Exercises Prep for Possible Conflict in the Pacific

US Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs from the 419th Fighter Wing and French Air and Space Force Dassault Rafales line up after landing in Koror, Palau, on July 7, 2023. The fleet arrived in Palau for Northern Edge 23-2, a US Indo-Pacific Command sponsored, Pacific Air Forces led multinational, multilateral, joint field training exercise. (US Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Michelle Chang)

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Several recent US exercises across all of the services have put the spotlight on the new era of military operations in the Pacific. Ten squadrons and other units from the Marines, Air Force, and Navy conducted a training event last week known as Obsidian Iceberg in a remote location near Camp Pendleton in California, reports The Drive. Picture an old road that used to be part of the Pacific Coast Highway located between train tracks and I-5. Now picture an F-35B touching down on the 50-foot-wide highway. While Obsidian Iceberg’s main objective is to assess the minimum landing width and length for the F-35B, VMX-1 used several of its aircraft to perform a variety of different roles, all part of the Corps’ plan for future operations in the Pacific.

The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit stationed at Camp Pendleton recently completed a deployment across the Pacific, reports USNI News. The exercise started out with the Marine Corps’ first operational deployment of a full squadron of F-35Bs and closed out with a sinking of an old warship in the South China Sea.  The deployment was notable for the amount of time the unit spent in Western Pacific – 208 days.

The Air Force completed a 20-day exercise late last month in the Pacific region, reports Breaking Defense. Northern Edge 23-2 involved testing key concepts such as agile basing across waters much closer to China. The exercise is normally flown in the far north of Alaska.

The US and six international partners kicked off Exercise Mobility Guardian 2023 in the Indo-Pacific region around the same time as the Northern Edge exercise, reports Defense One. GEN Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, said the Air Force’s airlift and aerial refueling enterprise is preparing for a new era of military operations in the Pacific. This year marked the first time that Mobility Guardian tested how well airmen could handle a short-notice, two-week deployment to the region, reports Air Force Times.

Minihan made headlines in January when he warned that the US could be at war with China in two years, reports NBC News. “I’m not trying to be provocative. I’m not trying to be coy,” the general wrote. “I’m trying to provide my formation with the tools and the action and the priority necessary to win.” And the Air Force maverick is sticking to his guns, telling The Washington Post last week, “There can be no ambiguity on what my expectations are. I’m not trying to be somebody that I’m not, nor am I trying to use theater or a pedestal. I’m simply trying to make sure that my command is ready to win if called upon.”

Talisman Sabre, a joint military exercise with the US and Australia, that ended last week, reports Army Times, grew this year to include 13 nations and more than 30,000 troops. Army Pacific commander GEN Charles Flynn called the scale, varied activities, and number of partner nations a strong signal to the Chinese military, calling such exercises the “greatest counterweight” to Chinese military encroachment on partner nation’s territories.

A CNN survey finds that most Americans say that Congress should not authorize more funding for Ukraine, reports msn.com.

The USS Zumwalt made a quick turnaround to its home port in San Diego last week, just a day after getting underway, reports Navy Times, due to an undisclosed maintenance issue. The guided-missile destroyer was heading to its new home port in Mississippi, where it is scheduled to get technology upgrades.

The US Navy announced a pair of multiyear procurement contracts for the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, reports Navy Times, awarding six to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding and three to General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works.

Members of the Afghani military’s Female Tactical Platoon are struggling to obtain permanent residence in the US after serving alongside US forces for more than a decade, reports NPR. Many are in the US on humanitarian parole, a temporary program set to expire this summer.

The Navy reported it accidentally discharged partially treated wastewater from its wastewater treatment plant at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam into Mamala Bay, reports the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Twenty-six military commissary stores now sell beer and wine, and the new commissary director would like to increase that number, reports Military Times. “It’s really about the convenience. Most commercial grocery stores you go into offer beer and wine,” said John Hall, director of the Defense Commissary Agency. There are 236 commissary stores located around the world. Hall said that his top priority is to maintain, or even increase customers’ savings, reports Navy Times.

Veterans Affairs officials said they will make breast cancer screenings and some mammograms free for women veterans 40 and younger who served in combat areas where burn pits and other toxins were present, reports Military Times. Women older than 40 already receive the services for free.

Military veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxins are urged to apply for retroactive benefits, reports Maryland Matters.

An Air Force contractor in Tennessee is being investigated for a “critical compromise” of military communication networks used by Air Force training units at 17 bases and at other state and federal agencies, reports Military Times. It is alleged that the man stole nearly $90,000.

Two Navy sailors stationed in San Diego, CA, have been charged with sharing military information with China, reports Navy Times. They were charged in separate cases, and it wasn’t clear if the two were connected or if they were courted or paid by the same Chinese intelligence officer.

Volunteers are always needed for the Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s bed-building sessions. Recently, the charity built 30 beds for local children who do not have beds of their own, reports The BayNet. Booz Allen Hamilton employees and their families will be volunteering in September, according to SHP’s website.

Three new areas have been identified for wind farms in Atlantic Ocean, reports OC Today.

The US Department of the Interior has given approval to New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, reports Yahoo!News. Ocean Wind 1, located about 13 nautical miles southeast of Atlantic City, will have an estimated capacity of 1,100 megawatts and will include up to 98 turbines and three offshore substations.

Contracts:

Textron Systems Corp., New Orleans, Louisiana, is awarded a $241,371,747 cost-reimbursable, not-to-exceed undefinitized contract action contract for the procurement of LCAC 100 Class material and non-recurring activities for five future Ship to Shore Connector Landing Craft Air Cushion 100 Class craft. Work will be performed in New Orleans, Louisiana (22%); Herndon, Virginia (21%); Milford, Ohio (14%); Gloucester, United Kingdom (12%); Twinsburg, Ohio (8%); Huntington Beach, California (6%); Cincinnati, Ohio (5%); Portsmouth, Virginia (2%); Gold Beach, Oregon (2%); Davenport, Iowa (2%); Jupiter, Florida (2%); Goleta, California (1%); Chanhassen, Minnesota (1%); Painesville, Ohio (1%); and Gulfport, Mississippi (1%), and is expected to be completed by October 2025. Fiscal 2023 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funds in the amount of $99,846,368 (55%); and fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion, Navy funds in the amount of $77,389,764 (45%), will be obligated at time of award. Funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. In accordance with 10 US Code 3204(a)(1), this contract was not competitively procured: only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Work to be performed is the procurement of long lead time material and non-recurring activities for up to five SSC class crafts. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Pavement Technical Solutions Inc., Broadlands, Virginia, was awarded a $9,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer services. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 3, 2028. US Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (W9128A-23-D-0001).

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, was awarded an $8,988,793 cost reimbursement contract for the Processor Reconfiguration for Wideband Spectrum Sensing (PROWESS). PROWESS seeks run-time reconfigurable processors, with the specific goal to develop processors that provide autonomous radiofrequency systems with decision-directed situational awareness about complex and uncertain electromagnetic environments. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (77%); Cambridge, Massachusetts (8%); Los Angeles, California (4%); Vienna, Virginia (6%); and Brooklyn, New York (5%), with an expected completion date of November 2026. Fiscal 2023 funds in the amount of $4,873,076 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition under Broad Agency Announcement HR001122S0006 and 13 offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR001123C0101).

AF3 Services LLC, Fleming, New Jersey (W912DY-23-D-0011); Aptim Federal Services LLC, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (W912DY-23-D-0012); Arcadis U.S. Inc., Highlands Ranch, Colorado (W912DY-23-D-0013); Dawson Solutions, Huntsville, Alabama (W912DY-23-D-0014); Environmental Chemical Corp., Burlingame, California (W912DY-23-D-0015); Hydrogeologic Inc., Reston, Virginia (W912DY-23-D-0016); SES Civil and Environmental LLC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (W912DY-23-D-0017); Tetra Tech EC Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (W912DY-23-D-2018); and USAE-Tidewater JV LLC, Oldsmar, Florida (W912DY-23-D-2019), will compete for each order of the $800,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for removing, disposing, and replacing aqueous film-forming foam containing perfluoroalkyl substances. Bids were solicited via the internet with 14 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 14, 2029. US Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.