More Troops Need Medical Eval from Iran Missile Strike
Satellite imagery shows the damage caused from an Iranian missile strike at the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq.
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More American troops leave Iraq for medical evaluation after Iran missile attack, reports The Associated Press, flown out of Iraq for closer evaluation of potential concussion injuries from the Iranian missile attack of January 8, 2020.
Pentagon gives conditional OK to resume US military training of Saudi Arabian nationals, reports Defense News.
NATO chief seeks beefed-up training role in Iraq, reports The Associated Press. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance must beef up its military training operation in Iraq to ensure that its members are not drawn back into combat there against Islamic State extremists. “We need to go heavy in and train. Build everything from ministry of defense , institutions, command and control, to train forces.”
President Donald Trump renewed his threat to put hefty tariffs on European cars at the World Economic Forum, reports The Washington Post. As part of this push, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned Italy and Britain could face US tariffs if they pursue taxes on large technology companies such as Facebook and Alphabet’s Google. French President Emmanuel Macron agreed in recent days to delay a similar tax to avoid Trump’s tariffs.
US-Japan officials call the Iron Fist Amphib Exercise extremely important as China’s navy expands, reports USNI. Tokyo has been moving at a rapid clip in the two years since it stood up its Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, with training exercises held ashore and on ships with Marine Corps units in California and in Japan. The ARDB and its two regiments of “sea soldiers” were established with the mission to quickly deploy to defend Japan’s far-flung islands and respond to other threats like natural disasters and humanitarian crises.
The Navy’s CMV-22B Osprey design completes its first flight, reports USNI. Compared to the MV-22B flown by the Marine Corps, the Navy CMV-22B variant has extended operational range, with the ability to transport up to 6,000 pounds of cargo or personnel to a 1,150 nautical mile range, according to a Naval Air Systems Command fact sheet.
Boeing’s stock trading was temporarily halted Tuesday after shares fell nearly 6% amid reports that regulators would keep 737 Max planes grounded longer than expected. UPI reports that the planes have been grounded since March after two fatal crashes killed 346 people within five months in 2018 and 2019, with planned timelines to restore the Max repeatedly shifted.
Concern over a new viral respiratory illness spreads, reports API. A new coronavirus that originated in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China, has shown up in other countries including the US. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which cause the common cold. Others have evolved into more severe illnesses, such as SARS and MERS, though so far the new virus does not appear to be nearly as deadly.
The Pentagon must do more to attract and keep good dentists and doctors, GAO finds, reports Military.com. The Government Accountability Office report also found that DoD wages for all physician specialties — excluding non-monetary benefits such as housing and retirement pensions — are below median private-sector wages.
More on Fat Leonard: “An embarrassment to the Navy,” acting NavSec Thomas Modly says of retired chief petty officer Ulysis T. Guno who is accused of taking $10K in gifts, reports Military.com. This is the latest scathing letter of censure from the Navy in connection with a massive corruption scandal.
BAE buys up GPS, radio units divested by UTC, Raytheon, reports Defense News. BAE Systems says the agreement to buy two subsidiaries being divested for antitrust reasons by Raytheon and UTC is part of the merger between the latter two companies.
Contracts:
M.C. Dean Inc., Tysons, Virginia, is awarded a $98,000,492 single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity performance-based contract (N65236-20-D-8001) with provisions for cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price task/delivery orders. This contract is for the design, development and sustainment of electronic security systems and emergency management systems solutions for Department of Defense and federal agencies at shore installations worldwide. The contract will provide rapid and streamlined procurement of electronic security systems and emergency management systems solutions where there are emerging or special security requirements that require rapid response in order to mitigate and limit risk exposure to cyber and physical security threats. The contract includes a five-year ordering period. Contract funds in the amount of $25,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Work will be performed in Washington, District of Columbia (77%); and Charleston, South Carolina (23%), and is expected to be completed by January 2026. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured by full and open competition via the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command-Electronic Commerce Central website and the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one timely offer received. Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity.
UPDATE: Enterprise Cabling Inc., Ocean City, Maryland (SPRBL1-20-D-0017), has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract issued against solicitation SPRBL1-19-R-0042 announced Dec. 18, 2019.
