MD Sites on List of Locations Where Agent Orange Was Stored, Tested

Two bombs tumble from a Vietnamese Air Force A-1E Skyraider over a burning Viet Cong hideout near Cantho, South Vietnam, in 1967. (US Air Force photo/Library of Congress archives)

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.

A new list released by the Defense Department shows locations outside Vietnam where herbicides like Agent Orange were tested and stored, reports Military Times. Locations in Maryland where tactical herbicides and their chemical components were tested, used, or stored include Aberdeen Proving Ground, Camp Detrick, Fort Detrick, Fort Meade, and Fort Ritchie. Last week, the Veterans Administration disputed a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine panel’s findings on proposed Agent Orange diseases, reports Military Times.

Add a gun that can’t shoot straight to the problems that dog Lockheed Martin’s $428 billion F-35 program, reports Bloomberg. A recently released DoD report on the F-35 included more than 800 software flaws and 13 must-fix items.

Al-Qaida is claiming responsibility for the Dec. 6, 2019, deadly shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola by an aviation student from Saudi Arabia, reports The Associated Press.

DefSec Mark Esper has approved a request for assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services to house 1,000 people who may need to be quarantined upon arrival from overseas travel due to the coronavirus, reports Military Times. One hundred and ninety-five people have been quarantined at March Air Base in California, reports Patch.com. The last time the Centers for Disease Control issued a quarantine order was during a 1960s smallpox scare. Task & Purpose reports troops in South Korea are facing quarantine.

The Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 225’s commander was relieved of duty after showing “poor judgment” during a fighter jet ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California, reports The Orange County Register. No details about what led to the dismissal were given.

Some US and Iraqi officials say they are increasingly concerned that Iraq’s F-16 fighter jet program — supplied by the US and, until recently, secured and maintained by foreign contractors — is vulnerable to seizure by Iranian-backed militias, reports Foreign Policy.

 

 

Unmanned drones are no longer reserved for the air alone, reports Interesting Engineering. The UK Royal Marines were supported by an unmanned boat, ground vehicle and air system as part of a recent groundbreaking exercise into the use of drones in combat.

The US Africa Command is examining the security at Manda Bay Airfield in Kenya and at other US installations throughout the continent, reports Military Times. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend says his main concern is that another deadly attack like the one in January 2020 will occur on his watch.

The US Navy warship Monterey that fired 30 Tomahawk missiles at suspected Syrian chemical weapons sites in 2018 received the USS Arizona Memorial Trophy at a ceremony in Norfolk, VA, reports Navy Times.

The Air Force says that 137 uniformed airmen — active duty, Guard and Reserve — and Air Force civilian employees died by suicide in 2019, reports Air Force Times. That represents roughly a 33 percent increase over the 103 deaths by suicide in the Air Force in 2018.

At the start of Sunday’s Super Bowl, retired Air Force Col. Charles McGee of Bethesda took part in the ceremonial coin toss at midfield, reports WTOP News. During the course of a 30-year military career, Col. McGee, a Tuskegee airman in World War II, flew 409 fighter combat missions, more than any other US serviceman. While neither the Redskins nor the Ravens were in the Super Bowl, there were a few players with local connections in Sunday’s game, reports WTOP News.

Contracts:

Zenetex LLC, Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $7,521,702 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide contractor support services (CSS) to temporarily augment government personnel to assist in the acquisition, management and sustainment of Navy training systems. CSS support includes corporate operations, research and technology, program management, logistics, engineering, instructional systems and test and evaluation support services for various training systems managed by the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed in May 2020. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $432,783; fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $138,112; fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $278,344; fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,002,318; fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $357,920; fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $507,119; fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $101,022; working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,204,302; and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $520,643 will be obligated at time of award, $785,463 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N61340-20-C-0009). (Awarded Jan. 31, 2020)

Sustainable System Solutions LLC, Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $9,563,615 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide the design, development, integration, testing and fielding of test capabilities systems and/or related test infrastructure among ranges within the Department of Defense test and evaluation community. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 2, 2030. US Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (W900KK-20-D-0003).

Escal Institute Advanced Tech, North Bethesda, Maryland, was awarded an $8,805,373 firm-fixed-price contract to provide training and certifications to verify and validate student proficiency in cybersecurity roles. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 2, 2021. Fort Gordon, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W911S0-20-F-0111).