March 29, 2024

Naval Academy Falling Apart

naval academy

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.

The US Naval Academy is falling apart, according to a Naval Audit Service’s report that found the school had decaying walls, plumbing issues, and condemned offices and balconies. The college’s infrastructure has degraded to the point of threatening its ability to train midshipmen, according to Navy Times.

Climate change threatens a majority of mission-critical military bases, says Military Times about a January 2019 Pentagon report indicating more than two-thirds of the military’s operationally critical installations are threatened.

Army’s long-awaited Iraq war study finds Iran was the only winner in a conflict that holds many lessons for future wars, reports Army Times. The two-volume study is a deep examination of the mistakes and success of the war effort that also takes aim at critics who would slough off the conflict as they shift to near-peer threats.

The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces rejected initial reports of casualties from Monday’s ISIS suicide attack of a Kurdish-US convoy in Syria’s Hasakah, reports Kurdistan24.

Critics dispute new findings on merging commissary and exchange systems, claiming that the benefits do not far exceed the costs, reports Military Times, and further questioning where any cost savings would go.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks congressional authority to strengthen its enforcement of financial protections for service members against payday lenders, reports Military Times.

Military Times offers some options for help if needed by military spouse or retiree affected by the shutdown. Soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines are getting paid, but an unknown number of military spouses, retirees, Reserve and Guard personnel, and workers in other government agencies are going without pay during the current government shutdown.

The Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, Gerald Ford, gets the first of its weapons elevators, reports Business Insider. The elevators were a particular problem, one the Navy secretary bet his job on resolving.

The Navy is studying hyper velocity projectiles and other types of ammunition for Zumwalt guns, reports USNI. Cpt. Kevin Smith says “a longer-range bullet that’s affordable” among other considerations “as far as deeper magazines with other types of weapons that have longer range.”

President Donald Trump to meet with North Korea’s leader at 2nd summit, the White House announces. The Associated Press reports that President Trump is to hold a second summit with the leader of North Korea near the end of February to try to coax the North to give up its nuclear program.

Contracts:

AAR Government Services Inc., Wood Dale, Illinois (N61340-19-D-1000); ACET JV LLC, Waldorf, Maryland (N61340-19-D-1001); Adams Communication & Engineering Technology Inc., Waldorf, Maryland (N61340-19-D-1002); Aircraft Readiness Alliance, Anchorage, Alaska (N61340-19-D-1003); The Boeing Co., Jacksonville, Florida N61340-19-D-1004); The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (N61340-19-D-1005); DynCorp International, Fort Worth, Texas (N61340-19-D-1006); INNOVAIR LLC, Chesapeake, Virginia (N61340-19-D-1007); Kay and Associates Inc., Buffalo Grove, Illinois (N61340-19-D-1008); L-3 Communications Integrated Systems LP, Waco, Texas (N61340-19-D-1009); L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi (N61340-19-D-1010); Leidos Innovations, Gaithersburg, Maryland (N61340-19-D-1011); M1 Support Services, Denton, Texas (N61340-19-D-1012); M7 Aerospace LLC, San Antonio, Texas (N61340-19-D-1013); Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia (N61340-19-D-1014); PAE Aviation and Technical Services LLC, Arlington, Virginia (N61340-19-D-1015); Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (N61340-19-D-1016); Sunrise Beach Corp., doing business as M2 Services Corp., Allen, Texas (N61340-19-D-1017); URS Federal Services, Germantown, Maryland (N61340-19-D-1018); and Yulista Standard Aero (JV), Huntsville, Alabama (N61340-19-D-1019), are each awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. These contracts provide for logistics services for the Contracted Maintenance, Modification, Aircrew and Related Services (CMMARS) Program in support of aviation platforms of various Navy and Air Force type/model/series aircraft, inter-related systems, subsystems, and services. CMMARS will provide contractor logistics services for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, unmanned aircraft vehicles, and lighter than air vehicles, as well as integrally related systems and weapon systems. Logistical support to be provided includes logistics functions and maintenance tasks required to keep US and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers aircraft ready, available, and operating worldwide. CMMARS may be used for platforms at all phases of the acquisition life cycle. The estimated aggregate ceiling for all contracts is $12,599,999,930, with the companies having an opportunity to compete for individual orders. Work will be performed at various afloat and ashore locations inside the continental U.S. (99 percent); and outside the continental US (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2024. No funds are being obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. These contracts were competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; 21 offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Coastal Marine Services, San Diego, California (N55236-19-D-0001); and Thermcor, Norfolk, Virginia (N55236-19-D-0002), are each awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award contracts with a five-year base ordering period to provide pipe lagging onboard Navy ships vessels within a 50-mile radius of San Diego, California. These contracts have an overall combined maximum ceiling value of $7,142,499. These two companies will have an opportunity to compete for individual delivery orders. Work will be performed in the vicinity of San Diego, California, and is expected be complete by January 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,000 ($3,500 for minimum guarantee per contract) will be obligated under each contract’s initial delivery order and expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three offers received. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

Atlantic Diving Supply, doing business as ADS, Virginia Beach, Virginia (SPE8EG-16-D-0023); Berger Cummins JV, Washington, District of Columbia (SPE8EG-16-D-0024); Caterpillar, Mossville, Illinois (SPE8EG-16-D-0025); Inglett and Stubbs International, Atlanta, Georgia (SPE8EG-16-D-0026); and Texas Power and Associates, Dallas, Texas (SPE8EG-16-D-0027), are sharing a maximum $90,000,000 modification (P00005) to a five-year contract for generators and associated supplies. These are firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, 160-day bridge contracts. Locations of performance are Virginia; Washington, District of Columbia; Illinois; Georgia; and Texas, with a July 1, 2019, performance completion date. Using customer is Federal Emergency Management Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Quantum Spatial Inc., Petersburg, Florida (FA4452-19-D-A001); Geographic Information Services Inc., Birmingham, Alabama (FA4452-19-D-A002); Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia (FA4452-19-D-A003); Woolpert Inc., Dayton, Ohio (FA4452-19-D-A004); and KFS LLC, Huntsville, Alabama (FA4452-19-D-A005), have been awarded multiyear indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with a combined cumulative face value of $46,564,206. These contracts will provide geospatial tasks and support functions for improved shared situational awareness and decision making across the various echelons of military hierarchy including individual level, installation level, and management headquarters level. Support may include technical assistance at Headquarters Air Force, field operating agencies, numbered Air Forces, main operating bases and reach-back support to forward deployed military personnel at forward operating locations, as well as a surge capability to quickly respond to wartime, contingencies and manmade or natural disasters. Work is expected to be completed by Jan. 21, 2024, and will be performed at various bases throughout the Air Force. These contracts are the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders. The 763d Specialized Contracting Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity for the multiyear indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. However, individual task orders will be decentralized.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $44,428,104 service firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable contract in support of the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node E-11A platform maintenance requirement. This contract provides for logistics product support for four E-11A modified Bombardier BD-700 Global aircraft, as well as subsystems and support equipment in support of overseas contingency operations. Work will be performed in Kandahar, Afghanistan; and Maryland, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 23, 2020. This award is a result of a competitive acquisition, and two offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in amount of $44,428,104 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (FA8726-17-C-0011).

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