Fighter Squadron, F-16s Move to Maryland

An F-16 Fighting Falcon, from the District of Columbia Air National Guard, taxis out toward the runway at Eglin Air Force Base, FL. (US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago)

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.

Maryland’s Air National Guard will get a fighter squadron of F-16s from Washington, DC, reports Maryland Matters. The US Air Force said it will transfer the 121st Fighter Squadron from the DC Air National Guard to Maryland, which is scheduled to lose its fighter squadron of A-10 Thunderbolts in the fall.

Services for former President Jimmy Carter who died Dec. 29 will move to the Washington, DC, area on Jan. 7, reports Maryland Matters. After landing at Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, his body will travel to the US Navy Memorial. Carter was a Navy veteran and graduate of the US Naval Academy. A funeral procession to the US Capitol will take place in the afternoon. Members of Congress will pay their respects at a service set to begin at 3pm. While Carter lies in state at the Capitol, the public may offer their respects beginning Jan. 7 from 7pm to midnight. People can also pay their respects starting 7am Jan. 8 until 7am Jan. 9.

President Carter’s military service would not only advance the Navy’s new nuclear submarine program, it would later color his views as president of the United States, on everything from his work ethic to atomic weapons, says Military.com. Carter was one of six American presidents with sea service, according to the Navy.

DefSec Lloyd Austin called Carter a “principled leader” and “a steadfast champion of human rights and democratic ideals.” Americans will remember Carter for his leadership in office and his distinguished post-presidency, but the Defense Department also honors his sterling service in uniform, Austin said in a statement issued last week.

Federal agencies will close Jan. 9 in honor of the passing of the former president who died at the age of 100, reports Federal News Network.

On Christmas Eve, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law making the bald eagle America’s official national bird, reports Smithsonian Magazine on MSN. “Bald eagles are a historical symbol of the United States representing independence, strength and freedom,” reads the new legislation, which Minnesota’s Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Brad Finstad introduced last summer.

President Biden bestowed the nation’s highest honors on 15 veterans and public safety officers at the White House on Friday, reports Washington Times on MSN. Among the Medal of Honor honorees are five Korean War veterans and two Vietnam War veterans. Each man, six of whom will receive their awards posthumously, exemplified “gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty,” according to the White House. DoD offered bios of the honorees.

Breaking Defense breaks down the current state of play in the political environment, takes a look back at the first Trump term, and a look forward at what the defense industry can expect during a second Trump administration.

NavSec Carlos Del Toro has amended service regulations to create more command opportunities for information warfare officers, reports Marine Corps Times. They will now be eligible for sea command.

VASec Denis McDonough said that veterans who served two or more separate periods of military service will be eligible for up to 12 months of additional education benefits under new VA rules, reports Air Force Times. McDonough’s announcement, made at the recent Student Veterans of America national convention, comes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last April which found the department unfairly limited access to college tuition benefits in certain cases.

A provision in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 will require the DoD to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, reports Air & Space Forces Magazine. The provision calls for a compilation of data to determine which career fields have a higher per capita suicide rates compared to other career fields, the overall suicide rate for each service, the DoD, and the national rate.

A Defense Health Agency report finds the diagnoses of mental health disorders among active-duty service members increased by nearly 40% during the past five years, reports Military Times. “As service members continue to experience increased rates of mental health disorders after the COVID-19 pandemic, help-seeking behaviors to address psychological as well as emotional well-being should be prioritized to maintain force readiness, reads the report issued in December.

A Pentagon appeals court last week ruled against DefSec Austin’s effort to throw out the plea deals reached for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants in the 9/11 attacks, reports Navy Times.

US Navy ships and aircraft carried out strikes on more than a dozen Houthi sites in Yemen shortly before New Year’s Eve, reports Task & Purpose. US Central Command announced the attacks, which were the first major operations in and around Yemen since Dec. 22, when the guided-missile cruiser the USS Gettysburg accidentally shot down an F/A18F fighter during a nighttime fight. A Navy fighter pilot and a weapons system officer ejected over the Red Sea after friendly fire from the warship early Dec. 22, reports The Washington Post.

US Army’s 41st Field Artillery Brigade is the first to field new rocket system in Poland, reports Army Times. The Germany-based brigade is fully equipped with the service’s next-generation Multiple Launch Rocket System.

In court documents filed last week, Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing Siri of eavesdropping, reports NPR. The settlement would resolve a 5-year-old lawsuit that alleges Apple surreptitiously activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade. Apple is not acknowledging any wrongdoing in the settlement.

The US Treasury Department said that Chinese hackers stole a key from a third-party software service provider, BeyondTrust, and used it to override security and gain access to department workstations, reports The Hill. Unclassified documents were accessed from the workstations.

Harry Chandler, a US Navy medic who survived Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, died last week, reports AP News. He was 103. Chandler helped pull injured sailors from the oily waters of Pearl Harbor after the 1941 attack on the naval base.

The Wings Over America Scholarship pre-qualification is now open, and the deadline for applications is Feb. 1, according to the WOAS Foundation. The foundation annually sponsors a minimum of 50 scholarships to further the postsecondary education of US Navy dependents from the aviation community. Most scholarships are $5,000 and some are renewable. Scholarships may be used for trade school certification, community college, or four-year university/college undergraduate study and may be used for tuition and mandatory fees only at an accredited institution.

A few new laws took effect Jan. 1 in Maryland, reports CBS News. Among them is the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act which expands the use of speed cameras in work zones and raises the penalty for traffic violations in work zones. New security guard licensing requirements also took effect. Individuals or businesses that employ one or more people for security services, or loss prevention, are required to license those employees as security guards.

January should be a great month for stargazers. There’s a lot happening in the skies this month regarding the moon, planets and stars, and space-related events, reports WTOP News. The highlight might be Jan. 13-14 when the moon covers Mars. Mercury will join the crowd for a seven-planet lineup in February, reports AP News.

Contracts: 

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $481,329,816 hybrid (firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee) other transaction agreement for updates and improvements to the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System’s software. Bids were solicited via the internet with 21 received. Work will be performed in McLean, Virginia; Huntsville, Alabama; Linthicum Heights, Maryland; and Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2029. Fiscal 2024 Foreign Military Sales (Poland) funds in the amount of $347,632,616 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W9124P-19-9-0001).

EAS WSP JV LLC, Anchorage, Alaska (W91278-25-D-0001); HDR Environmental Operations & Construction, Englewood, Colorado (W91278-25-D-0002); Leidos Inc., Shalimar, Florida (W91278-25-D-0003); Marstel-Day LLC, Fredericksburg, Virginia (W91278-25-D-0004); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (W91278-25-D-0005); Michael Baker International Inc., Mobile, Alabama (W91278-25-D-0006); PHE-NDN JV LLC, Rockville, Maryland (W91278-25-D-0007); Stantec GS Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia (W91278-25-D-0008); Stell Environmental Enterprises Inc., Mountlake Terrace, Washington (W91278-25-D-0009); Tetra Tech Inc., Atlanta, Georgia (W91278-25-D-0010); Vernadero Group Inc., Phoenix, Arizona (W91278-25-D-0011); and WSP USA Solutions, Washington, DC (W91278-25-D-0012), will compete for each order of the $249,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect and engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 12 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2029. US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $48,755,451 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and firm-fixed-price) contract for General Electronic Test Station equipment, hardware, software, upgrades and spare parts. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2029. Fiscal 2025 missile procurement; Army funds; and Foreign Military Sales (Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Kuwait, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates) funds in the amount of $14,428,635, were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-25-C-0014).

Defense Maritime Solutions Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is awarded a $12,613,506 modification to exercise Option Year Two of a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N55236-23-D-0002) in support of the original equipment manufacturer for the Littoral Combat Ships Independence variant for waterjets, shafts, and seals. The overall total contract value ceiling remains unchanged at $60,582,873. Work will be performed at Mayport, Florida (40%); San Diego, California (40%); and various locations that will be determined at the delivery order level (20%). No funds will be obligated at the time of award of contract modification, funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.