Navy Implements New Fire Safety Practices

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

The US Navy says changes are in place to prevent another mishap like the one that destroyed the USS Bohomme Richard, reports Navy Times. A fire burned for days on the amphibious assault ship while it was docked in San Diego, CA, to undergo maintenance. The cause of the fire has not yet been revealed. VADM Roy Kitchener said he is encouraged by the new fire safety protocols for ships undergoing maintenance in port, reports The Virginian-Pilot. Kitchener said the Navy has invested in fire detection systems and added industrial-environment safety training at surface officer school.

Russia is hoping that its new Su-75 Checkmate Light Tactical Aircraft will create a niche for its combat export aircraft industry, reports Breaking Defense, competing with Lockheed Martin’s F-35, Sweden’s JAS-39E/F Gripen, and China’s Shenyang J-35.

United Aircraft Corp. officials said the Russian Checkmate will be more field maintainable than other jets in its class with its capability. The UAC claims at this point are purely speculative, reports Air Force Magazine. The plane’s sale price at $30 million and rapid development schedule, however, seem almost too good to be true, reports Popular Mechanics.

Two F-35B Lightning IIs based out of Iwakuni, Japan, were damaged after being struck by lightning while in flight, reports Marine Corps Times. The strikes caused enough damage to both jets to classify each incident as a “Class A” mishap. Class A mishaps cause more than $2.5 million in damages. The incidents occurred July 13. No injuries were reported.

The FY 2022 defense appropriations bill which passed the House Appropriations Committee this month includes funding for the US Naval Academy ($31 million infrastructure improvements) and Fort Meade ($20 million for the Defense Information Security Agency), reports The Baltimore Sun.

Veterans and their family members are being urged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as cases begin to surge again across the country, reports Military Times. Active cases of coronavirus across the VA health care system topped 3,300 on Thursday morning, the highest level since early May.

The US Navy’s New London submarine base in Connecticut is reinstituting stricter COVID-19 protocols amid rising infection rates in that state, reports Navy Times.

The next evacuation phase for thousands of Afghans who served as interpreters and in other jobs for the United States — and their family members — is set to begin, reports Military.com. The US State Departments said the second wave of roughly 4,000 Afghans will not go to the US, but instead to another nation.

The House has approved the Allies Act that aims to expedite the process for visas for the Afghans who helped the US, reports The Hill.

In support of government forces in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, the US launched airstrikes last week in the Kandahar province, reports The Associated Press.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army GEN Mark Milley said the Taliban appear to have “strategic momentum” in the fight for control of Afghanistan, reports Military Times. The Taliban has seized a substantial amount of territory and “the strategic momentum seems to be with the Taliban, but the Afghan security forces are consolidating their forces to protect population centers,” Milley said.

 

 

CIA Director William Burns said his agency is stepping up efforts to uncover the cause of Havana Syndrome, reports NPR, the mysterious ailments that have afflicted more than 200 US officials and family members around the world. The man in charge of the investigation is a senior officer who led the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

The Marine Corps is looking for female drill instructors, reports Marine Corps Times. The corps has begun to integrate its boot camps for the first time in its history.

Fort Leonard Wood, MO, tops the list of bases with the highest number of suicide attempts among basic trainees, reports Military Times. In 2019, the installation experienced 26 suicide attempts and 212 reports of suicidal ideations among its roughly 15,000 basic trainees. The data does not delineate whether the events occurred during basic training itself, or after those soldiers got to their first units.

The US Space Force delivered the fourth of five planned software updates to its protected Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite communications system, reports C4ISRNET. The AEHF provides an anti-jam signal that can allow secure communications through a nuclear conflict.

Three US Air Force sites in Colorado will adopt the Space Force name today, July 26, reports Air Force Times. The installations will become Schriever Space Force Base, Peterson Space Force Base, and Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station

Legislation has passed the US House that would regulate toxic chemicals found in drinking water, known as “forever chemicals,” as well as designate two types of those toxic chemicals as hazardous substances that would start federal cleanup standards, reports Maryland Matters.

Local nonprofit Sleep in Heavenly Peace constructed its 300th bed in July, reports The Baynet. The group builds beds for children in St. Mary’s and southern Calvert counties who need them.

Contracts:

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded an $11,995,313 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N0001921F0550) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0006). This order provides production engineering support in support of the integration and installation of weapon systems on the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft for the Navy. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (82%); and St. Louis, Missouri (18%), and is expected to be completed in July 2022. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,887,845 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Lockwood Hills Federal LLC, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (HQ0034-21-D0014) for a maximum amount of $72,701,026. The purpose of this contract is to support the Department of Defense’s Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative. The ADL program office has a requirement for support services of its Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) Initiative. The primary objective of the contract is to support execution of the DOD’s principal steward for researching and facilitating the implementation of distributed learning standards, specifications, and emerging technologies for DOD Components (as defined in DOD Instruction 1322.26). As DOD pursues digital and data modernization for its training and education systems, the ADL Initiative is anticipated to manage additional enterprise-level processes and technologies. The vendor will provide research, operations, engineering, programmatic, organizational, and administrative activities. Work will be performed in Alexandria, Virginia. No funds will be obligated at the time of the award. The expected completion date is June 30, 2026. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Serrano Proano Diseno y Construccion, Quito, Ecuador (W91278-21-D-0074); Empresa de Construccion y Transporte Eterna S.A. DE, Cortes, Honduras (W91278-21-D-0075); Bonatti Ingenieros y Arquitectos Sociedad Anonima, Guatemala City, Guatemala (W91278-21-D-0076); SLSCO Ltd., Galveston, Texas (W91278-21-D-0077); DFS Construction LLC, Annapolis, Maryland (W91278-21-D-0078); Futron Inc., Woodbridge, Virginia (W91278-21-D-0079); and Relyant Global LLC, Maryville, Tennessee (W91278-21-D-0080), will compete for each order of the $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction requirements in Central America. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 14, 2026. US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Hourigan Construction Corp., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $27,246,319 firm-fixed-price task order (N4008521F5720) under previously-awarded multiple-award construction contract N40085-19-D-9068 for design-bid-build restoration and modernization repair to Chamberlain Hall (Building 102), Dam Neck Annex, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by June 2023. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $27,246,319 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.