Navy Challenges: China, Culture, Climate, COVID
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NavSec Carlos Del Toro released a message to the fleet laying out the “four Cs” that he sees as vital challenges to the department: China, culture, climate, and COVID, reports Navy Times. Read the secretary’s entire statement here.
Del Toro made a visit to the USS Kearsage during the first day in his new NavSec position, reports Military News. CNO ADM Mike Gilday and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) accompanied him for a closer glimpse at integrated amphibious operations and how the Navy and Marine Corps team executed that role during Large Scale Exercise 2021.
Potential threats against Americans is forcing the US to find new ways to get the evacuees airlifted out of Afghanistan, reports The Associated Press. The Pentagon has activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program and is asking commercial airlines for 18 aircraft to help with getting evacuees from the airport in Kabul, reports Navy Times.
Fort McCoy in Wisconsin is preparing for the arrival of what could be as many as 2,000 refugees fleeing Afghanistan, reports ABC 5’s KSTP.com.
Governors in both parties have committed to allowing Afghan refugees in their states, reports Forbes. Among those states are Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, California, and Massachusetts.
F/A-18 Super Hornet jets from the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan have been flying overwatch missions during evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies in Kabul, reports Navy Times.
The US Justice Department has filed a motion to dismiss Bowe Bergdahl’s petition to have his military conviction and sentence for desertion and misbehavior overturned, reports Military.com. The former Army sergeant was captured by the Taliban in 2009 in Afghanistan and held captive for five years. Bergdahl is back in the headlines since the Taliban’s return to power, reports Fox News.
The Marine Corps told Japanese authorities on Okinawa that two pieces that fell from an MV-22B Osprey earlier this month were much larger than the Marines first described, reports Military.com.
The Marine Corps is developing the Readiness Decision Impact Model, or RDIM, a database predictive modeling tool used to identify impacts on policy, resourcing, operations decisions, and modernization, reports Defense Systems. This would shift the focus on readiness from short term to a more strategic outlook that predicts what lies ahead. The Pentagon said the model and readiness shift is a direct response to DoD’s data strategy, reports Federal News Network.
Another first for the MQ-25 Stingray. The tanker drone conducted its first air-to-air refueling with an E-2D aircraft in Mascoutah, IL, reports The Aviationist.
The USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) was christened on Saturday, reports Naval News. The amphibious transport dock ship is the 12th ship in the San Antonio (LPD 17) class.
The US Space Force will take on wideband satellite communications in the Army and narrowband SATCOM operations in the Navy this fall, reports Air Force Times, though that could be derailed if Congress fails to pass a defense budget by Oct. 1.
Eighteen midshipmen have been expelled from the US Naval Academy for cheating on a physics exam, reports Navy Times. The General Physics 1 final had been given remotely in December.
RADM Michael Steffen, Naval District Washington commandant, toured NAS Pax River and Webster Field this month, reports Tester. NDW oversees six Navy installations and associated fence lines within the region.
Apple has changed plans to have its employees return to its offices in the fall, reports The Hill. Due to concerns over the Delta variant, a January 2022 return is more likely.
The latest numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the jobless rate in Maryland, as well as those in Virginia and Washington, DC, continues to go down. Maryland’s unemployment rate in July was 6.0%, down from 6.2% in June and 8.7% in July 2020.
A bomb scare in Washington, DC, last week renewed calls for security upgrades at and near the US Capitol, reports UPI. A standoff with a man in a truck claiming to have a bomb forced evacuations of buildings near the Library of Congress.
Maryland has announced a new $400 million initiative, Connect Maryland, that aims to boost broadband access across the state, reports Maryland Matters.
Some locals birders in Southern Maryland are criticizing the euthanizing of two young osprey taken off a light pole in a Calvert County park, reports The Washington Post. Calvert officials said all protocols and federal laws protecting birds were followed.
Contracts:
Ameresco, Portsmouth, Virginia (N40085-21-D-0079); Harkins, Columbia, Maryland (N40085-21-D-0080); RQ Construction LLC, Carlsbad, California (N40085-21-D-0081); Sauer Inc., Jacksonville, Florida (N40085-21-D-0082); S.B. Ballard Construction Co., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N40085-21-D-0083); Walsh, Chicago, Illinois (N40085-21-D-0084); Whiting Turner Contracting Co., Greenbelt, Maryland (N40085-21-D-0085); and WM Jordan, Newport News, Virginia (N40085-21-D-0086), are each awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award design-build (DB)/design bid build (DBB) construction contract for large general construction projects located primarily in the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Mid-Atlantic area of operations (AO). The maximum dollar value including the base period and four option years for all eight contracts combined is $950,000,000. S.B. Ballard Construction Co. is awarded the initial task order at $51,600,202 for the corrosion control and paint facility at Naval Station Norfolk. All work on this contract will be performed in the NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic AO in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Work for this task order is expected to be completed within 945 days of contract award, or March 2024. Fiscal 2020 and 2021 military construction (MILCON) contract funds in the amount of $51,600,202 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Construction projects to be performed will primarily consist of general building type projects and may be either DBB or DB. General construction of DB and DBB projects include, but are not limited to, new construction, demolition, repair, alteration, and renovation of buildings, systems and infrastructure and may include civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, fire protection, and communication systems. Types of facilities include administrative, industrial, maintenance, warehouses, hangars, communications, personnel support, recreation, lodging, dormitory, medical, training, ranges, roads, etc. Lead or asbestos abatement may be required. Work in explosive facilities and/or sites may be required. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $35,000 are obligated on the seven minimum guarantee task order awards and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion of August 2026. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance (Navy) and military construction funding. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website with 16 proposals received. These eight contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $190,271,753 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-20-C-6117 to exercise an option for engineering design development and supporting material procurement. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (65%); Clearwater, Florida (32%); Syracuse, New York (2%); and Marion, Florida (1%), and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2023. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,416,739 (78%); and fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,500,000 (22%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
HII Mission Driven Innovative Solutions Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, is awarded a $16,266,835 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to exercise Option Period Four under previously awarded contract M95494-17-F-0021. The work to be performed provides Headquarters Marine Corps, Plans, Policies and Operations; Marine Corps Installations Command (MCICOM); and Commander Navy Installations Command with technical and engineering support for the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive consequence management program. Work will be performed in Washington, DC (52%); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (10%); San Diego, California (10%); Quantico, Virginia (10%); Okinawa Prefecture, Japan (5%); Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan (5%); Seoul, Republic of Korea (4%); and Sicily, Italy (4%). Work is expected to be completed in August 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps and Navy) funds in the amount of $5,145,638 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. MCICOM Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Elbit Systems of America – Night Vision LLC, Roanoke, Virginia (W91CRB-21-D-0017); and L3 Technologies Inc., Londonderry, New Hampshire (W91CRB-21-D-0009), will compete for each order of the $92,440,406 firm-fixed-price contract for the Aviator’s Night Vision Imaging System III. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 22, 2025. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Trident E&P LLC, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a maximum $194,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SP7000-19-R-1001 for the acquisition of various models of A3, A4 and production multi-functional devices, single function devices, print shop devices, specialty devices, technical, analyst and support services, maintenance, parts, supplies and device training for shipboard use. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a five-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Maine, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Washington, Texas, California, Mississippi, Hawaii, Guam, Diego Garcia, Japan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Bahrain, Spain, Sicily, Italy, Croatia and Romania, with an Aug. 19, 2026, ordering period end date. Using customers are Navy, Military Sealift Command, Fleet Marine Forces, Coast Guard and other federal government agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania (SP7000-21-D-0001).
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) Inc., Falls Church, Virginia (N00039-21-D-5001), is awarded a $136,502,136 indefinitely-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to support the consolidation of all Tier 1 information technology help desks and transition them to the managed service provider, GDIT. GDIT will provide service desk as a service using a knowledge-based solution, employing artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analytics and natural language processing. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds will be used for obligations at the task order level. Concurrent with the award, the first task order will be issued in order to satisfy the minimum guarantee of $5,000 per the terms and conditions of the contract. Funding will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Work will be performed primarily in Bossier City, Louisiana (50%); and New Orleans, Louisiana (50%). Performance is expected to be completed by August 2025 if all options are exercised. This contract includes a one-year base ordering period and three one-year optional ordering periods, which if exercised, would bring the estimated cumulative value to $136,502,136. Pursuant to the Other Transactions Authority (OTA) of 10 US Code 2371 for prototype projects, this contract is not competitively procured because this is a production contract following the successful completion of the OTA prototype effort that originated in 2019. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $10,197,295 modification under previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee task order N6264518F0620 to exercise Option Period Three for research and development support services designed to examine the effects of deployment and career experiences on the overall physical and mental health of service members and their families for the Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California. This option brings the total cumulative value of the task order to $31,357,301. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by September 2023. Fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,197,295 will be obligated at time of award and only the fiscal 2020 funding will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Medical Logistics Command, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Alliance Technical Services Inc., Norfolk, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $10,245,251 modification (P00014) exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SP3300-18-C-5001) with four one-year option periods for logistics hazmat support services. This is a firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement contract. Locations of performance are Virginia and Texas, with an Aug. 26, 2022, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Distribution, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania.
Datum Software Inc., Johns Creek, Georgia, was awarded a $9,675,186 firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursement modification (P00013) to previously awarded contract FA4890-17-F-0044 for Operational Support Center operational and technical services. This contract modification exercises Option Period Four which provides continued specialized contract Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) functional operators and technicians to augment and enhance forces and operations at the 700 Air Support Squadron and the 710 Combat Operations Squadron, and provide extended services to the Combat Air Force (CAF) AOCs. Work will be performed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,456,283 are being obligated at the time of award and the total cumulative face value of the contract is $44,375,945. Headquarters Air Combat Command, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
