Navy Has Its 1st Black Female Fighter Pilot
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The US Pacific Fleet congratulated Navy Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle on completing the Tactical Air (Strike) aviation syllabus. Lt. j.g. Swegle is the Navy’s first-known Black female TACAIR pilot. She will receive her Wings of Gold later this month, reports the fleet. Navy Times reports she is a 2017 graduate of the US Naval Academy and is currently assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron 21 at Naval Air Station Kingsville, TX.
The House Appropriations Committee wants to revive the MQ-9 Reaper program, reports Defense News, which the Air Force wants to curtail in fiscal 2021. The committee wants to allocate $344 million for 16 of the drones.
The sale of 105 F-35 aircraft and related equipment to Japan has been OK’d by the US State Department, reports Bloomberg. The estimated price is $23.1 billion. The sale comes at a time when US-China relations appear to be eroding. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency wrote in a statement Thursday.
Pentagon leaders told Congress last week that reports of Russia offering Taliban militants bounties for killing Americans were not corroborated by defense intelligence agencies, but said they are looking into it and the US will respond if necessary, reports The Associated Press. Moscow’s ambassador to the US says the media reports are a “downright lie,” according to The Washington Post.
Perspecta has filed a complaint in the Court of Federal Claims in an attempt to retain its largest contract — the $7.7 billion Navy NGEN network services award that went to Leidos, reports Defense Systems. Leidos was selected in February over Perspecta and General Dynamics IT, reports wasingtontechnology.com.
DoD is still struggling to clear out unexploded ordnance and other discarded munitions in Gaum, dropped there but never detonated during World War II, reports Navy Times.
Master Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposalman Michael Knudsen, command leader of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 in Gaum, was relieved of his duties in May, reports Navy Times. Leadership had lost confidence in his ability to effectively serve, according to reports.
USS Harry S. Truman arrives back in Norfolk for some repairs, reports USNI News. This comes after back-to-back deployments.
Latvia is willing to house American troops if the Trump administration follows through on its decision to pull thousands of troops out of Germany, reports Breaking Defense. Latvia is the second NATO ally to ask for those troops to be housed within its borders. Poland said last month that is would welcome the US troops.
More than 100 House Democrats are calling for an end to the military’s ban on open transgender service, reports Military Times. The June 15 Supreme Court decision states that “an individual’s homosexuality or transgender status is not relevant to employment decisions.”
The Materials and Manufacturing Technology Division at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division has been using its talents — and 3D-printing capabilities — to make COVID-19 fighting tools, reports the Naval Sea Systems Command. Among the items manufactured: face masks, visors and hook-shaped door openers.
A little more than 900 Paycheck Protection Program loans were issued in St. Mary’s County, MD, during the pandemic, reports somdnews.com. Naval contractors and schools were among the groups receiving the larger loans.
United Airlines may be letting go tens of thousands of employees, reports Patch.com, due to the financial impact of the coronavirus
Maryland unemployment claims rose by nearly 10,000, as new nationwide jobless claims trend down, reports WTOP News.
Two Maryland state senators are urging the state’s Labor Department to advertise its Maryland Work Sharing Unemployment Insurance Program, reports Maryland Matters. Work Sharing is a voluntary program that provides an alternative to layoffs for employers faced with a sharp, temporary decline in business.
A survey of federal employees finds the reason most stay at their jobs are the benefits, with retirement and health benefits being the most important, reports Federal Times. The survey was administered to 50,000 randomly selected employees from October 15, through November 22, 2019, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Find the results here.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, graduation ceremonies at the US Navy Test Pilot School at Pax River were successfully completed under stringent health and safety restrictions, reports dcmilitary.com. Many of the traditions were maintained. “It was a relief to know that we were able to pull it off under the changing conditions,” said Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Monillas, the school’s administrative officer.
Contracts:
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., McLean, Virginia, is awarded a $70,337,682 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides for the development and delivery of the PC-based Open-architecture for Reconfigurable Training Systems (PORTS). Work will be performed in Middletown, Rhode Island (60%); Orlando, Florida (13%); San Diego, California (7%); Newport, Rhode Island (5%); Point Loma, California (5%); Norfolk, Virginia (1%); Dam Neck, Virginia (1%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (1%); Mayport, Florida (1%); Everett, Washington (1%); Point Mugu, California (1%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (1%); Fort Worth, Texas (1%); Fallon, Nevada (1%); and Yokosuka, Japan (1%). Additionally, this contract provides PORTS life cycle support to include training system modifications, trainer hardware purchases, configuration, installation and disposal, distance simulation software deficiency analysis, engineering distance simulation software, on-site simulation software troubleshooting, Training Equipment Change Request (TECR) corrections, TECR installation and test, spare parts and simulation software product delivery for PORTS-related trainers around the world. Work is expected to be completed by July 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N61340-20-D-0016).
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory LLC, Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded a $29,702,388 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00013) to contract FA9453-18-D-0018, task order FA9453-18-F-0007, to provide technical and programmatic support of Tactical Space and Small Satellite Portfolio’s core competencies and mission lifecycle. This includes support of the mission phases from concept through design, implementation, operations and transition of space assets. Work will be performed in Laurel, Maryland, and is expected to be completed Sept. 29, 2023. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $53,550,559. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,329,250 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity.
Ashford Leebcor Enterprises III, Williamsburg, Virginia, was awarded an $8,134,009 firm-fixed-price contract to renovate Building 11 at the Defense Logistics Agency. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work will be performed in Richmond, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 22, 2021. Fiscal 2016 facilities sustainment, restoration and modernization funds in the amount of $8,134,009 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91236-20-C-2021).
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded a $19,660,934 cost-plus-fixed fee contract for the base period of a research project for hypersonic boost glide systems. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of March 2023. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $549,419; and fiscal 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $17,449,429 are being obligated at time of award. This contract is a sole-source award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C0-0054).
Salient CRGT Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, is awarded a $21,984,298 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, single award contract to provide support with program management, program planning and execution, Joint Staff actions process training, Actions Division customer service help desk services, strategic planning and analysis assistance, correspondence management and communications and editorial functions in support of the Joint Staff Actions Division. The contract will include a 60-month base ordering period, with no option period. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (85%); Fairfax, Virginia (10%); and Suffolk, Virginia (5%). The ordering period will be completed by July 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (O&M) (Defense-wide) (DW) funds in the amount of $10,000 will be obligated to fund the contract’s minimum amount and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Subsequent task orders will be funded with the appropriate fiscal year O&M, DW funds. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted through Navy Electronic Commerce Online and beta.SAM.gov website and 15 offers were received. The Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-20-D-Z023).
Lockheed Martin, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $16,345,048 firm-fixed-price contract for the refurbishment of rocket motors and thrust vector control used on vertical launch assemblies for anti-submarine rocket assisted torpedoes. If the option is exercised, the work will be completed by July 2023, bringing the total value of the contract to $30,630,048. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland (44%); Dulles, Virginia (29%); and Owego, New York (27%). The base period of this contract is expected to be completed by October 2022. Weapons procurement funds (Navy) in the full amount of $16,345,048 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One company was solicited for this sole-source requirement pursuant to the authority set forth in 10 US Code 2304 (c)(1) and one offer was received. The Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00104-20-C-K045).
VS2 LLC, Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a $36,672,648 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for logistics support services (maintenance, supply and transportation) at Fort Benning, Georgia. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work will be performed in Chattahoochee, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of July 8, 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $2,077,440 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-20-F-0305).
IT Concepts Inc., Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a $26,308,755 labor-hour contract (HHM402-20-C-0038) to develop, update, sustain, operate and enhance a software tool capability to be used by members of the acquisition, requirements, operational and intelligence communities to support and aid in the identification of intelligence requirements, management of priorities, planning and production of intelligence products, enterprise data analytics, communication and other associated processes. Work will be conducted in Vienna and Charlottesville, Virginia, with an expected completion date of June 2025. Fiscal 2020 operations and management funds in the amount of $1,023,586 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was awarded through an 8(a) set-aside and five offers were received. The Virginia Contracting Activity, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
