Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use them as soon as this month.
Military Only: Military bases worldwide are home to some truly memorable vacation spots, camping areas, and affordable lodging. Destinations managed by the services’ Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs or through the military resort system make for spectacular and affordable spots to rest and rejuvenate. Military.com gives a sampling.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched 46 Starlink satellites and returned, landing on a ship at sea, reports Defense News. The two-stage rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday, July 11. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth and landed on the SpaceX droneship Of Course I Still Love You, stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
Airport facial recognition is improving, the DHS watchdog says. FCW reports that the Homeland Security’s Inspector General’s report found eliminating officers’ ability to override mismatches ad to instead report them to Custom and Board Protection, helped identify 39 imposters attempting to enter the US from May 2019 through September 2021, including six with prior criminal records and three who were accepted for criminal prosecution. The agency has deployed facial biometric technology at 238 US airports since May 2019.
The Pentagon’s secret JADC2 plan is “evolving,” official says, as lawmakers seek an audit, reports C4ISRNET. The plan for Joint All-Domain Command and Control, spans programs, agencies, and classifications. Plus, it’s secret. So, making public estimates is difficult, DoD officials explained to members of the House Armed Services committee. The HAS cyber subcommittee seeks a review of the sprawling JADC2, which panel staff say will inform future support and is not meant to be punitive.
House appropriators in June finished marking up a dozen spending bills for fiscal 2023 that combined provide at least $15.6 billion for cybersecurity efforts across federal departments and agencies. The largest chunk of cybersecurity spending, $11.2 billion, would go to the DoD, followed by $2.9 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, reports Roll Call. CISA would get $417 million more than the White House requested. The Pentagon appropriations would match the administration’s request.
You may think the time is right to move into cybersecurity stocks as geopolitical events unfold and acquisitions continue. Investors Business Daily reports on which cybersecurity stocks to buy, sell, and watch amid a bear market.
Condoleezza Rice has joined the Broncos’ new ownership group: former secretary of state “will be a great benefit,” reports CBS. Years after she reportedly drew interest for the Browns’ coaching vacancy despite no experience on the sidelines, the 67-year-old has joined the Broncos’ ownership group, the team announced on Twitter Monday.
Since the publication of Army Field Manual 7-22 in 2020, leaders at Training and Doctrine Command have unfurled the holistic model that hits on nutrition, sleep, and physical, mental, and spiritual health. It’s more than physical training. Now the Army is going after total fitness, reports Military Times. The new approach is called Holistic Health and Fitness, or H2F.
A 3D aluminum printer was installed last week on the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship based in Pearl Harbor, HI, reports gCaptain. The 3D printer is one of the fastest printers on the market, capable of fabricating and printing aluminum up to 10- by 10-inches, meaning standard components such as heat sinks, housings, fuel adapters, bleed air valves, and valve covers may be created aboard ship.
Austal USA gets started on its first steel ship for the Navy, reports Stars and Stripes. The ship will be a multipurpose vessel primarily intended for use in salvage, towing, and rescue operations. Potentially it could also be used in humanitarian relief, spill response and search and surveillance missions. The first five are being built by a Louisiana shipyard. Austal has contracts to build two, with options that could extend the work to several more ships.
Newport News shipyard hits a milestone building the Navy’s new multibillion-dollar Ford-class carrier, USS John F. Kennedy, reports Daily Press. Newport News Shipbuilding turned over the 1,000th interior compartment to the ship’s crew. The shipyard has also installed more than 9.8 million feet, or more than 1,800 miles, of the approximately 10.5 million feet of cable on the carrier. The most recently completed spaces include electrical and engineering. Construction started in 2011. Acquiring the carrier is expected to cost the Navy $12.7 billion, according to its fiscal 2023 budget. Kennedy is the second ship in the USS Gerald R. Ford class, and the shipyard is already working on the next two, the Enterprise and the Doris Miller.
A tomb linked to the legend of King Arthur is being excavated for the first time, reports CNN. King Arthur, the mythical ruler of Camelot, may be best known for pulling the magical sword Excalibur from a stone, but there’s another rock formation that bears his name hidden away in the English countryside. Archaeologists are for the first time excavating a 5,000-year-old Neolithic chambered tomb that’s called Arthur’s Stone in honor of the legendary medieval king. The project is the result of a partnership between researchers at the University of Manchester in England and English Heritage, a charity that preserves hundreds of historic buildings in England.
Contracts:
KBR Wyle Services LLC, Lexington Park, Maryland, is awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable $9,578,933 modification (P00008) to a previously awarded contract (N0042120C0032). This modification exercises an option to provide F/A-18 program management, engineering, financial and logistics support for the governments of Finland and Kuwait. Work will be performed in Kuwait City, Kuwait (75%); and Patuxent River, Maryland (25%), and is expected to be completed in August 2023. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $8,975,346 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Management Services Group Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $27,919,743 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-5608 to exercise options for Network, Processing, and Storage Technical Insertion 16, Modification 1 production equipment, spares, and engineering services. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by February 2025. This contract combines purchases for the US government (78%) and the government of Australia (22%) under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $12,688,709 (44%); fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,378,147 (30%); FMS (Australia) funds in the amount of $6,152,185 (22%); fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $299,727 (1%); fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $286,651 (1%); fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $94,513 (1%); and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $19,811 (1%) will be obligated at time of award, and $19,811 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Chenega Services & Federal Solutions LLC, Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity single award contract (HT001422D0001) with firm-fixed-price ordering provisions with an estimated value of $15,786,586. The contract provides Integrated Referral Management and Appointing Center (IRMAC) support for the National Capital Region (NCR) Market Military Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs). The IRMAC is an on-demand call center providing referral management and appointing services for the entire market and serves as the point of contact for TRICARE beneficiaries in the NCR Market seeking health care at NCR MTFs. The IRMAC assists beneficiaries with appointments, navigating the military hospitals or clinics, and providing referral management oversight. This effort has a one-year base period with four one-year option periods with an estimated completion date of July 11, 2028, if all options are exercised. Task orders will be funded by fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds. This contract was competitively solicited via the SAM.gov Contracting Opportunities website, with 21 offers received. Defense Health Agency Northeastern Markets Contracting Division, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Vectrus Mission Solutions Corp., Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a $264,931,907 modification (P00010) to contract W52P1J-21-F-0035 for the Fort Benning Enhanced Army Global Logistic Enterprise. Work will be performed at Fort Benning, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 10, 2022. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $13,048,380 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
