March 28, 2024

Names Sought to Replace Confederate Legacy

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The commission taking suggestions from the public on what to rename 10 Army posts and two Navy ships named for Confederate troops unveiled its crowdsourcing website this week, reports Military Times. DoD is charged with renaming all Confederate “items” ― to include not only posts and ships, but street names, buildings, etc. ― by fall 2023.

As drones become more prevalent, the US Navy is arming surface ships with drone repellent systems, reports USNI. The Navy has found a way to ensure all of its surface ships can repel unmanned aerial vehicles, the Drone Restricted Access Using Known Electromagnetic Warfare system, or DRAKE, built by Northrop Grumman and originally used on Humvees during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

An ongoing tactical aircraft study may confirm the suspicion that the US Air Force is unlikely to purchase all of the 1,763 F-35A jets in its program of record, reports Defense News. The service is undertaking the study as it readies its fiscal 2023 budget and grapples with reducing the types of fighters it flies from seven to four main platforms by 2030.

Defense industry giants Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are investing in Orbit Fab, a San Francisco-based startup that wants to build gas stations in space that can refuel satellites and prolong their lifespan, reports Defense News.

The White House proposes Congress attach billions in supplemental funding for disaster relief and Afghan refugees to a short-term continuing resolution critical to avoiding a government shutdown Sept. 30, reports Federal News Network. Politico says the inclusion of hurricane relief and Afghan resettlement is upping the ante in the latest shutdown scare, increasing political pain for lawmakers opposing the funding patch.

Under a continuing resolution, the Pentagon is held to prior fiscal year levels and cannot spend on new programs, although the Pentagon can request exceptions. Most of the $6.4B the White House seeks for Afghan refugees, reports USNI, are for DOD and State to process refugees along with supportive humanitarian aid. The White House is also seeking $14B in relief funds for disasters that took place in the last year and a half, before Hurricane Ida and anticipates requesting another $10B billion in the wake of Ida.

The historic trial of 20 suspects from the Paris attacks of 2015 is set to open in France, reports BBC. The attacks left 130 people dead. The shooting and bombing assault by Islamist State group extremists was the worst post-World War II atrocity in France. The only surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam, will appear in court with 13 other defendants at a purpose-built facility in Paris.

 

 

China is weighing occupation of the former US air base at Bagram, says US News & World Report, although a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a carefully crafted denial of plans for an imminent takeover of the military airfield. “What I can tell everyone is that that is a piece of purely false information.”

American veterans groups and others are pleading for US and Taliban action on a week-long standoff that has left hundreds of would-be evacuees from Afghanistan desperate to board waiting charter flights out of a northern Afghan airport, reports Military Times. These groups say several dozen Americans, along with a much larger number of US green card holders and family members, are among those waiting to board pre-arranged charter flights at the airport in Mazar-e-Sharif and are being prevented from leaving.

Under a realignment, Israel now falls within the responsibility of US Central Command and no longer US European Command. The move comes as Israel and its neighbors work to improve diplomatic relations under the Abraham Accords, reports Defense News.

Blue Water Vietnam veterans are getting benefits payouts, but not always the right amount, reports Military Times. The VA Inspector General’s investigation found the department did a good job getting benefits flowing to the newly eligible veterans covered by the 2-year-old Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act. But 2,100 of 4,600 veterans had inaccurate decisions from April through June 2020, resulting in about $25.2 million in overpayments and $12 million in underpayments.

Retired USMC COL Enrico DeGuzman, 63,pleads guilty for role in the “Fat Leonard” scandal, reports Navy Times. DeGuzman pleaded guilty to accepting more than $67,000 in hotel stays, extravagant meals, and other perks, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Southern California.

Airmen and guardians have about two months to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to policy guidance from USAF SEC Frank Kendall. The Air Force Times reports unvaccinated airmen and guardians may voluntarily receive the Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, or AstraZeneca vaccines. Troops compelled to get vaccinated will only receive the Pfizer product, dubbed Comirnaty following its Food and Drug Administration approval in late August.

The Navy has released more details on the cause of last week’s fatal helicopter crash into the Pacific Ocean about 60 nautical miles off San Diego, reports Navy Times, killing five sailors. The MH-60S Sea Hawk touched down aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and “experienced side-to-side vibrations” that caused the aircraft’s main rotor to strike the deck before the aircraft fell off the side of the ship.

The Navy has started building the next ship in its newest class of carriers, reports Business Insider. In late August, the US Navy and shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries held a ceremony for the start of construction on the newest Ford-class carrier. The future USS Doris Miller will be the fourth Ford-class carrier and the second ship to honor Miller, who earned the Navy Cross for his actions at Pearl Harbor.

As protests grow, Taliban forms acting government in Afghanistan, saying permanent leadership to be named soon, reports The Washington Post. The Taliban’s announcement of leaders of a caretaker government for Afghanistan included members of the powerful Haqqani network but excluded representatives of the country’s toppled government.

Contracts:

Jacobs/HDR JV, Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $34,017,960 firm-fixed-price task order (N6247021F4068) under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for third party inspections of all Navy privatized homes with the exception of units scheduled for disposition or demolition. The work to be performed provides for all management, labor, supplies, equipment, information technology, materials, and transportation necessary to perform a thorough inspection and assessment of the structural integrity and habitability of each home at selected locations of privatized housing in the US. Work will be performed in California (31%); Virginia (11%); Hawaii (11%); Washington (9%); Florida (7%); Connecticut (5%); Illinois (5%); Maryland (4%); Mississippi (3%); South Carolina (3%); Louisiana (2%); Rhode Island (2%); New York (1%); Maine (1%); Washington, DC (1%); Texas (1%); Georgia (1%); Tennessee (1%); and Nevada (1%), and is expected to be completed by September 2022. Fiscal 2020 and 2021 family housing, operation and maintenance (Navy and Marine Corps) contract funds in the amount of $34,017,960 are obligated on this award. The contract funds expire on Sept. 30, 2021. One proposal was received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-21-D-0008).

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