McDonough Confirmed VA Secretary

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.

The US Senate has confirmed Denis McDonough as the next Veterans Affairs secretary, reports Military Times. He is the second non-veteran ever confirmed to lead the department. McDonough served as White House chief of staff under former President Barack Obama and was tapped by President Joe Biden to lead the massive veterans agency in a bid to streamline operations and reduce bureaucracy.

As anticipated, the Senate confirmed Kathleen Hicks as DoD’s No. 2, reports Defense News, making her the first woman  confirmed by the Senate to the position. Hicks led Biden’s transition team at the Pentagon and was a deputy undersecretary of defense under the Obama administration. More recently, she led international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Drones are the biggest tactical concern since the rise of IEDs in Iraq, reports Army Times, nor does the US have a dependable countermeasure. “I’m not just talking about large unmanned platforms, which are the size of a conventional fighter jet that we can see and deal with by normal air defense means. I’m talking about ones you can go out and buy at Costco right now for $1,000,” said CENTCOM boss, Marine GEN Kenneth McKenzie.

The US has gone one year without a combat death in Afghanistan as Taliban warn against reneging on peace deal, reports Stars and Stripes. The US signed a deal with Taliban to fully withdraw US-led international forces by May 1, 2021, provided the Taliban held up its end of the agreement, including stopping attacks on foreign troops. The Taliban also needs to change course, reports Washington Examiner.

Coast Guard honors Black veteran, NFL great Emlen Tunnell, reports Navy Times. Before he became the first Black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Tunnell served in the Coast Guard during and after World War II, where he was credited with saving the lives of two shipmates in separate incidents. Now, a Coast Guard cutter and an athletic building on the Coast Guard Academy campus are being named in honor of the former NFL defensive back, who died in 1975, as the service aims to highlight his little-known story and its own efforts to do better when it comes to race and celebrating diversity.

All three US market indexes hit records Monday fueled by Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill package, reports UPI. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 237.52 points, or 0.76%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.74%, both reaching all-time highs, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.95% for an intraday high.

NAVAIR awards Sikorsky a third production contract of $479 million to build five VH-92A presidential helicopters for the US Marine Corps, with modifications including two cabin interior reconfiguration kits, support equipment, initial spares, and system parts replenishment. Work on the contract is expected to be completed by December 2023.

 

 

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) will not seek reelection next year, reports Defense News. He has served as the top Republican on defense appropriations committees and helped determine how the Pentagon would spend hundreds of billions of dollars.

The Navy is now offering a “precision landing mode” carrier landing assist tool to new fighter pilots, reports USNI News, for the first time conducting carrier qualifications with the tool that significantly cuts down on the work required during an approach to the back of an aircraft carrier at sea.

Roosevelt commanders aggravated the ship’s COVID-19 outbreak, reports The Hill. More than 1,200 sailors aboard the USS Roosevelt were infected with the coronavirus in spring 2020. The outbreak, and the Navy’s response, erupted into a political firestorm. An inspector general report lists the deficiencies.

Experts advise caution as states lift restrictions despite unknown impact of COVID-19 variants, reports NBC News. The CDC has reported fewer than 700 cases of a new mutant strains of COVID-19, but one expert says that number is “very much the tip of the iceberg,” Experts warn it might be lifting restrictions too soon as variants pose an increased risk and the pandemic — almost at the one year mark in the US — is far from over.

The military is shipping the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine overseas for administration to adult military dependents, and shots will be rolled out in a parallel manner to what’s happening stateside, reports Air Force Magazine.

SecDef Lloyd Austin’s stand down on extremism is not meant to be panacea, reports Military Times. “This is an opportunity for leadership to listen to the men and women they lead,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

The Navy is requiring commanding officers take a more proactive approach to help sailors at risk for suicide by involving the officers in the Sailor Assistance and Intercept for Life program, reports Navy Times. The SAIL program is a service offered through Fleet and Family Support Centers for sailors who have exhibited suicide-related thinking or behavior. SAIL case managers equip these sailors with additional resources and are also responsible for communicating with their healthcare providers and command leadership.

This year, aviation nerds got a unique offering for the Super Bowl—Air Force Global Strike Command provided one each of their bombers—a B-52, a B-1, and a B-2. The Drive reports, they hit their mark exactly and show their unusual silhouettes against the Tampa Bay twilight.

Contracts:

Covalus LLC, Dallas, Texas (W912DY-21-D-0006); Holitna Construction LLC, Anchorage, Alaska (W912DY-21-D-0007); Martek Global Solutions LLC, Bethesda, Maryland (W912DY-21-D-0008); and Workplace Solutions Inc., Jacksonville, Florida (W912DY-21-D-0009), will compete for each order of the $495,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to support military healthcare construction/renewal projects. Bids were solicited via the internet with 19 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 3, 2026. US Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

KBR Services LLC, Houston, Texas, has been awarded an estimated $38,110,000 fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for automated fuel handling equipment maintenance. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. The estimated dollar amount is for the life of the contract and the maximum dollar amount is $49,500,000. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Locations of performance are California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Greenland, Japan and Spain, with a March 12, 2022, base ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Guard and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Contracting Services Office, Columbus, Ohio (SP4702-21-D-0001).

Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC, Chantilly, Virginia (HC1084-21-D-0002), has been awarded a competitive single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for Global Content Delivery Services II for the Defense Information Systems Agency Operations Center. The contract ceiling is approximately $201,543,314, and the minimum guarantee is $10,000. The place of performance will be at government data centers or future government centers within the continental US; data centers outside the continental US; and other government-approved locations worldwide, in which the government may acquire an operational responsibility. Solicitation HC1084-20-R-0005 was posted on the beta.SAM.gov website as a competitive acquisition and four proposals were received. The period of performance consists of a three-year base period and three one-year option periods, for a total contract life cycle of six years. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity.