Fagan Nominated Vice Commandant USCG

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.

President Joe Biden will nominate USCG VADM Linda Fagan for vice commandant, it would make her the highest-ranking woman in Coast Guard history, its first female four-star, reports Defense News. Currently head of the Pacific area of operations, Fagan would replace ADM Charles Ray, who has been the Coast Guard’s No. 2 officer since May 2018.

Repeated National Guard missions trigger frustration and denials of DC troop requests, reports Military Times. The Army approved Monday about 250 troops in response to a request by city officials for as many as 1,000 troops to provide security in case of unrest after the upcoming verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who was injured while confronting rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes, the Washington, DC, medical examiner’s office ruled Monday, a finding that lessens the chances that anyone will be charged in his death, reports Military Times.

New airfields and ports will be built in the Norwegian Arctic to bolster Russian sub watching, reports Breaking Defense. The Norwegian Parliament is expected to ratify the deal by summer which provides for the US government to build infrastructure at three air bases and a navy facility along the Norwegian cost. US and NATO ships, submarines, and aircraft will be using the new bases, but the US will not permanently base any troops there.

At least 44 Fort Bragg soldiers died stateside in 2020.  Rolling Stone reports several of the deaths were homicides and families are unable to get the answers they seek. Fort Bragg, NC, is home to the US Army Special Operations Command, which includes the Rangers and the Green Berets; and Joint Special Operations Command, the “black ops” component of the military which includes operational control of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6 and the Army’s Delta Force.

An 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper was killed Monday in a training accident at Fort Bragg, reports Army Times. Information, including the deceased paratrooper’s name and unit, will be released after their next of kin have been notified.

The Navy has begun tests of unmanned vessels and aircraft in exercises involving land, sea, and air domains, reports UPI. The exercises began this week at Naval Base San Diego.

The DoD will open COVID-19 vaccination appointments to all members of the military, even though some of the highest-priority soldiers deploying to war zones and in other critical roles continue to refuse the inoculation, reports Washington Examiner.

Vaccine eligibility open at US bases in Europe, but appointments are scarce for some, reports Stars and Stripes.

 

 

Fort Hood officials hosted a dedication ceremony Monday afternoon to unveil a gate in honor of Spc Vanessa Guillen. The gate, one of 27 at Fort Hood, delivers drivers to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, where Guillen served as a small arms repairer, reports Stars and Stripes. Guillen was killed at the base one year ago this week.

SpaceX is preparing to test-fly a new Starship this week after the last four exploded, reports Business Insider. NASA picked SpaceX to turn the mega-spaceship into a moon lander for astronauts. Unlike its predecessors, this mega-spaceship is a relative of NASA’s next moon lander — the vehicle that will put boots on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. Starship serial No. 11, or SN15, is the latest of a series of Starship prototypes that SpaceX is launching up to six miles above Boca Chica, TX.

MajGen Robert Castellvi was found to bear some responsibility for training failures leading to a fatal AAV accident that killed nine troops. Lawmakers question his prestigious Pentagon assignment in charge of the office that investigates serious claims of wrongdoing, reports Military.com.

In 1960, the United States contributed to 69% of global research and development investments, only 27.6% by 2018, says Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), introducing a bill to identify the 10 most critical emerging science and technology challenges and recommend action to ensure US leadership in meeting them.

Army housing in Europe gets low marks in a customer survey, reports Stars and Stripes, lagging behind the US and the Asia-Pacific region according to a “Tenant Satisfaction Survey” that examined 27 housing communities in the US and overseas. Overall, 19 installations rated between outstanding and average, five rated below average and three scored at either poor or crisis level.

Congress will be hearing about the Biden Afghanistan withdrawal plan, reports Military Times, in one of a series of high-level closed-door military briefings on Capitol Hill this week.

USS The Sullivans deploys to join HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier strike group, reports UPI. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer will join a multinational force led by the aircraft carrier. Beginning in May, the strike group will travel from the North Atlantic Ocean, to the Mediterranean Sea and through the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean before arriving in the Indo-Pacific region.

How airmen are assigned jobs gets a fresh look from new Air Force panel, reports Air Force Times. The effort coincides with a new enlisted force development plan due out this summer to better shape the careers of those airmen as the Air Force considers how to meet its combat and peacetime needs.

Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said House Bill 655 is likely to move forward in 2022, reports Maryland Matters. The bill required counties to elect district commissioners and board members through district-level balloting, rather than countywide.

Contracts:

Alabama Industries for the Blind, Talladega, Alabama (SPE8EZ-21-D-0001); Alphapointe, Kansas City, Missouri (SPE8EZ-21-D-0002); Arizona Industries for the Blind, Phoenix, Arizona (SPE8EZ-21-D-0003); Associated Industries for the Blind, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (SPE8EZ-21-D-0004); Beacon Lighthouse Inc., Wichita Falls, Texas (SPE8EZ-21-D-0005); Blind Industries and Services of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland (SPE8EZ-21-D-0006); Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Utica, New York (SPE8EZ-21-D-0007); Cincinnati Association for the Blind, Cincinnati, Ohio (SPE8EZ-21-D-0008); Envision, Wichita, Kansas (SPE8EZ-21-D-0009); IFB Solutions, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (SPE8EZ-21-D-0010); Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired, West Allis, Wisconsin (SPE8EZ-21-D-0011); LCI, Durham, North Carolina (SPE8EZ-21-D-0012); San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind and Vision Impaired, San Antonio, Texas (SPE8EZ-21-D-0013); South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, Corpus Christi, Texas (SPE8EZ-21-D-0014); The Lighthouse for the Blind Inc., Seattle, Washington (SPE8EZ-21-D-0015); and Virginia Industries for the Blind, Richmond, Virginia (SPE8EZ-21-D-0016), are sharing a maximum $150,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE5E1-20-R-0001for the Ability One Base Supply Center Tailored Logistics Support Program. This was a competitive acquisition restricted to Ability One non-profit agencies in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation sub-part 8.7 with 17 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, with an April 19, 2026, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, is awarded a $68,529,564 cost-reimbursable, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides technical and product support services to include production, fleet, supply, and technical support; pre-positioned technical support; systems improvement, development, test and evaluation; software development, test, and maintenance; field change program support; special purpose test fixture development; test bed support, overhaul and restoration program support in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Webster Outlying Field, Air Traffic Control and Landing Systems Division. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (60%); St. Inigoes, Maryland (30%); and various locations within the continental US (10%), and is expected to be completed in August 2026. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; one offer was received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042121D0017).

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Pascagoula, Mississippi, was awarded a $35,673,147 cost-plus-award-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-2312 to exercise options for accomplishment of follow yard services for the DDG 51 class destroyer program. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi (98%); Washington, DC (1%); and Bath, Maine (1%), and is expected to be completed by April 2022. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,746,939 (39%); fiscal 2016 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,561,905 (28%); fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,164,626 (26%); and fiscal 2014 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,390,476 (7%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 16, 2021)