New Kennel Keeps Military Dogs Close to Home
Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Kaila Gentry stands outside the newly opened NAS Pax River military working dog kennel with her MWD Roki. The kennel improves security operations at Pax by negating MWD transport from the Washington, DC, area. (US Navy photo by Patrick Gordon)
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.
NAS Patuxent River Security has a new Military Working Dog kennel, reports dvidshub.net. Before the kennel opened, the dogs assigned to Pax River were housed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling more than 60 miles away. By having a kennel at Pax, the base’s security team has improved its overall readiness and also cut logistical costs associated with housing and transporting the dogs off site.
The Royal Australian Air Force said it will continue flying its F-35As despite US grounding its squadrons because of concerns over potentially faulty ejector seats, reports Financial Review. The Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Air Force has grounded its F-35 fleet.
The US Navy has completed its ejection seat inspections after discovering a problem affecting cartridge actuated devices in some fixed-wing aircraft, reports Breaking Defense. The Marine Corps has nearly completed its inspections. Most US F-35s were temporarily grounded, reports Air Force Times.
The US State Department has approved a potential sale of more than $8 billion worth of F-35 aircraft to Germany, reports Defense News, moving closer to providing Berlin with up to 35 new jets for nuclear deterrence missions.
Military explosive debris is washing ashore at Assateague Island National Seashore on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, prompting National Park Service officials to close a beach area, reports WTOP News.
The White House is calling for a plan to combat the rapid growth of dangerous space debris, setting up 44 separate tasks for the Defense Department, NASA, the Commerce Department, and other agencies, reports Breaking Defense. The National Orbital Debris Implementation Plan will include a review of best practices for operators. While the plan does not specify a deadline, it notes that the study is to be “short term” and that it should include a cost-benefit analysis of changing the 25-year deorbit deadline.
NAS Patuxent River has opened an additional lane to incoming traffic at the base’s Gate 1 during peak traffic hours of 6 to 9 am Monday through Thursday, reports Southern Maryland News Net. Base officials hope to alleviate an increase in gate traffic that has seen wait times of 30 minutes or more during peak traffic hours. Gates 2 and 3 remain open, and personnel are encouraged to use them as well.
The Defense Department has told the military services to sharply restrict the award of the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal beginning September 11, reports Military Times. The medal has been a virtually automatic award for troops since its introduction in 2003.
Future forward operating bases in dangerous spots will need a lot of connectivity. The Navy is testing 5G networks for these bases, reports Defense One. From drone-deployed 5G networks to digital twinning, a small 5G pilot is rewriting the rules for battlefield connectivity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the US of seeking to dominate the world’s oceans and extended Moscow’s own ambitions into the Arctic Ocean, reports The Hill. Putin signed a 55-page naval doctrine saying Russia will aim to become a “great maritime navy” with a presence across the world to counter the “strategic policy of the USA to dominate the world’s oceans.”
The Japanese government issued its latest defense whitepaper last week, reports Defense News, where the Russian invasion of Ukraine takes a prominent position. Japan warned that the conflict represents “a new period of crisis” in this century and said Russia’s defiance of international order is not just a European problem, and that the “international community is currently facing its greatest trial since [World War II].”
Russia said that a possible prisoner swap with the US involving American basketball player Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated quietly without fanfare, reports Marine Corps Times. The US offered a deal: Griner and Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who has been jailed on espionage charges, for a Russian arms dealer sentenced in the US in 2012 to 25 years in prison.
North Korea said it is ready to use nuclear weapons in potential military conflicts with the US and South Korea, reports The Associated Press. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the US and the South are pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war.
A small contingent of veterans has been protesting outside the US Capitol to push for a new toxic exposure bill, reports Military Times. A vote was scheduled on Monday for the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, better known as the PACT Act.
The Pentagon will rename and expand the authority of the government’s chief UFO office, reports C4ISRNET. Formerly called the Airborne Object Identification and Management Group, the office will now be known as the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO.
Thirteen people suffered smoke inhalation injuries after an electrical fire broke out aboard the littoral combat ship Milwaukee on Friday, reports Navy Times. The LCS was undergoing maintenance at Naval Station Mayport in Florida.
A flying car could be close to takeoff, reports The Hill. The Switchblade aircraft, which doubles as a car, could be just weeks away from getting its wheels off the ground after a Federal Aviation Administration inspection on July 15 determined it’s safe to fly. Now that it has FAA certification, the next thing on the agenda is the first test flight, reports autorevolution.com.
AeroVanti, an Annapolis, MD-based aviation startup, which launched its membership-based private charter flight service last summer, has raised $9.75 million from investors to expand its business, reports WTOP News. AeroVanti plans to double its fleet, which consists of 13 planes and a helicopter, and operates out of BWI Marshall Airport, Dulles Airport, and small regional airports.
Some Capitol Hill lawmakers are again making a push that would allow the government to fire bureaucrats more easily, reports Federal News Network. Members of the House introduced a bill to make all federal employees “at-will” workers. That means agencies would be able to more quickly get rid of employees for underperforming or behaving in a manner that goes against federal rules. Republican Reps. Chip Roy (TX), Mary Miller (IL), Troy Nehls (TX), Bob Good (VA), and Lauren Boebert (CO) introduced the Public Service Reform Act (H.R. 8550) last Thursday, reports Government Executive.
BAE Systems said a new agreement with the US Army will extend the Radford ammunition plant’s contract through 2026, reports The Roanoke Times. The contract covers management, production, and modernization of the site, where military propellants and explosives have been made since 1941.
Contracts:
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, has been awarded an $8,191,811 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for multi-domain fusion for continuous universal targeting software prototype/hardware. This effort is for research and development towards automated, first-level processing of electronic intelligence and associated data to provide enhanced target detection, geolocation, and low-latency targeting of dynamic, time critical targets. Work will be performed in Laurel, Maryland, and is expected to be complete by July 31, 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, offers were solicited electronically via an open broad agency announcement and one offer was received. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $375,000 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-22-C-1513).
Textron Systems Corp., Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a $48,436,094 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price and cost reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides hardware and incidental maintenance and repair services in support of advanced architecture phase, amplitude and time simulators for the electronic warfare systems integration test environment. The supplies and services will support system performance evaluation and integration of various electronic warfare systems. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in December 2026. 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 US Code 2304 (c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Point Mugu, California, is the contracting activity (N6893622D0002).
HII Defense and Federal Solutions Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $15,337,889 firm-fixed-price contract for technical support services for the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosives (CBRNE) Consequence Management Program. The work to be performed provides Headquarters Marine Corps, Plans, Policies and Operations and Marine Corps Installations Command (MCICOM) with support in critical areas such as CBRNE response planning and policy development; logistics and equipment life-cycle sustainment; training and readiness; capabilities and threat assessments; information technology demonstration, verification, and validation. Services also include providing technical resources to perform a broad range of development, logistics, system acquisition and engineering, human performance, and integration functions. Work will be performed in Washington, DC (65%); Jacksonville, North Carolina (14%); and Carlsbad, California (21%). Work under the base contract period is expected to be completed August 2023. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps and Navy) funds in the amount of $2,155,937 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. MCICOM Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M95494-22-F-0007). (Awarded July 28, 2022)
Yorktown Systems Group Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, is being awarded a sole source, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The total value of this contract is $17,761,024. Under this new contract, the contractor will provide a knowledgeable, well-trained and cohesive administrative workforce that leverages agency capabilities to consistently provide customized, high performing, and efficiency-oriented administrative and executive services to support the Missile Defense Agency’s organizations to include Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to bridge the gap until the competitive award of the follow-on effort. The work will be performed in various locations to include Huntsville, Alabama; Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Dahlgren, Virginia; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts; Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; Vandenberg AFB, California; Fort Greely, Alaska; and Pacific Missile Range Facility, Hawaii. The performance period is from Aug. 3, 2022, through Aug. 2, 2023. One offer was solicited, and one offer was received. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $4,918,560 are being obligated on this award, and fiscal 2021 funds in the amount of $454,000 are being obligated on this award, and FMS funds in the amount of $82,831 will be used to fund this effort. The Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (HQ0858-22-C-0006).
