Navy Offers $115K to Reenlist

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 promises “life-altering $115,000” in bonuses to lure veterans back to active duty, reports Stripes.com. The program aimed at enticing veterans of all services to re-enlist in the Navy offers a $50,000 signing bonus and up to $65,000 in student loan repayments. The Air Force in July announced its own bonus program to lure recruits into 22 active-duty career fields. Bonuses for prospective airmen range from $3,000 to $58,000 if they sign up by September 30, the end of the federal government’s fiscal year. The Air Force needs thousands to sign up to meet its 2022 recruiting goal of 26,000 recruits.

Free child care for Army National Guard drill weekends will be tested in six states, reports Army Times. Members of the Army Guard assigned to units in the states of Washington, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia will be able to enroll in the program starting September 1 in preparation for drill weekends beginning in November.

High-profile attacks behind Russian lines hint at how Ukrainian special forces may be using their US training, reports Business Insider. Recent explosions in Crimea have damaged Russian military hardware and other infrastructure. Russia hasn’t blamed Ukraine specifically, but Ukrainian officials have said they are behind the blasts. The attacks may be the work of Ukrainians who have trained closely with US special operators since 2014.

Since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, $7.1 billion worth of planes, trucks, and weapons have been seized by Taliban, reports Breaking Defense. The breakdown includes $923 million in aircraft, $4.1 billion in ground vehicles, and $511.8 million in weapons, according to a report by the DoD Inspector General for Operation Enduring Sentinel and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. The report was produced as part of the watchdog’s quarterly updates to Congress on the military campaigns.

After more than four years in operation, Cove Point LNG plant, exporting liquefied natural gas, recently loaded its 300th commercial cargo, reports SoMdNews. Berkshire Hathaway, among the owners of the LNG terminal in Lusby, MD, announced the milestone. “The facility has supported the energy needs of 28 countries, including many in Europe in recent months,” according to the release. Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company’s BHE GT&S operates the Cove Point and shares ownership with Dominion Energy Inc., and Brookfield.

Arizona and Nevada face another round of water cuts as drought hammers Colorado River water levels, reports NBC News. The Colorado River provides water to seven states and Mexico, as stipulated in a 2019 agreement. The ongoing drought has forced a series of rare and now unprecedented steps to ration water. Water levels in Nevada’s Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, hit historic lows in June. This week’s announcement of additional cuts included designating Lake Mead to operate in a Tier-2a shortage, which increases water restrictions on Arizona, Nevada, and parts of Mexico. It is the first time the lake has been pushed to that designation.

Former Marine combat veteran Jacob Fracker, 30, who broke into the US Capitol on January 6 was sentenced to probation Tuesday after testifying against Thomas Robertson, a man he sometimes called “Dad” and his companion at the Capitol that day, reports Military.com. Robertson, 49, an Army veteran, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his participation in the January 6 riot. Fracker received one year of probation and 59 days of home confinement. Fracker was fired from the Rocky Mount, VA, Police Department and separated from the Virginia National Guard after his role in the riot became public.

The pilot safely ejected from a T-45 Goshawk crash near NAS Kingsville, TX, reports Navy Times. The trainer aircraft crashed in an empty field approaching Kingsville on Tuesday. There are no reported injuries. There were at least four Class A mishaps involving T-45s last year, according to the Naval Safety Center.

State attorneys general unite against robocalls, reports Maryland Matters. Nothing has been able to kill scam robocalls. Now, all 50 state attorneys general, Republicans and Democrats, have come together through a newly formed task force to go after US telecommunications companies that allow robocalls originating overseas to reach their customers. “Robocalls are more than an annoyance, they are often schemes by fraudsters and scammers with the purpose of stealing billions of dollars from unsuspecting Americans,” Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) said earlier this month.

Reuters reports Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Wednesday with growth stocks under renewed pressure as bond yields climbed ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, while weak results from Target dragged the retail sector lower.

The operator of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange posted a 27% fall in first-half profit on Wednesday, Reuters reports, noting continued pressures from global political tensions and other negative factors.

DoD’s decentralized strategy for active shooters could be dangerous, reports Federal News Network. A new investigation from the DoD Inspector General says the Pentagon lacks an overall enforcement policy, instead DoD law enforcement is spread across five different policies, which together net minimal response requirements. “Due to the lack of an overall active shooter DoD law enforcement policy, the DoD law enforcement did not consistently comply with the five existing DoD policies and did not establish consistent policies, plans, or training for responding to an active shooter incident,” the report states.

Stricter social media rules for DoD officials aim to prevent snafus, reports Defense News. For the first time ever, the DoD has put out social media guidance governing its widespread official accounts, as platforms like Twitter and Facebook are increasingly used to send out messages for both service members and the general public. At the same time, some mishandling of accounts ― whether that was accidental use or inappropriate posting on an account affiliated with a command ― has gotten the services and DoD in hot water.

A DoD policy change published in May to end postal privileges August 24 for overseas military retirees’ still lacks specifics or even confirmation, reports Defense News. A major concern among military retirees, they could no longer receive prescription medications through the mail due exceptions made available through the Military Postal Service Agency. About 40,000 military retirees live overseas, plus their family members. The policy change would remove military retirees, their families, and others, such as Red Cross employees, from the Military Postal Service’s beneficiaries.

Millions of Americans will soon be able to buy hearing aids without a prescription, reports NPR. Adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment will be able to buy hearing aids directly from stores, pharmacies, and online retailers — no prescription or doctor’s appointment required — as soon as mid-October. That’s thanks to a final rule issued by the US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday and set to take effect in two months, following years of campaigning by lawmakers and advocates.

Contracts:

Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, is awarded a $1,013,571,576 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, requirements contract. This contract provides intermediate, depot-level maintenance and related logistics support for approximately 210 in-service T-45 F405-RR-401 Adour engines in support of the Navy. Work will be performed in Meridian, Mississippi (47%); Kingsville, Texas (46%); Pensacola, Florida (6%); and Patuxent River, Maryland (1%), and is expected to be completed in July 2027. 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 Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air System Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001922D0042).

Verizon Federal Inc., Ashburn, Virginia, is awarded a $28,349,646 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic with integrated voice and data services via central office based facilities to defense activities at Naval Support Activity Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Naval Business Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The contract will include a five-year base ordering period with an additional six-month ordering period option pursuant of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8 — option to extend services, which if exercised, will bring the total estimated value to $31,708,581. The base ordering period is anticipated to begin October 2022 and is expected to be completed by September 2027; if the option is exercised, the ordering period will be completed by March 2028. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (60%); and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (40%). Fiscal 2023 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,000 will be obligated to fund the contract’s minimum amount and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be subsequently funded with appropriate fiscal year appropriations at the time of their issuance. One company was solicited for this sole-source requirement in accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 and one offer was received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department Norfolk Office, Norfolk, Virginia is the contracting activity (N00189-22-D-0020).

L3 Technologies Inc., Camden, New Jersey, is awarded a $13,403,240 modification to a previously awarded Navy Multiband Terminal (NMT) modem cost-plus-incentive-fee task order (N00039-20-D-0065) issued by the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command. This modification incorporates in-scope specification changes and extends to period of performance of the task order by 19 months. NMT is a multiband-capable satellite communications terminal that provides protected and wideband communications. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah (55%); Camden, New Jersey (23%); Tempe, Arizona (14%); Hanover, Maryland (4%); San Diego, California (2%); Bonita Springs, Florida (1%); and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (1%). If all options are exercised, work could continue through July 2027. No funds will be obligated at the issuance of this contract modification. The initial contract was competitively procured via Naval Information Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce and Federal Business Opportunities websites with three offers received. This in-scope modification was negotiated in accordance with Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.243-2, Alternate II, Changes — Cost Reimbursement. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.

Grunley Construction Co. Inc., Rockville, Maryland, was awarded a $100,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for design-bid-build construction support of the Raven Rock Mountain Complex. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 16, 2027. US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-22-D-0007).