Esper Targets Area No Longer Under Treaty

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.

A day after the US pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, DefSec Mark Esper said he wants to deploy a ground-based missile able to travel into the previously prohibited range “sooner, rather than later,” reports Defense News.

Navy dismisses more SEAL war crimes cases, but leaves open an ability to bring them back if more evidence arrives. The cases also led to a controversial prosecutor being removed from his position, reports Navy Times.

The US and the Taliban have resolved differences in peace talks over the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and gained guarantees from the insurgents that they will cut ties with other extremist groups, reports Military Times.

An inspector general report from DoD, the State Department and US Agency for International Development finds ISIS has been rebuilding as US troops withdraw from Syria, reports Military Times. Late last year, President Trump announced a withdrawal of troops from Syria after a long campaign recovering territory taken by ISIS. About half of 2,000 special operations and other train-advise-assist forces have returned to the US.

Another vet suicide in a VA hospital’s parking lot, reports Military Times, this one in North Carolina at the Charles George VA Medical Center.

In a remote district of central Afghanistan, besieged by the Taliban for more than a week, Afghan troops cry for help, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Esper says : US won’t “overreact” to recent North Korean missile launches, in an effort to preserve denuclearization talks, reports The Hill. “While we take these launchings seriously, we monitor them, we try to understand what they’re doing and why,” Esper told reporters traveling with him to Japan. “We also need to be careful not to overreact and not to get ourselves in a situation where diplomacy is closed off.”

China might escort ships in Gulf under US proposal, reports The Straight Times. The US proposes a maritime coalition to secure oil shipping lanes following attacks on tankers. The Chinese ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Ni Jian, said, “If there happens to be a very unsafe situation, we will consider having our navy escort our commercial vessels.”

Iran unveils three new precision-guided missiles, reports Agence France-Presse. Iran’s defense minister said the missiles show the country is ready to defend itself in the face of US “viciousness and conspiracies.”

The Army halts boat auctions and suspends plans for getting rid of maritime fleet, until a study ordered by House lawmakers of the proposal has been completed, reports Stars and Stripes.  The Army planned to shutter its watercraft units and auction off boats. The delay is “for the review of the ability of the Army to meet the watercraft requirements of the combatant commanders,” and on whether the service is prepared to assist during US natural disasters and emergencies.

Reusing rockets by catching them by helicopter is Rocket Lab’s plan to recapture seven of its spacecraft now in Earth’s orbit, reports Bloomberg. The 13-year-old company wants to get those rockets back and plans to develop small, reusable rockets. Rather than thrusters to help the rockets reenter the atmosphere, Rocket Lab will deploy parachutes and then catch the rocket body in midair with a helicopter.

Contracts:

Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a maximum value $34,316,273 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Virginia class submarine sail racetracks, payload tube loading platforms and multiple all-up-round canister special support equipment ladder kits with shipping crates. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Virginia, and is expected to be complete in August 2024. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,368,978 will be obligated at time of award, and not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured in accordance with 10 US Code 2304 (a) via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with two offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N64498-19-D-4031).