More ‘Fat Leonard’ Cases Crumble
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Months after four Navy officers’ felony trial convictions were dismissed for lesser charges, five more defendants appear poised to have charges reduced or dropped, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. Four defense attorneys submitted letters Friday to a San Diego federal judge suggesting the government has agreed to deals with five military officers who previously pleaded guilty to more serious offenses in connection with the US Navy’s “Fat Leonard” bribery and corruption scandal. The massive, high-profile prosecution has been marred in recent years by prosecutorial misconduct and the escape of Leonard Glenn Francis, its key figure and the mastermind behind the worst corruption scheme in the Navy’s history.
The Hill reports, congressional negotiators reached a compromise last week on the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act. Republicans agreed to strip several partisan culture war provisions from the annual defense spending bill, but there are still a handful of fights on the horizon. The $886 billion measure includes a 5.2 percent pay raise for troops, $11.5 billion to help deter China, $800 million to support Ukraine, and tens of billions of dollars for new ships and aircraft.
The 5.2% hike in service members’ pay starting in January is the highest since 2002’s 6.9% raise, reports Military.com. A 5.2% raise in basic pay means anywhere from about $1,100 more per year for the most junior service members to more than $10,000 more per year for senior officers. Troops got a 4.6% raise this year.
The military services are working through a backlog of senior leaders after the hold of more than 400 senior officer promotions was lifted Tuesday. Military.com says officers who have been waiting the longest or those who are moving into roles that have been vacant during the hold are prioritized.
A pair of senators is pushing for those newly confirmed officials to receive back pay and time-in-grade credit for their months spent waiting for advancement. The proposal from Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) would require approval from both the House and the Senate and could cost in excess of $4 million, says Military Times. Introduction of the Military Personnel Confirmation Restoration Act was first reported by Punchbowl News.
The military’s grounding of all V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft is impacting only one carrier in the Navy, which only began using the carrier-specific CMV-22 variant in 2021 to ferry people and supplies on and off deployed carriers. The carrier Carl Vinson is the only deployed flattop dealing with the loss of its Osprey assets. The ship is making do, reports Navy Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opened his visit to Washington on Monday warning that Russia is fighting in Ukraine but its “real target is freedom” in America and around the world, reports Military Times. Zelensky issued a personal plea for Congress to break its deadlock and approve continued support for Ukraine.
More than a hundred senior European lawmakers sent a joint letter to their counterparts in the United States on Tuesday, pleading for Congress to unlock further military aid to Ukraine as US lawmakers struggle for a deal. The open letter was signed by lawmakers from at least 17 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Ireland. According to Reuters, it is a sign of mounting concerns in Europe about the continuity of US support to Ukraine.
Israel and the US, allies increasingly isolated by global calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, showed on Tuesday their disagreement over the conduct and future of the war against Hamas, reports APNews.com. President Joe Biden said he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing.” The dispute emerged while Israeli forces carried out strikes across Gaza, crushing Palestinians in homes.
The Pentagon gave Israel mission data files about enemy threats to help the country’s fleet of F-35s, which it is using against Hamas, reports Defense One. Israel’s fleet of F-35s have performed “absolutely outstanding” in the war against Hamas, F-35 Program Executive Officer LT GEN Michael Schmidt said.
The Navy warship Mason came to the aid on Monday of a commercial ship struck by a cruise missile launched from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen. The Stinda was passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait around 4pm EST on Dec. 11, reports Navy Times. According to US Central Command, “The Strinda reported damage causing a fire on-board, but no casualties at this time. There were no US ships in the vicinity at the time of the attack, but the USS Mason responded to the M/T Strinda call and is currently rendering assistance.”
Military Times reports, the Coast Guard’s cover-up of sexual assault findings prompted Tuesday’s inquiry from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The whistleblowers testified about the alleged four-year-old cover up of the “Operation Fouled Anchor” report. The report detailed sexual assault and inaction at the Coast Guard Academy from the late 1980s to 2006, alleging instances of sexual misconduct by at least 43 academy staff.
Lawmakers moved this week to abolish a Pentagon working group aimed at preventing extremism in the military, reports Military Times. Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) introduced the measure arguing it as key to “eliminating the ‘wokeness’ in our military,” referring to what he sees as a rise in radically progressive policies at the Pentagon. The Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General published a report Nov. 30 that found the service branches investigated 183 allegations of extremist activity among troops in the past year. The report did not track total allegations of extremist activity received but not investigated.
The Air Force has taken action against 15 members of Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira’s chain of command for their roles in a security breakdown that enabled the 21-year-old National Guardsman to remove classified information from his office and post it online, reports Military Times. The service maintains that Teixeira acted alone, but its investigation turned up four separate instances where his supervisors were aware of the issues, yet chose not to report them to security officials until months into his activities, according to an investigation released Monday.
A cost overrun to upgrade the cockpit computer on the F-35 is projected to hit almost $1 billion next year, reports Bloomberg News. The 2018 contract for $718 million for the major upgrade increased last year by $680 million. Now, “regrettably, we acknowledge an additional cost increase of around $225 million,” said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), chair of the House Armed Services panel on aircraft.
Lockheed has delivered only 21 of the 52 upgraded F-35 Joint Strike Fighters it promised this year. The rest of the delivery awaits parts to complete the upgrade, reports Defense News. The government is not accepting the newly built F-35s, because the military has not been able to carry out the test flights necessary to make sure they work properly.
The Belgian military got its first look at the F-35A Lightning II combat jets it ordered from Lockheed Martin on Sunday at the company’s facility in Fort Worth. Military.com reports, Belgium, a member of NATO and the European Union, ordered 34 of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft it says will enable it to fulfill its military obligations.
The US and South Korean militaries are working together to recover an F-16 Fighting Falcon that crashed this week in the Yellow Sea, reports Stars and Stripes. The fighter is among roughly 30 F-16s at the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base. The F-16 was on a training operation when it experienced an in-flight emergency Monday. The pilot ejected and was rescued at sea by the South Korean navy and coast guard. A South Korean air force helicopter airlifted the pilot, who was awake and in stable condition.
Contracts:
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative Inc., Hughesville, Maryland, has been awarded an estimated $117,004,772 regulated tariff contract for ownership, operation and maintenance of the electric utility system at Naval Support Facility Indian Head, Maryland. This was a competitive acquisition with four responses received. This is a 50-year contract with no option periods. The performance completion date is Oct. 11, 2074. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2024 through 2074 Navy operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SP0600-24-C-8361).
DZYNE Technologies, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia; and Irvine, California, were awarded a $49,000,000 indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery, Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract for advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) research and development. This contract provides for the investigation and development of advanced unmanned aerial systems to improve flight performance, sensor capabilities, and flight endurance of long endurance UAS, expand low-cost precision delivery cargo using improved navigation sensors, propulsion, and other vehicle upgrades, facilitate rapid conversion of manned aircraft to UAS, and develop other advanced UAS upgrades to support operational user needs. Work will be performed in Irvine, California, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 12, 2030. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $700,000; and fiscal 2024 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $920,000, are being obligated to the initial task order at time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory Wright-Site, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA2385-24-D-B001 and FA2385-24-F-B001).
Bechtel National Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $38,103,915 modification (P00264) to contract W52P1J-09-C-0012 to extend the main plant operations period of performance by 47 days of the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant site. Work will be performed in Pueblo, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2025. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $4,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
Enlighten IT Consulting LLC, Columbia, Maryland, was awarded a $25,924,156 12-month, firm-fixed-price contract extension for the Option Year Two contract line-item numbers, for the Joint Cyber Command and Control Threat Awareness Sharing Capability. This contract provides for support for JCC2 development to include rapid prototyping and agile development. Work will be performed in the U.S and is expected to be completed by Dec. 10, 2024. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $3,200,000 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA8307-21-C-0003-P00021).
