Navy to Fight Hawaii’s Fuel Tank Orders
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economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.
The US Navy contests Hawaii’s orders to suspend and drain fuel tanks, according to Military Times. The state also wants the Navy to treat contaminated drinking water and remove fuel from the massive 20 underground storage tanks at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. Putting the storage facility out of use poses substantial strategic risk, according to NavSec Carlos Del Toro. The commander of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, apologized to military families for telling them on November 29 the water was safe to drink — after many residents had begun complaining of seeing and smelling fuel in their tap water.
The US District Court for the Southern district of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors on Tuesday, temporarily halting the administration’s ability to enforce the mandate in any state, reports FCW. Judge R. Stan Baker, wrote that President Joe Biden likely exceeded his authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, commonly known as the Procurement Act.
A Marine helicopter crew carried a 12-ton light armored vehicle over water in a testing first, reports Marine Corps Times. The CH-53K King Stallion helicopter carried the vehicle from an amphibious assault ship to shore. The Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One, or VMX-1, accomplished the over-the-horizon heavy lift and ship-to-shore maneuver over the Atlantic Ocean.
The US House passes a NDAA compromise bill, reports FCW. The bill authorizes $740 billion DoD budget in fiscal 2022. The bill passed the House 363 to 70 on Tuesday night and now moves to the Senate, which, in a break with typical practice, never passed its own version of the NDAA ahead of the conference process.
Troops booted for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine are guaranteed at least a general discharge under the defense bill, reports Military.com. Thousands of service members remain unvaccinated even as the military branches reach deadlines to comply with the Pentagon vaccination mandate.
A plan to expand medical care for military toxic exposure could cost nearly $300 billion over the next decade, reports Military Times. As many as one of every five living American veterans could receive some sort of new disability payout or medical care under the proposal. The expansion could cost nearly $85 billion in the next five years and more than $280 billion over the next decade, according to a just-released analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.
By the end of next year, new military parents will be eligible for 12 weeks of family leave following the birth or adoption of a child, under the defense policy bill, reports Military.com.
Finland is set to pick Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets as part of a $11.3 billion tender to replace soon-outdated war planes that are key to defending the Russian border, according to Bloomberg which cites a report in local media.
US Army and Marines join Japan troops in joint exercises on Pearl Harbor attack’s 80th anniversary, reports Army Times. The drills involving 5,000 combined US and Japanese troops are ongoing across the Pacific, including in the state of Washington and mainland Japan.
The US Space Force launched experimental payloads into orbit, reports C4ISRNET. The primary payload was for the Energy Department and the National Nuclear Security Administration — a reporting system to improve detection of nuclear detonations. Also on board was NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration payload, designed to demonstrate laser communications for the civilian space agency.
Olaf Scholz takes over as German chancellor, ending the Merkel era, reports Reuters. Lawmakers elected the Social Democrat as German chancellor on Wednesday, ending 16 years of conservative rule under Angela Merkel and paving the way for a pro-European coalition government that has promised to boost green investment. Scholz, 63, who served as vice chancellor and finance minister in coalition with Merkel, got a clear majority of 395 votes from lawmakers in the Bundestag lower house of parliament, Bundestag President Baerbel Bas said.
An Indian Air Force helicopter crash kills the nation’s chief of defense, reports CNN. Chief of Defense Staff GEN Bipin Rawat was one of 14 people on board when the helicopter crashed Wednesday en route from Sulur to the town of Wellington in Tamil Nadu. The survivor, Group CAPT Varun Singh, is being treated for his injuries at the Military Hospital in Wellington, the IAF reported.
Kremlin says presidents agree to further US-Russian talks on Ukraine, reports Reuters. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden set out their opposing positions on Ukraine in a video call on Tuesday. “It’s hard to expect any sudden breakthroughs, but the presidents demonstrated their willingness to continue practical work and begin discussing sensitive issues that seriously concern Moscow,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said after the two-hour talks.
The Biden administration is exploring options for a potential evacuation of US citizens from Ukraine if Russia were to invade the country and create a dire security situation, half a dozen sources tell CNN.
The House’s compromise version of the NDAA proposes $300 million for Ukraine’s military and a statement of support for the defense of Taiwan, reports Reuters.
The Coast Guard is ready to pursue investigations of sexual assault on US-flagged ships and urges timely reporting, reports gCaptain. In a blog post on the Maritime Commons blog, the Coast Guard delivers the message that “sexual assault has no place in the maritime profession.” The post also describes a little about the investigation process alongside a commitment to investigate each report alleging that a credentialed mariner committed sexual assault.
Georgia businessman Darrel Fitzpatrick has been sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay more than $2.3 million in restitution in connection with a bribery case involving military transportation contracts, reports ctpost. Prosecutors said that in 2019 he agreed to pay kickbacks totaling $250,000 to a civilian employee of the US Marines Corps Marine Forces Reserves Distribution Management Office in New Orleans. He pleaded guilty in January.
Maryland’s House of Delegates in a 97-42 vote on Tuesday advanced a congressional district map drafted by a legislative advisory panel, over objections from Gov. Larry Hogan and the Republican caucus, reports Maryland Matters.
The Maryland State Board of Education has approved a plan that would allow schools to lift a universal mask mandate if local vaccination rates are high or COVID-19 transmission rates are moderate or low, reports Maryland Matters.
Contracts:
Andromeda Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $26,720,921 cost-plus-fixed-fee, level of effort modification (P00013) to a previously awarded, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N6134019D0006). This modification increases the ceiling to provide additional engineering services for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft, engines and components in support of Fleet Readiness Center Southeast and various naval aviation and weapons platforms. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida, and is expected to be completed in January 2024. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Commander Fleet Readiness Centers, Patuxent River, Maryland is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $14,004,781 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification to previously awarded contract N00024-17-C-6259 to exercise an option for engineering design and development, and production items. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (65%); Clearwater, Florida (32%); Syracuse, New York (2%); and Marion, Florida (1%), and is expected to complete July 2024. Fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,004,781 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 Navy Yard, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Akron, Ohio (SPE7LX-22-D-0038, $66,338,435); and Michelin North America Inc., Greenville, South Carolina (SPE7LX-22-D-0039, $23,467,378), have each been awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE7LX-21-R-0035 for aircraft tires. These were unrestricted acquisitions using justification 10 US Code 2304 (a)(1)(A), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 9.2. These are three-year contracts with no option periods. Locations of performance are Ohio, Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina, with a Dec. 9, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio.
