It’s Primary Election Day in Maryland

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.

Today, Tuesday, July 19, is Primary Election Day in Maryland. Polls will be open today from 7 am to 8 pm. Among the questions answered by The Baltimore Sun about today’s election are how many — and which kinds — of voters will turn out to vote and whether Gov. Larry Hogan’s popularity will help his hand-picked successor in the Republican primary.

It could be an early showdown on Gov. Hogan’s home turf as he weighs a 2024 White House bid, potentially against former President Donald Trump, reports The Associated Press. Tuesday’s competitive primaries will signal where the race is headed, reports The New York Times.

Election officials warn that results in tight races are likely to come days after the primary as a pandemic-era shift to mail-in voting runs up against the state’s prohibition against counting ballots early, reports The Washington Post.

Reminder to voters: Some St. Mary’s County voting districts have changed. Read more here. Voters can find sample ballots here.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, delivered the third low-rate initial production CH-53K King Stallion helicopter ahead of schedule to the US Marine Corps, reports Seapower Magazine. This CH-53K heavy lift helicopter joins the six in operation at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, NC.

The Pentagon’s plan for homeland cruise missile defense is taking shape, reports Defense News. North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command have been working for several years and across two presidential administrations to come up with a design that can effectively defend the continental US from cruise missiles.

The US Air Force is looking to Europe for commercial technologies, Andrew Hunter, the service’s acquisition executive said. The Air Force will lean heavily on commercial technology to achieve its near-term goals more quickly, and it wants to hear from potential suppliers in Europe during two major air shows this week, reports C4ISRNET.

The number of military personnel and veterans who would recommend joining the armed forces has dropped in the past two years, reports Military.com, a waning enthusiasm that could threaten national security. The 2021 Military Family Support Programming Survey involved 8,638 active-duty members, retirees, dependents, and veterans.

Enlisting in the Air Force could land a new airman almost $60,000 in bonus pay, reports Air Force Times. The service has added more career fields that come with signing bonuses for those who enlist for four or six years by September 30, bringing the total to 22 specialties.

 

 

The US Army is exploring performance-based retention incentives, reports Army Times. The proposal goes back to “a fundamental concept,” SGT MAJ Michael Grinston said. “How do we acknowledge talent, and how do we manage the talent that we have?”

A congressional committee is investigating whether some companies are profiting off of the veteran disability claims backlog, reports Federal News Network. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform wants to know “whether companies that retrieve records for veterans … are misusing National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) procedures intended to expedite emergency records requests while charging veterans to obtain government records they are entitled to receive at no cost.”

A federal judge in Ohio blocked the Air Force from enforcing the military’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for two weeks, a short-term win for airmen fighting multiple legal battles against the vaccination, reports Air Force Times.

Hershel W. “Woody” Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, will lie in honor at the US Capitol on Thursday, July 21, reports Marine Corps Times. Williams died from natural causes at the age of 98. Officials said he died in June while receiving care at the Huntington, WV, Veterans Affairs hospital named after him, Military Times reported in late June.

A US Naval Academy midshipman died Sunday morning, reports Navy Times. This marks the second student death in two months. The cause of death is unclear, but the academy said that no foul play is suspected.

The commander of the 27th Special Operations Medical Readiness Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico was relieved of command this week after a year and two days in the position, reports Task & Purpose. LT COL Kenneth Beadle was relieved “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead.”

The Navy said it has disciplined more than two dozen service members for their roles in the July 2020 fire that destroyed the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard undergoing maintenance in San Diego, reports Navy Times.

Two sailors were injured after engine room fire started on the Peruvian corvette Guise during the Rim of the Pacific exercise, reports Navy Times. The fire is not the first setback for this year’s RIMPAC. Officials said several exercise leaders and other staff members have contracted COVID-19, and Tropical Storm Darby passed south of the Big Island on July 16, with exercise planners monitoring how the winds and higher sea states could affect a variety of at-sea events that had been planned.

Pets of three military families died while being moved overseas this month, reports Air Force Times. The Air Mobility Command is reviewing every aspect of Patriot Express pet travel to “further strengthen pet safety.” GEN Mike Minihan, head of the command, called the fatalities “unacceptable.”

The nonprofit Donor Outreach for Veterans aims to help veterans who need a kidney transplant, reports Army Times. Sharyn Kreitzer, DOVE founder, said that as of the Fourth of July weekend, there were 1,781 veterans across the US on a waiting list. Her mission is to locate living kidney donors for higher risk patients.

The decline in the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population has many searching for answers as to why it is happening, reports Bay Journal. Based on what they see on the water, crabbers have no shortage of theories about why the Bay’s most prized catch is hard to find: Changes in water quality, climate change, and an influx of crab-eating fish top the list.

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a not-to-exceed $224,875,729 undefinitized modification (P00014) to a previously awarded, fixed-price incentive (firm-target), advanced acquisition contract (N0001920C0009). This modification increases the ceiling to procure long lead-time materials, parts, components, and effort for the production of three Lot 15 F-35A aircraft and nine Lot 16 F-35 aircraft for the government of the Netherlands. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (57%); El Segundo, California (14%); Warton, United Kingdom (9%); Cameri, Italy (4%); Orlando, Florida (4%); Nashua, New Hampshire (3%); Baltimore, Maryland (3%); San Diego, California (2%); Nagoya, Japan (2%); and various undisclosed locations outside the continental US (2%) and is expected to be completed in May 2026. Non-Department of Defense participant funds in the amount of $224,875,729 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Threat Tec – Yorktown Systems Group JV LLC, Hampton, Virginia, was awarded a $32,365,473 modification (P00019) to contract W911S0-20-C-0007 for core functions support services for US Army Training and Doctrine Command’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence Operational Environment. Work will be performed at Fort Eustis, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 9, 2025. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $9,257,699 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Atlantic CommTech Corp., Norfolk, Virginia, has been awarded an $11,194,296 contract for the installation and integration of the Protective Aircraft Shelter Interior Intrusion Detection System and the Weapon Storage Security System (WS3) service life extension program as a single configuration at the contract designated work site. This contract provides the government with engineering services and technical expertise as needed to improve sustainability, extend service life of WS3, and ensure systems continue to meet US Air Force in Europe and NATO requirements. Work will be performed in various overseas locations and is expected to be complete by July 17, 2025. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. The total value of the contract will be obligated at time of award using fiscal 2022 procurement funds. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity (FA9422-22-C-0004).