Hegseth Sworn-In as New DefSec
Vice President JD Vance swears in Pete Hegseth as the 29th secretary of defense as his wife, Jennifer, and the couple’s children look on at the White House on Jan. 25. (Courtesy @VP via X via defense.gov)
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.
Pete Hegseth was confirmed as defense secretary Friday night after a 51-50 vote, reports The Washington Post. Vice President JD Vance cast the vote to break the Senate’s 50-50 vote. This marked the second time in history that a vice president was called upon to break the tie to confirm a Cabinet official.
The Senate also confirmed former South Dakota governor Kristi Noem as the new Department of Homeland Security secretary, reports CNN.
The Pentagon is deploying as many as 1,500 additional active-duty forces to the US southern border, reports USA Today on MSN. The deployment will help carry out President Donald Trump’s promise of a border crackdown, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump has also declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border.
Military aircraft is being used to fly immigrants who entered the US illegally out of the country, reports The Hill. “Deportation flights have begun,” Leavitt said. “President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences.”
More than 300,000 Veterans Affairs health jobs are exempted from the White House hiring freeze announced last week, reports Navy Times. These employees have been labeled as essential to public health and department operations, according to the VA.
At least 60 Veterans Affairs employees were placed on administrative leave last week following the closure of multiple diversity, equity, and inclusion offices across the department, reports Military Times.
Trump’s Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Doug Collins testified before the Senate Veterans’ Affair Committe last week. He promised more medical care options and upgrades at the department, reports Marine Corps Times. He also said health care delivery must evolve for the agency to stay relevant for veterans in the future.
Senate Republicans are ramping up efforts to restrict foreign government investment in US real estate near American military bases, reports Military Times. The Protecting Military Installations and Ranges Act was reintroduced last week. The bill requires a review by federal authorities before entities linked to China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea can purchase land within 100 miles of an armed forces installation. USDA estimated that foreign investment in US agricultural land grew to approximately 40 million acres in 2021, according to a Government Accountability Office 2024 report.
The US Coast Guard has started using the term “Gulf of America” to refer to the Gulf of Mexico, reports The Hill. This came one day after Trump signed an executive order setting in motion the process to change its US official name.
Trump has named a conservative critic of the mainstream media, L. Brent Bozell III, as his pick to run the US Agency for Global Media, the parent agency of the Voice of America and other federally owned international broadcasters, reports NPR.
US Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow Trump to serve a third term, reports CNBC. The resolution is tailored specifically to permit Trump to serve a third term, but it bars former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama from being elected to a third term.
Last week’s announcement about the new Stargate venture, a $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure project backed by Trump, was met with some criticism by Elon Musk, reports The Hill. Stargate is designed to maintain the US as the global leader in AI. The initial investors are OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Altman and Musk were once business partners. Consider Stargate an extraordinary attempt to build itself a “whole new moat” in the face of growing competition from rivals at home and in China, says Business Insider on MSN.
Power generation challenges could overshadow Stargate’s AI initiative, says Defense News. While the DoD is likely to benefit from OpenAI’s announcement that it would invest half a trillion dollars to build new AI data centers around the country, Pentagon officials warned that the US lacks the energy resources and computing power to support the new infrastructure.
The US Navy wants to build a fully autonomous satellite designed to detect and characterize objects in space, reports C4ISRNET. The system, called Autosat, is designed to task, calibrate its signals, and send and receive information on its own without the need for a human operator.
Two former Office of Naval Research performers won Nobel Prizes in chemistry and physics, reports dvidshub.net. Since its creation in 1946, the ONR has supported the early-career research of more than 60 Nobel laureates.
The first two F-15E Strike Eagles equipped with the latest war-fighting software have touched down at the Royal Air Force Lakenheath in England, reports Air Force Times. The aircraft are equipped with the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System, or EPAWSS. The system allows F-15 fighters to detect and jam threats through geolocation and radar warning.
The remains of US Air Force pilot LTCOL Donald W. Downing, lost over Vietnam nearly 60 years ago, have been identified by federal officials, reports Air Force Times. Decades of investigation yielded nothing until a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency recovery team last year discovered life support equipment, aircraft wreckage, and bone tissue at a site in Quang Binh Province of Vietnam.
The C-130 Hercules celebrated 70 years of service recently, reports Seapower Magazine. Since its inception in 1954, the Hercules continues to be used in over 70 countries with more than a million flight hours and growing. Seven decades ago, the C-130 had an original usage as a medium cargo plane able to land in short, confined runways. As the mission of the fleet changed, the aircraft moved into providing tactical airlift, humanitarian aid, air support, and mission support around the world. Colorado Public Radion reports that equipment sent to Southern California to aid crews fighting wildfires included the US Air Force Reserve out of Petersen Space Force Base and its C-130 Hercules, capable of dumping 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds.
Personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on the Best & Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals. STEM workers are in demand, and not just in Silicon Valley. According to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis, STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — professions are expected to grow 10.4% between 2023 and 2033, compared to 3.6% for all other occupations.
Contracts:
Phillips Corp., Federal Division, Hanover, Maryland, who is teamed with sub-contractors Delta H, Carroll, Ohio; and Machine Tool Service, Spokane, Washington, is awarded a $9,588,463 option (P00009) under a previously awarded contract (N4215823DS001). This modification exercises the second one-year option period of this contract to manage a preventive and corrective maintenance program that will plan, schedule, and provide qualified personnel for preventative maintenance, corrective maintenance, and calibration analysis for up to 600 pieces of industrial plant equipment located in the controlled industrial area of Norfolk Naval Shipyard in support of its mission to provide on time delivery of carriers, submarines, and barges. The previously awarded contract includes a one-year base period with four one-year option periods and one six-month option period, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $53,051,662. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 26, 2026. If all options are exercised, work will continue through Sept. 8, 2028. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,588,463 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The previously awarded contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the SAM.GOV website and three offers were received. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N4215823DS001).
Sherlock, Smith, and Adams Inc., Montgomery, Alabama (W912DY-25-D-0049); Miller-Remick Michael Baker JV, Cherry Hill, New Jersey (W912DY-25-D-0048); AE Works LTD., Sewickley, Pennsylvania (W912DY-25-D-0035); Apogee Consulting Group PA, Cary, North Carolina (W912DY-25-D-0036); Health Facility Solutions, Wichita, Kansas (W912DY-25-D-0047); Burdette, Koehler, Murphy and Associates, Baltimore, Maryland (W912DY-25-D-0037); and Guidon-SES JV LLC, Indianapolis, Indiana (W912DY-25-D-0038), will compete for each order of the $99,600,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer services and construction projects. Bids were solicited via the internet with 36 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 23, 2030. US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
Riverside Research Institute, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $48,935,438 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for electromagnetic spectrum enhancement. This contract provides for improvement of multiple systems or infrastructures. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be complete by January 24, 2030. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and one offer was received. Fiscal year 2024 research and development funds in the amount of $4,500,000; and fiscal year 2025 research and development funds in the amount of $825,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA2394-25-C-B001).
General Dynamic Information Technology, Falls Church, Virginia, has been awarded an $18,645,192 modification (P000028) to previously awarded (FA4890-19-F-A022) for the Distributed Common Ground System network weapon system. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $180,920,916. Work will be performed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; and Beale Air Force Base, California; and could expand to Fort Smith, Arkansas; the Republic of Korea; McConnell AFB, Kansas; Birmingham, Alabama; Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts; Reno, Nevada; Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; Terra Haute, Indiana; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and Ogden, Utah, and is expected to be complete by Jan. 31, 2026. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $18,091,208 are being obligated at time of award. The Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Hampton, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is being awarded a $51,664,912 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-12-C-2115) for planning and execution of USS New Jersey (SSN 796) post-delivery work period. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia (98%); and Groton, Connecticut (2%), and is expected to be completed by Oct. 21, 2025. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The statutory authority for this sole source award is in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii) – Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair, Groton, Connecticut, is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics NASSCO, Norfolk, Virginia, is being awarded a $23,323,644 modification to exercise options on a previously awarded contract (N00024-25-C-4427) for the USS Porter (DDG-78) Fiscal 2025 Extended Dry-dock Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA). Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by May 2026. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $23,323,644 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Moorestown, New Jersey, was awarded a $12,010,982 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-24-C-5105 to exercise option items supporting the Ship Self-Defense System, combat system ship integration, and test. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey (22%); San Diego, California (17%); Pascagoula, Mississippi (15%); Newport News, Virginia (15%); Norfolk, Virginia (15%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (11%); and Washington, DC (5%) and is expected to be completed by January 2026. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $762,620 (77%); and fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $222,267 (23%), 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 (N00024-24-C-5105).
Innovative Defense Technologies, Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $9,265,787 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost contract for Navy engineering design, development, and supporting material and travel for Sound Navigation and Ranging systems (SONAR). This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $49,184,195. Work will be performed in Fall River, Massachusetts (90%); Arlington, Virginia (5%); San Diego, California (3%); and Mt. Laurel, New Jersey (2%), and is expected to be completed by December 2029. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,402,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively in accordance with 15 US Code 638(r)(4). The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-25-C-6113). (Awarded Jan. 23, 2025)
Element Environmental LLC, Aiea, Hawaii (W9128A-25-D-0001); Helber Hastert & Fee Planners Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii (W9128A-25-D-0002); SSFM-MNA LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii (W9128A-25-D-0003); Aecom Technical Services Inc., Los Angeles, California (W9128A-25-D-0004); Group 70 International Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii (W9128A-25-D-0005); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (W9128A-25-D-0006); Stantec GS Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia (W9128A-25-D-0007); and Tetra Tech-Bowers & Kubota AE Pacific JV LLC, Honolulu, Hawaii (W9128A-25-D-0008), will compete for each order of the $36,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer services. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 23, 2030. US Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu, Hawaii, is the contracting activity.
