Pax Firefighter Buried Today
Naval District Washington Firefighter Brice C. Trossbach
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.
NAS Patuxent River advises major traffic impacts should be expected on and around the base today, July 6, 2023. During the funeral procession of Naval District Washington Firefighter Brice C. Trossbach, from 12:30pm to 2pm, all Pax River gates will be closed to traffic while the procession makes its way through the base. Mr. Trossbach, 25, died in the line of duty, combating a house fire in Leonardtown, MD, on a mutual aid call. His services at Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department will be streamed live this morning, July 6, beginning at 10am.
July 3 was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction. Reuters reports the average global temperature reached 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 Fahrenheit), surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92C (62.46F) as heatwaves sizzled around the world. The southern US has been suffering under an intense heat dome in recent weeks. In China, an enduring heatwave continued, with temperatures above 35C (95F). North Africa has seen temperatures near 50C (122F).
The number of suicides across the active-duty military increased from 75 in the first quarter of 2022 to 94 in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, reports Military Times.
Key Senate Republican Roger Wicker (R-MS) wants to eliminate the Supreme Court’s exemption of military academies from its decision reached last week, ending the use of affirmative action in college admissions. Praising the decision, Wicker, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee aims to “further prohibit our military service academies from engaging in race-based affirmative action.”
A secret investigation into alleged sexual abuse at the US Coast Guard Academy uncovered a history of rapes and assaults ignored and covered up by high-ranking officials. Then the findings were kept confidential by the service’s top leadership for several years. Coast Guard officials briefed members of Congress this month after inquiries from CNN, which had reviewed internal documents from the probe.
Starting July 10, four members of the eight-member Joint Chiefs of Staff will begin retiring. There will be no successors in place if Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade holds, reports Politico. “Senator Tuberville is taking the military nominees as political hostages,” said Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Corps major general and former Senate Armed Services Committee staff director. “There’s just no getting around it, these are political hostages over a policy that he disagrees with by the current administration.
The US military’s highest appeals court has unanimously ruled that troops do not have the right to a unanimous verdict in criminal trials, upholding a disparity between military and civilian courts that dates back to the country’s founding. The 5-0 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces means American service members remain the country’s only constituency not afforded the same constitutional rights as defendants in civilian courts, reports Air Force Times.
“Israel carried out airstrikes near the central Syrian city of Homs early Sunday causing material damage but no casualties, the Syrian military announced. AP News reports the Israeli military said a Syrian anti-aircraft missile exploded over Israeli territory, prompting another round of strikes.
Israel withdrew troops from a Jenin refugee camp, a West Bank militant stronghold, on Wednesday warning its most intense military operation in the occupied territory in nearly two decades was not a one-off. Military.com reports 12 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed in the two-day raid. Residents of the Jenin refugee camp emerged from their homes to find alleys lined by piles of rubble and flattened or scorched cars. Thousands who had fled the fighting began returning.
Israel launched the attack Monday and nearly 60 were injured or killed by that afternoon during intense exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and armed Palestinian militants in the Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank, reported BBC News. The Israeli military began operation with drone strikes early on Monday. Israel said it had “dealt a heavy blow to terrorist organizations,” but Palestinians accused it of a war crime.
Israel will buy 25 F-35 aircraft from the United States, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced Sunday, in a deal that increases Israel’s arsenal of the stealth fighter jets by 50%, reports AP.
The US State Department approved a possible sale to the Czech Republic of 24 F-35 aircraft, munitions and related equipment worth up to $5.62 billion, reports Defense News.
A naval fleet of the China’s People’s Liberation Army arrived in Nigeria on Sunday for a rare visit by the Chinese military to Africa’s Atlantic coast, where Beijing has long made efforts to grow its influence. Reuters reports the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria hailed the five-day visit as a milestone in ties, and the Nigerian navy expressed willingness to work with China to tackle maritime security threats and maintain stability in the Gulf of Guinea.
Chinese auto brands are on track to account for just over 50% of the cars sold in their home market this year thanks to a growing dominance in electric vehicles, reports Reuters. This is the first time Chinese automakers have controlled a majority share of China’s car market — the world’s largest.
A fire broke out last week in the amphibious assault ship Bougainville, under construction at Ingalls Shipbuilding, reports Defense News. The company reported several shipyard employees being treated for smoke inhalation and that the fire and smoke were contained to a small number of compartments without further damage to the ship or shipyard.
Taylor Taranto, 37, armed with explosive materials and weapons, and wanted for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol, was arrested last week in the DC neighborhood where former President Barack Obama lives, reports Military Times. Taranto was spotted by law enforcement officials who acted on an open warrant on charges related to the insurrection.
Contracts:
Integration, Innovation Inc. (i3,) Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $24,500,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0017323D2005) for research and development support for Tactical Electronic Warfare Simulation. The contract does not include options and has a cumulative value of $24,500,000. A $9,827,810 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order was issued concurrently (N0017323F2036). Work will be performed at U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, and is expected to be completed by July 2028. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $225,000 were obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with one offer received via Contract Opportunities on SAM.gov. The US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Applied Physical Sciences Corp., Groton, Connecticut, was awarded a $15,272,429 modification (P00012) to cost-plus-fixed-fee contract HR0011-20-C-0100 for Phase 3D of a research project for undersea sensing systems. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $71,040,762 from $55,768,333. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut (57%); Arlington, Virginia (15%); Pawcatuck, Connecticut (15%); Orange, California (8%); and Concord, Massachusetts (5%), with an expected completion date of October 2024. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and engineering funds in the amount of $15,272,429, are being obligated at time of modification award. This contract was a competitive acquisition in accordance with original broad agency announcement HR001117S0034. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Credence Dynamo Solutions LLC, Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a $7,845,368 firm-fixed-price Task Order for Flight Training Operations Support functions to Air Education and Training Command training squadrons. This contract provides for flight training operations support functions to include standardization and evaluation support, training support, and aircrew scheduling and programming support. Work will be performed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; Columbus AFB, Mississippi; Laughlin AFB, Texas; Vance AFB, Oklahoma; Altus AFB, Oklahoma; Lackland AFB, Texas; Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida; Fort Rucker, Alabama; US Air Force Academy, Colorado; Tucson Air National Guard, Arizona; Little Rock AFB, Arkansas; and Luke AFB, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2028. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and four offers were received. Fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,845,368 are being obligated at time of award. The 338th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-23-F-0103). (Awarded June 30, 2023)
