March 29, 2024

N.Korean Missile Snaps Earth Pix

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Morning Coffee logoeconomic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Another North Korean missile test this month, and this one has captured photos of Earth from space, reports Space.com. The test launch of its Hwasong 12 intermediate-range ballistic missile on January 30 “made public the Earth image data taken from space by a camera installed at the missile warhead,” according to the January 31 edition of the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun.

The US Navy prepares to recover the F-35C in the South China Sea as Japan issues salvage notice, reports Navy Times. The Navy has largely kept mum about how it will raise the wreckage of this F-35C Lightning II jet that crashed onto an aircraft carrier and fell into the South China Sea last week. The Japanese government, however, has released a maritime navigation alert of a salvage operation in a northern portion of the South China Sea.

The deadline is here for federal contracts to start paying at least $15 an hour, reports Government Executive. The executive order applies only to contracts entered into, renewed, or extended on or after January 30, 2022. The Labor Department estimates 327,300 individuals will be affected in the first year of implementation.

Deadly aircraft accidents in the Air Force declined in 2021, reports Air Force Times. Sixty-three of the most severe kinds of aviation accidents were reported last year, down from 71 in fiscal 2020, according to mishap data provided to Air Force Times January 14. The service curbed its deadliest, costliest incidents, known as Class A mishaps, from 30 to 21. About 27 Class A mishaps have occurred on average in the past five years, the Air Force Safety Center said. That rate fell to 0.94 accidents per 100,000 flying hours for manned aircraft in 2021, the lowest since 2014.

Top US military official said Monday the DoC will appeal Hawaii’s order that it drain fuel from a massive tank farm that leaked petroleum into the Navy’s water system and contaminated Pearl Harbor’s tap water, reports Navy Times. Even so, Deputy DefSec Kathleen Hicks said the military continues to take actions “consistent with” Hawaii’s order to drain the tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.

Military families are exhausted two months into the water crisis in Hawaii, says Military Times. It’s been more than eight weeks since residents in Hawaii military housing started smelling and seeing fuel in their water. Two months since they were driven from their homes. None of the more than 9,000 households affected have been given the all-clear that their water is safe.

Task & Purpose says military pilots’ call signs are more like “Sidewalk,” “Terminally Stupid,” and “Meatloaf”— than “Maverick” or “Iceman.” According to Task & Purpose, the majority of call signs are meant to cut military aviators down to size, said retired Navy CMDR Chris Harmer, who flew H-60F and HH-60H helicopters. Pilots and other aviators do not get to pick their own call signs, Harmer said. Instead, they are assigned their official nicknames when they join their first deployable squadron. These call signs are usually based on someone’s personality or foibles, and they tend to stick with aviators for their entire careers.

 

 

SpaceX sucessfully launched an Italian Earth-observation satellite, reports UPI. The COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation 2, launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, after several days of setbacks. A Falcon 9 rocket mounted with the spacecraft lifted off at 6:11 pm EST. SpaceX scrubbed the launch three times due to weather worries and a fourth time on Sunday because a cruise ship got too close to the launch area’s keep-out zone, according to the company.

The Pentagon completes the first phase in replacing the troubled F-35 logistics system, reports Defense News. The older, flawed system caused program headaches for years. The F-35 Joint Program Office announced the first 14 sets of the new Operational Data Integrated Network, or ODIN, logistics information system finished their rollout to F-35 squadrons in January.

Never before has Texas — or any state — involuntarily activated so many troops under state authority for such a long-term mission as Operation Lone Star, reports Army Times. During a two-month period beginning in September, Operation Lone Star ballooned from a lean 1,000-volunteer outfit to a mandatory mobilization of up to 10,000 members of the Texas Military Department. The troops there say they faced a deluge of problems when they were mobilized such as slow or no pay and shortage of equipment.

Over 100 ex-Afghan forces and officials have been killed since the US pullout, reports Defense News. “More than two-thirds” of the victims were alleged to result from extrajudicial killings by the Taliban or its affiliates, according to the United Nations.

Lawmakers ask Biden to make sure DoD follows the nations climate rules, reports Defense One. More than two dozen lawmakers sent a letter to the president on Friday urging him not to exempt the Defense Department from an executive order signed last month that’s intended to cut greenhouse emissions and ease the climate crisis. The order, which President Joe Biden signed December 8, allows agencies to seek exemptions from requirements in cases where pursuing the goals set by the administration would hurt national security. The Pentagon has said that it does not intend to request any exemptions and is committed to reducing emissions.

Contracts:

Advanced Technologies System Co. Inc., McLean, Virginia, has been awarded a $93,841,747 firm-fixed-price contract for the Mobile Surveillance Sensor Security System (MS3) Phase II. This contract provides for fixed-site surveillance towers, an agile truck based Mobile Border Surveillance Vehicle, a Mobile Border Surveillance System Model 1300, a Mobile Field Workshop to perform on-site maintenance, and contractor logistics support. Work will be performed in McLean, Virginia; Gilbert, Arizona; and Egypt, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 1, 2027. This contract involves 100 percent Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Egypt. This award is the result of a directed source acquisition. FMS funds in the amount of $74,821,496 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8730-22-C-0017).

Raytheon Blackbird Technologies Inc., Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $105,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (H92400-22-D-0002) for technical collections and communications field service representatives (TCC-FSR) services in support of U.S. Special Operations Command Special Reconnaissance. The work will be performed in various locations in the US and other countries and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2027. The contract will be funded at the task order level with operations and maintenance and procurement funding from fiscal 2022. This contract was competitively awarded under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation, with two submissions received. US Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Capital Brand Group LLC, Bethesda, Maryland, is awarded a maximum-value $50,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for design-bid-build mechanical and HVAC construction and repair tasks in support of Naval Research and Development Establishment commands at National Capital Region sites. An initial task order (N4008022F4167) is being awarded at $2,000 to meet the minimum guarantee for the contract. Work will be performed in Washington, DC; Maryland; and Virginia, and is expected to be completed by January 2027. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website, with eight proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N40080-22-D-0004).

HESS Construction Co. LLC, Gaithersburg, Maryland, is awarded a $35,345,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a new Marine Corps Reserve Center at Camp Fretterd, Maryland. The work to be performed provides for construction of a new single-story reserve center facility to support Marine Corps Reserve Center functions, as well as a single-story vehicle maintenance facility. The contract also contains five unexercised options which, if exercised, would increase the cumulative contract value to $35,896,000. Work will be performed at Camp Fretterd, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by September 2024. Fiscal 2021 military construction (Navy) funds in the amount of $35,345,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website, with five proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N40080-22-C-0005).

Federal Prison Industries Inc., doing business as Unicor, Washington, DC, has been awarded a maximum $22,308,000 modification (P00012) exercising the second one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-20-D-F057) with four one-year option periods for various types of coats. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, and Washington, DC, with a Feb. 5, 2023, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price and level-of-effort contract (HQ0034-21-F-0077). The amount of this action is $7,838,208. The total of all options awarded will be $15,536,602. The purpose of this contract is to provide cyber security support services to the Department of Defense Chief Information Office. The specific services include cybersecurity strategy, cybersecurity policy development, defense-wide information assurance, identity assurance, communications security, defense industrial base cyber security, trusted mission systems and networks analysis, architectures, standards, and day-to-day security and administration. Work will be performed at the Pentagon. The following funds have been obligated for this action: Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,838,208 have been obligated for this action. The expected completion date is Feb. 28, 2026. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

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