March 28, 2024

GAO: Aircraft Readiness Not Meeting Goals

Readiness

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Morning Coffee logoeconomic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

A Government Accountability Office report shows aircraft readiness in all branches of the military has gotten worse, reports Air Force Times. Among the report’s findings, some 24 aircraft have never met readiness goals in the nine years from 2011 through 2019, reports Breaking Defense. GAO examined 46 types of aircraft.

A Heritage Foundation report says the US military is underfunded and needs more troops, aircraft, ships and high-tech assets, reports Military.com. “As currently postured, the US military is only marginally able to meet the demands of defending America’s vital national interests,” reads the executive summary of the Index of US Military Strength.

The Defense Department is struggling with a surge in COVID-19 cases, reports The Hill. Just last week: several top officials at the Pentagon tested positive, an outbreak on the USS Michael Murphy and record number of daily cases reported.

A third vaccine maker, AstraZeneca, is planning to seek Food and Drug Administration authorization for its COVID-19 vaccination, reports Politico. Data from the company’s trials show the vaccine was about 70% effective across two different dosing regimens.

The US Navy has released its reports of the December 2019 shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, reports Navy Times. An international flight student from Saudi Arabia killed three sailors and injured five more people before he was shot and killed. The report lists several reasons why 2nd LT Mohammad Saeed Al-Shamrani’s  “path to radicalization was not recognized and interrupted.”

Sabre Systems was given the 2020 HIRE Vets Medallion Award during a recent award ceremony at the Department of Labor, reports The Baynet. Sabre earned the Gold Medallion for consistent efforts and achievements in veteran recruitment and retention.

Forty percent of the top jobs at the Pentagon that require Senate confirmation are without an approved appointee as the Trump administration winds down, reports Defense News.

 

 

The US Army formally activated the Fifth Corps, or V Corps, in Poznan, Poland, last week, to command its missions in Eastern Europe, reports UPI.com.

The Army has made the consolidation of its Europe and Africa commands official, reports Defense News. The new command will be called US Army Europe and Africa, or by its acronym USAREUR-AF.

The US has pulled out of the Open Skies Treaty, reports The Washington Times, a nearly 20-year-old international agreement with Russia that allows nations to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over each other’s territory to collect data on military forces. Critics say the treaty isn’t in the US’s best interest. China was critical of the move, reports sfgate.com, saying the move undermines military trust and transparency and puts in jeopardy future attempts at arms control.

US Navy RADM Michael Studeman visited Taiwan, reports Reuters, as the outgoing Trump administration continued to strengthen ties with the island, further riling China and possibly helping to shape how President-elect Joe Biden deals with the issue. RADM Studeman is the top military intelligence official in the Indo-Pacific command.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has a new director. Victoria Coleman will be the third woman to lead the agency, reports Air Force Magazine.

The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force is retiring its F-4 Phantom fighter jets, reports The Drive, making room for the approved sale of 105 F-35s, worth an estimated at $23.11 billion.

Switzerland might acquire as many as 40 F-35s, reports The National Interest, joining the growing number of countries committed to the stealth fighter jet.

Presidential scholar Lindsay Chervinsky says rules may have to change regarding presidential transfer of power, reports WTOP News. The norms regarding the presidential transfer have been in place for over 200 years and were originally set by George Washington.

GOP national security experts are urging congressional Republicans to push President Donald Trump to concede the election, reports The Washington Post.

A convocation of eagles is hanging out on the airstrips at NAS Pax River and it’s a mystery as to why they are there, reports The Baynet. Conservation officials at the base have begun a study of the birds to better understand why they’re spending more time in the area.

Winds and rains from Tropical Storm Eta exposed a 19th-century shipwreck at Crescent Beach in northeast Florida, reports NBC News.

Charles Schulz’s Peanuts gang will remain on network television for its annually televised holiday specials, reports WTOP News. An outcry followed the announcement earlier this fall that the Charlie Brown holiday shows would only air on Apple TV+.

Contracts:

AT2 LLC, Severn, Maryland, has been awarded a $15,751,876 firm-fixed-price modification (P00017) to contract FA4890-18-C-0008 for Air Combat Command and Air Force Global Strike Command Primary Training Ranges operation and maintenance (O&M) support services. This contract provides for O&M of range threat, scoring and feedback systems. Work will be performed at Dare County Range, North Carolina; Poinsett Range, South Carolina; Grand Bay Range, Georgia; Avon Park Range, Georgia; Snyder Range, Texas; Belle Fourche Range, South Dakota; Holloman Ranges, New Mexico; and Mountain Home Ranges, Idaho. Work is expected to be completed Dec. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 O&M funds in the amount of $15,044,766 are being obligated at the time of award. Headquarters Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley‐Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA4890‐18‐C‐0008).

AAR Government Services Inc., Wood Dale, Illinois, is awarded a $148,357,084 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides contractor logistics support required for operating and maintaining the C-40A aircraft, aircraft subsystems, appliances and support equipment, including depot-level, main operating base and supply support and commercial line maintenance. Work will be performed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (40%); Fort Worth, Texas (16.5%); Jacksonville, Florida (9%); North Island, California (9%); Oceana, Virginia (9%); Whidbey Island, Washington (9%); and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (7.5%), and is expected to be completed in December 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via electronic request for proposal; three offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-21-D-0004).

Carahsoft Technology Corp., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $38,611,275 firm-fixed-price contract for a one-time license buy for SAP software. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2021. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Army); operation and maintenance (Army); and Army working capital funds in the amount of $38,611,275 were obligated at the time of the award. The US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-21-F-0042).

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