March 29, 2024

Marines Chastised for Sharing Nude Photos, Speier Wants Firings

Marines

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.

House Armed Services Committee member Jackie Speier (CA-D) urged DefSec James Mattis to “hold your leadership accountable for these failures to establish a culture of dramatic change” and fire the Marines who shared nude photos of female service members, reports The Hill. Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller didn’t go so far as to suggest firing, but in a video posted online said Marines may have “acted selfishly and unprofessionally,”  betraying the Corps’ axiom that all Marines are brothers and sisters on the same team, reports Marine Corps Times.

VASec David Shulkin announces mental health services for veterans with other-than-honorable dismissals will begin as soon as possible, reports Military Times, saying the issue is too important to wait for congressional intervention. Twenty veterans a day are committing suicide, he told the House Veterans Affairs Committee

The US began deploying elements of an advanced anti-missile defense system in South Korea, reports Reuters, despite angry opposition from China.

The BBC reports on the Trump administration’s new refugee ban, and Defense One reports on how get off the new list of countries whose refugees will soon be barred from the US. Iraq was removed from the new ban, but the Iraqi government, agreed to share a lot more information.

A new video has emerged of Russian air harassment last month of the destroyer Porter by a Russian Su-24 attack aircraft, along with an Ilyushin Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft, reports Navy Times.

President Donald Trump’s FY18 budget proposal cuts $1.3 billion from the US Coast Guard, reports CNN, and boost Homeland Security’s budget by 6 percent, up to $43.8 billion.

In a tight vote, the Senate struck down the so-called “blacklisting rule,” which would have required federal contractors to disclose workplace labor violations before they could work for the federal government, reports FCW. The rule, imposed in August, has been held up since October by a federal court.

The Washington Times calls congressional Republican leadership’s plan to replace Obamacare, “Abominable Care.”  Reuters reports, in addition to conservatives, Democrats, a top medical group, and the AARP aren’t happy with the Republican plan either

Cyber experts tell lawmakers improved protections are needed to secure weapons and supply chain processes from cyberattacks, reports Defense Systems, noting that weapons are particularly vulnerable. At the hearing on Cyber Warfare in the 21st Century: Threats, Challenges and Opportunities, Rep.Mac Thornberry (TX-R), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said,  “Cyber is a domain of warfare in itself, but its technologies also undergird most all of our defense efforts … technologies offer great opportunity but are also a vulnerability that must be defended.”

Contracts:

Avian of Lexington Park, MD, is being awarded an $11.4 million contract to provide support for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Integrated System Evaluation Experimentation and Test Department.

Avanti Technologies Inc., Annandale, Virginia, is being awarded a potential $22,886,318 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide cyberspace science, research, engineering, and technology integration. Support includes innovative technology assessment and development; rapid software development and prototyping; enabling capability training; security engineering; and cybersecurity risk management. This is one of four multiple-award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes one two-year option ordering period which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to $38,568,712. It is anticipated that work will be performed in San Diego, California (90 percent); and at locations in the U.S. and abroad (10 percent). Work is expected to be completed March 7, 2020. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funding will be obligated via task orders. The types of funding to be obligated include research, development, test and evaluation; operations and maintenance (Navy); and other procurement (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-15-R-0096 published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Fourteen offers were received and four were selected for award. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-17-D-0114).

Millennium Corp., Arlington, Virginia, is being awarded a potential $16,930,294 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee, multiple award contract to provide cyberspace science, research, engineering, and technology integration. Support includes innovative technology assessment and development; rapid software development and prototyping; enabling capability training; security engineering; and cybersecurity risk management. This is one of four multiple-award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes one two-year option ordering period which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to $28,572,537. It is anticipated that work will be performed in San Diego, California (90 percent); and at locations in the US and abroad (10 percent). Work is expected to be completed March 7, 2020. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funding will be obligated via task orders. The types of funding to be obligated include research, development, test and evaluation; operations and maintenance (Navy); and other procurement (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-15-R-0096 published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Fourteen offers were received and four were selected for award. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-17-D-0115).

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