Navy Sees No Hacking in McCain Collision
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Is someone hacking our 7th Fleet? asks Fox News, although the Navy has announced no cyber hacking is indicated as it turns to investigate the USS John S. McCain collision. The warship suffered a steering failure as it began its approach into the Strait of Malacca, causing it to collide with a commercial tanker Monday, a US Navy official told CNN. The Strait Times has the timeline: Minutes after the collision between US guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain and Liberian-flagged merchant vessel Alnic MC, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore received an alert of the accident in Singapore’s territorial waters.
The 7th fleet has 13 ships under its command, and has dozens more ships and submarines in its waters at any given time, reports Navy Times. To meet the demand for such ships to be stationed in the area, the Navy has extended deployments, increased ops tempo, and shortened, eliminated, or deferred training and maintenance, according to a 2015 Government Accountability Office report. DefSec James Mattis says the review will determine ‘what’s going on’ with 7th Fleet, reports Military Times.
The carrier George H.W. Bush and the guided-missile destroyer Truxtun returned to Norfolk after what is being called a record setting, 212-day deployment to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, reports Navy Times. “Absolute historic deployment, when it comes down to ordnance and the numbers of sorties and flights we did, over Iraq, as well as over Syria,” said RADM Kenneth Whitesell, who commands Carrier Strike Group Two.
A second Predator drone crashes in Turkey in four days, reports Air Force Times. The Predator was assigned to Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.
Japan has tentatively decided to relocate its base for 17 Osprey aircraft it will acquire in FY19 because of public opposition, which intensified following the recent crash of an Osprey operated by the US Marines out of Okinawa, reports The Japan Times. Instead of Saga Airport, the Osprey helicopters are now to deploy from a Ground Self-Defense Force camp, where opposition is also expected.
The search has ended for five soldiers who disappeared after a nighttime helicopter crash off Hawaii after no signs of life were spotted among the debris, reports Army Times. Crews from the Army, Coast Guard, Navy, and local agencies in Hawaii searched around the clock as strong currents moved the wreckage into a deep-water search area that spanned 72,000 nautical miles (115,873 kilometers).
The U.S. embassy in Russia says it will suspend issuing non-immigrant visas in Moscow for eight days and will stop issuing visas at its consulates elsewhere in Russia in response to the Russian decision to cap embassy staff, reports Politico.
As a candidate Donald Trump vowed to reduce America’s military involvement abroad and quickly defeat Islamic State terrorists, but this week announced his decision to press forward with an open-ended commitment to Afghanistan to battle jihadists, Bloomberg says, conceding he cannot meet either promise. Defense hawks cheered his speech, Politico reports, praising the decision to increase US involvement in the 16-year war against the Taliban. Politico provides the full text of President Trump’s speech. In the speech he calls out Pakistan as undermining progress. The Washington Post reports on the complicit involvement of Russia, Iran, and China in undermining progress in Afghanistan.
This is why sailors wear neckerchiefs with their dress blues, reports We Are the Mighty.
In Alabama, state, local, private, and military officials contributed toward this month’s opening of a new $13 million main gate to Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal. The state’s $1.3 million contribution noted the base’s $100 million annual economic impact on Alabama and need to resolve the daily traffic congestion backing up from the gate to I-565, reports AL.com.
Contracts:
Paragon-One Group LLC, Gaithersburg, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $14,061,448 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for desktop printers, scanners, toner and warranties. This was a competitive acquisition with eight responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is within the contiguous US and non-foreign areas outside of the contiguous US, with an Aug. 31, 2022, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2017 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania (SP7000-17-D-0003).
Parsons Government Services Inc., Washington, District of Columbia, is being awarded a maximum amount $15,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for services to support the Commander Navy Installations Command’s Housing Condition Assessment program. The work to be performed provides for independent assessments of the condition, quality, and configuration of both family and unaccompanied housing assets. Work will be performed primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic area of responsibility which includes California (28 percent); Japan (22 percent); Anderson and Guam Naval Base, Guam (22 percent); Virginia (22 percent); Florida (2 percent); Illinois (2 percent); and Tennessee (2 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of August 2022. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operations and maintenance (Navy); and family housing operations and maintenance (Navy). This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-17-D-4008).
Science Applications International Corp. Inc., McLean, Virginia, is being awarded an $11,269,218 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded Assault Amphibious Vehicle Survivability Upgrade (AAV SU) contract (M67854-14-C-0002) to rebuild three AAV command variant prototypes with the AAV SU design. The AAV SU program is managed by Program Executive Office Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. Work will be performed in Charleston, South Carolina (42.90 percent); Langley, British Columbia, Canada (15.88 percent); Dorchester, Ontario, Canada (13.52 percent); San Diego, California (7.68 percent); Lansing, Michigan (3.89 percent); Chandler, Arizona (3.79 percent); Sterling Heights, Michigan (3.45 percent); Baltimore, Maryland (3.09 percent); Huntsville, Alabama (2.19 percent); Wilson North Carolina (1.27 percent); Columbus Ohio (1.26 percent); and Aberdeen, Maryland (1.08 percent), and is expected to be completed by April 30, 2019. Fiscal 2017 research, development, test and evaluation (Marine Corps) funding in the amount of $7,512,812 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was solicited as a sole-source award in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1- only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Leidos Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded a $16,045,939 firm-fixed-price level of effort contract for command, control, communications, computers and information management (C4IM) services in support of Army Intelligence and Security Command and Army G2 contiguous US; and outside the contiguous US locations. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Work will be performed in Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Arlington, Virginia; Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina; Kuwait; Belgium; and Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 21, 2017. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $15,737,778 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W911W4-17-C-0009).
RMA Associates LLC, Arlington Virginia, through a contractor teaming agreement with KPMG LLP, McLean, Virginia; Kearney & Co. P.C., Alexandria, Virginia; and Ernst & Young LLP, Washington, District of Columbia, are being awarded a maximum $12,142,164 labor-hour contract for audit finding remediation support services. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia; McLean, Virginia; Alexandria, Virginia; and Washington, District of Columbia, with an expected completion date of Aug. 21, 2018. The contract has a 12-month base period with four individual one-year option periods. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition for which two quotes were received. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $12,142,164 are being obligated at the time of the award. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Contract Services Directorate, Columbus, Ohio, is the contracting activity (HQ0423-17-F-0132).
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Linthicum Heights, Maryland, has been awarded a $7,134,347 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a research project under the Common Heterogeneous Integration and Intellectual Properties Reuse Strategies (CHIPS) program solicited under broad agency announcement number DARPA-BAA-16-62. The CHIPS program seeks to develop the design tools and integration standards required to demonstrate modular integrated circuit designs that leverage the best of Department of Defense and commercial designs and technology. Work will be performed in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, with an expected completion date of September 2021. Fiscal 2017 research, development, test and evaluation funding in the amount of $2,388,785 is being obligated at time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition under an open broad agency announcement and 43 offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR001117C0091).
