No Unity on Afghan Withdrawal

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.

President Joe Biden to order all US troops out of Afghanistan by Sept. 11, reports Military Times, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that started the decades-long conflict. Biden had indicated the May 1 withdrawal deadline set by the previous administration was unlikely. Former SecState Colin Powell called the withdrawal “overdue,” even as Biden faced bipartisan criticism over the announcement, reports The Hill. Republicans criticizing the plan include Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who called the decision “dumber than dirt,” reports The Washington Post.

The Diplomat reports the Taliban are not ready to attend the proposed peace conference in Turkey, which had been tentatively scheduled for April 16.

House Armed Service Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-WA) says the Pentagon needs realistic budget priorities, reports USNI News. Citing the US experience in Afghanistan as an example he said the major goal for the Pentagon moving forward is “realizing the limit of American military might.” Breaking Defense quotes Smith criticizing  the Biden administration for dragging its “feet getting out the damn budget.”

An FBI operation has removed malware from US computers, reports UPI. After Microsoft revealed last month that Chinese state-sponsored hackers had attacked networks in the United States through its popular email and calendar server, prosecutors said the FBI has erased remaining malicious code from hundreds of private US computers.

Vaccinations for overseas troops are in jeopardy as the DoD halts Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 shots, reports Military Times. The Food and Drug Administration has called for a pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, linking a rare but dangerous blood clot to the inoculation. DoD had been sending its Johnson & Johnson doses primarily to troops and families deployed or stationed overseas, as the single-shot vaccination helped speed the process in areas where vaccine options are limited or non-existent.

NASA delays Mars helicopter Ingenuity flight again for software update, reports UPI. The Mars rover Perseverance carried the 4-pound helicopter to the Red Planet where it was successfully released. As NASA prepared the aircraft for flight a problem was found with the sequence of commands to initiate flight during a test of its dual, carbon-fiber rotors. The rotors must spin at speeds that far exceed a helicopter on Earth to compensate for the thin Martian atmosphere. The software change is straightforward but will take some time.

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: April 12, 2021.

 

 

This week about 330 full-time civilian Navy employees currently assigned to support Andersen Air Force Base administratively transferred to the Air Force, the USAF announced. The adjustment transfers $630 million from the Navy along with returning 18 of 44 support functions at the base to the Air Force including fire and emergency services, installation law enforcement and physical security, contracting, facility management, and logistics and transportation services.

DefSec Lloyd Austin announced an increase of 500 US troops in Germany and that he has stopped planning for large-scale troop cuts ordered by the Trump administration, reports Military Times. The New York Times reports the increase in US troops in Germany is another message to Moscow of US support for Ukraine.

Military service member suicides were up in 2020, reports MySanAntonio.com, while civilian suicide rates dropped in 2020 amidst a world-changing pandemic and devastating economic crash, according to Axios. A San Antonio-based military study cannot pinpoint why the military rates went up, though experts know it can’t be solely blamed on stresses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Eighteen Republican senators led by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) wrote FBI Director Christopher Wray seeking an investigation into whether Biden’s nominee for under secretary of defense, Colin Kahl, used social media to disclose or solicit classified information, reports The Hill.

The US Navy and Marine Corps have quietly kicked out some of the worst white supremacists in their ranks for decades, offering them administrative discharges that would not attract public attention or leave a public record of the specific activities. USA Today reports from documents that detail 13 major investigations into white supremacist activity across more than 20 years.

Race and police outside the garrison walls: “Your service is not going to save you,” reports The Washington Post. The lesson was fresh in the minds of black soldiers this past weekend, after watching viral video of a traffic stop showing a Black National Guard officer being pepper-sprayed, threatened, struck, and handcuffed by Virginia police late last year.

Fort Sill sexual assault case stirs up the worst kind of deja vu, reports Military Times. Multiple cadre members are under investigation at Fort Sill, OK, in connection with the sexual assault of a trainee, though officials have not confirmed on the record how many of them and what roles they might have played in a crime. This is nothing new for the Army.

Contracts:

Ashford Leebcor Enterprises II LLC, Williamsburg, Virginia, was awarded a $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for general repair and construction projects. Bids were solicited via the internet with 18 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 13, 2026. US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-21-D-0010).

William T. Brooks and Associates Inc., doing business as The Brooks Group, Greensboro, North Carolina, is awarded an $11,988,565 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in support of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command for sales force training services to include instructional development, video development, graphic development, evaluations post-development, facilitation services, and technical writing. This contract has a five-year ordering period with a maximum value of $11,988,565. Work will be performed in Leesburg, Virginia (40%); San Diego, California (16%); Parris Island, South Carolina (9%); Garden City, New York (8%); New Cumberland, Pennsylvania (8%); Fort Worth, Texas (8%); Great Lakes, Illinois (8%); and Quantico, Virginia (3%). Work is expected to be completed by April 2026. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $501,452 are obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.sam.gov website with two proposals received. The Regional Contracting Office Parris Island, South Carolina, is the contracting activity (M00263-21-D-1001).