Navy Chief Lists 513 ‘Needed’ Ships
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Drace Wilson
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CNO ADM Mike Gilday announced the need for a 500-ship Navy to meet the National Defense Strategy, although the list he presented tallied 513. That would include “nine big-deck amphibs and another 19 or 20 [LPDs] to support them. Perhaps 30 or more smaller amphibious ships to support Maritime Littoral Regiments … to 60 destroyers and probably 50 frigates, 70 attack submarines and a dozen ballistic missile submarines to about a 100 support ships and probably looking into the future about 150 unmanned,” Gilday is quoted by USNI.
Sailors and Marines with PTSD or other trauma will have their discharge upgrade cases reexamined, reports Navy Times. A court settlement requires the Navy to automatically review the cases of discharged sailors and Marines who received other than honorable or general characterizations of service due to behavior connected to conditions like PTSD. The review includes discharge-status-upgrade decisions from March 2, 2012, to February 15 for cases the sailor or Marine did not receive an upgrade to honorable discharge and was diagnosed with or displayed evidence of PTSD or other trauma conditions.
Sputnik International reports that the Chinese government has decided to take countermeasures in response to the US arms sale to Taiwan and impose sanctions on Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin speaking at a briefing Monday.
A restaurant in San Francisco with a no tip-policy — instead shares profits with staff — says it wasn’t hit by the labor shortage, reports Business Insider. Many independent restaurants across the US say they’ve been devastated by the labor shortage. The co-owner of Zazie, a French restaurant in San Francisco, says that it’s managed to avoid the labor shortage thanks to the benefits it offers staff. These include paid family leave, health and dental insurance, and a 401(k) with employer match. “Everyone returned after we reopened,” said Megan Cornelius, co-owner of the restaurant.
Four chiefs and an ensign face charges after the release of video of the USS Carl Vinson F-35C crash. Following the investigation into the leak of a cell phone video recording the crash from Vinson’s Pilot’s Landing Aid Television (PLAT), the Navy has charged one senior chief, three chiefs, and an ensign with failure to obey a lawful order under Article 92 the Uniform Code of Military Justice, CMDR Zach Harrell a spokesperson for Naval Air Forces told USNI News. Harrell would not identify the sailors.
The US Coast Guard offloaded 30 metric tons of cocaine and marijuana worth $1 billion that it seized at sea during a months-long deployment off the coast of South America, reports Navy Times. The haul brought home by the Coast Guard Cutter James was one of the biggest in recent memory, a reflection of increasingly sophisticated US arsenal that includes powerful drones and special infrared cameras able to detect heat from small cocaine-laden vessels.
For nearly a week, a massive fire has burned aboard a cargo ship adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, reports Business Insider. The 650-foot Felicity Acei is carrying about 4,000 cars. The lithium-ion batteries from the electric vehicles keep the fire alive, reports Reuters, and complicates firefighting measures. The ship caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean last Wednesday on its way from Germany to the United States. All 22 crew members on board were evacuated that day. The vessel remains smoldering off the coast of Portugal’s Azores islands. “The intervention [to put out the blaze] has to be done very slowly,” said João Mendes Cabeças, captain of the nearest port in the Azorean island of Faial.
Amid worsening conditions, Maryland Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Victor Weedn quits, reports Maryland Matters. Dr. Pamela E. Southall, a deputy medical examiner, will step in as Maryland’s interim chief medical examiner. Weedn’s departure comes as the agency continues to struggle with an autopsy backlog that had surpassed 217, as of February 4.
Sailors across the Navy say they’re undermanned, overworked, and using “Band Aids” to get underway, reports Task & Purpose. That’s what crews of more than a dozen ships told investigators preparing a Government Accountability Office report on actions needed to improve ship maintenance. Comments painted a picture of a fleet that is overworked, ill-equipped, understaffed, and rusty, according to photos added by Task & Purpose.
The Navy adds seven days to secondary caregiver leave, reports Navy Times. Secondary caregivers in the Navy may now take up to 21 consecutive days leave following the birth or adoption of a child — up from 14 consecutive days.
Army 3-star LTGEN Duane Gamble has been suspended amid investigation into a toxic climate and racist comments, reports Task & Purpose. Gamble, the Army deputy chief of staff for logistics, was head of an office commonly referred to as the G-4. He was reported to the Army’s Office of the Inspector General in September 2020 amid accusations that he cultivated a toxic environment in the office. Two months later, an official investigation was launched.
Iran-backed attacks are further driving UAE-Israeli defense tech development, says Defense News. The United Arab Emirates and Israel are expected to boost security cooperation and further joint defense-industrial ventures in the wake of several attacks by Iranian proxy forces. The UAE and Israel in September 2020 signed the Abraham Accords, which saw the two countries normalize diplomatic relations and enhance economic cooperation. Shared enmity of Iran and mutual fears over its nuclear program helped push the deal through after years of clandestine ties.
Contracts:
Maxim Biomedical Inc., Rockville, Maryland, was awarded a $54,640,000 firm-fixed-price contract for COVID-19 antigen test kits. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2022. American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded in fiscal 2022 in the amount of $54,640,000 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W58P05-22-C-0013).
Xator Corp., Reston, Virginia, was awarded an $8,900,000 firm-fixed-price contract to provide individual terrorism awareness courses. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 22, 2027. US Army Corps of Engineer Humphreys Engineer Center Support Activity, Alexandria, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W912HQ-22-D-0006).
ICF Incorporated LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded an $8,430,904 modification (P00006) to contract W911QY-21-C-0050 to support fielded equipment, including tents, rigid wall shelters, environmental control units, heaters, camouflage net systems and ariel delivery systems. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2023 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $2,804,844 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a $41,699,951 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-14-C-6322 for engineering and technical support, incidental materials and travel for the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) program. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland (70%); and Slidell, Louisiana (30%), and is expected to be completed by April 2023. Fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,467,712 (66%); fiscal 2022 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,848,058 (29%); and fiscal 2021 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $444,957 (5%) will be obligated at time of award, of which $444,957 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Progeny Systems Corporation (PSC), Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $10,179,326 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-6115 to exercise options for engineering services in support of information assurance assessment and authorization. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by May 2023. Fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $363,000 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.
Blind Industries and Services of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $9,022,500 modification (P00003) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-21-D-B107) with four one-year option periods for wind cold weather jackets. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Maryland, with a Feb. 25, 2023, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News Shipbuilding Division, Newport News, Virginia, was awarded an $188,908,033 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-15-C-4301) to continue performance of the repair, maintenance, upgrades, and modernization efforts on the USS Columbus (SSN 762) engineered overhaul. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by December 2022. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $188,908,033 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, USN, Newport News, Virginia is the contracting activity. (Awarded Feb. 16, 2022)
Gibbs & Cox Inc., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $29,561,327 cost-plus-award-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for supporting surface combatant ship design and engineering efforts for the Navy’s Future Surface Combatant Force, primarily in support of the DDG(X) program, as well as other emerging ship concepts, and to conduct feasibility studies as part of supporting the broader Navy fleet. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $318,742,913. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (50%); and Washington, DC (50%), and is expected to be completed by February 2023. If all options are exercised, work will continue through February 2027. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,335,263 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 one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command (HQ), Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-22-C-2313).
General Dynamics Mission Systems, Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $9,999,990 cost-plus-fixed fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-6407 to exercise options for engineering services in support of AN/BYG-1 Tactical Control System design, integration and testing. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by July 2023. Fiscal 2022 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,129,964 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.
