OPM Outlines Discipline Policy for Unvaccinated Federal Employees

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.

Federal agencies have received guidance from the Office of Personnel Management outlining the discipline process for employees who refuse to be vaccinated, reports Federal News Network. Employees must get the vaccine by November 8 to comply with the federal mandate. Disciplinary action could begin the next day.

Facing deadlines for mandatory vaccination, the military services are slowly working their way toward 100% vaccination, reports Military Times. Ninety-five percent of active-duty troops have at lease started the vaccination process.

Veterans Affairs officials said that more than 15,000 patients have died from coronavirus-related conditions in the 19 months since the pandemic began in America, reports Navy Times, with more than 2,200 of those fatalities coming since the start of August.

Lithuania appears eager to host a US military base, reports Defense One. The Biden administration and military officials, however, won’t say whether they are considering a more permanent base for American troops in the Baltic nation.

US Air Force GEN Jeffrey Harrigian said that potential changes to force posture in Europe, including basing, are part of the overall posture review currently being conducted by DoD, reports Breaking Defense. That review is expected to conclude by the end of the year, with its findings driving both the National Defense Strategy and FY23 budget request.

The future USS Carl M. Levin was christened Saturday, reports Military Times. The ship is named after the late Sen. Carl M. Levin, a Democrat from Michigan who died in July.

US Justice Department agents are investigating a new Navy corruption case, reports The Washington Post. The CEO of defense contractor Multinational Logistics Services is accused of delivering cash bribes and bilking the Navy out of at least $50 million to service its ships in foreign ports.

A nine-part podcast series, “Fat Leonard,” is scheduled to drop today, October 5, featuring Leonard Glenn “Fat Leonard” Francis talking for the first time about another bribery scandal, this one involving hundreds of US naval officers in 2006, reports Navy Times. Francis has spent eight years in prison and home detention in San Diego, CA, reports The American Conservative. Several officers involved are still awaiting trial, reports Navy Times.

The Defense Information Systems Agency has created a new organization called the Hosting and Compute Center, or HaCC, reports FCW. The new office combines the cloud computing program office with DISA’s services directorate and ecosystem.

Modernization of Department of Homeland Security financial management systems is probably the biggest remaining challenge with management functions integration, reports FCW. “While DHS has made progress, the initial challenge was so great that there is still a long way to go,” Chris Currie, director of the Homeland Security and Justice Team at the Government Accountability Office, told a House committee last month.

 

 

Taiwan’s air force scrambled more aircraft on Monday as China flew 56 fighter jets toward the island nation, reports The Associated Press. Monday marked the third day of “sustained military harassment” against Taiwan.

North Korea’s leader followed through on a promise to restore communications and military hotlines with South Korea. The systems were successfully tested Monday, reports UPI. “It is hoped that this measure to restore military communication lines between the South and North Korean authorities will lead to a substantial easing of military tensions on the Korean Peninsula in the future,” according to a statement by the South Korean Defense Ministry.

North Korea has warned the United Nation’s Security Council against criticizing its missile program, reports Politico. North Korea accuses the council of a “double-dealing standard” because it doesn’t equally take issue with similar weapons testing by the US and its allies.

For the first time in five years, the US Air Force has achieved its recruiting goals and end strength, reports Military.com.

In 2005, Jeanine Menze became the first Black woman pilot in the US Coast Guard. The number of Black women aviators in the maritime branch has grown to six — with more waiting in the wings, reports NPR.

The Army’s relatively new Space Operations Brigade and the Navy’s Satellite Operations Center were scheduled to move under the Space Force on October 1, reports Breaking Defense. The Army is the largest DoD user of space and has been somewhat reluctant to abandon its space-related activities.

The Mars helicopter Ingenuity is on its own without NASA’s guidance for two weeks as the sun interferes with communications to the Red Planet, reports UPI.

Arizona-based World View Enterprises is developing a balloon-based system that will carry people to the stratosphere, with the first commercial flights targeted for early 2024, reports Space.com.

“Star Trek” actor William Shatner, aka Capt. James T. Kirk, is headed to space for real this time, reports UPI. The Blue Origin aerospace company said the 90-year-old actor will be part of its New Shepard NS-18 crew scheduled for a launch next week.

Contracts:

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $79,971,127 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-2300 to exercise options for littoral combat ship class design services and integrated data and product model environment support. Work will be performed in Hampton, Virginia (31%); Moorestown, New Jersey (27%); Washington, DC (22%); and Marinette, Wisconsin (20%), and is expected to be completed by October 2022. Fiscal 2018 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,904,652 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, DC, is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $68,133,496 modification (P00023) to contract W911S0-18-C-0004 to provide mission support for the planning, coordination, and execution of exercises conducted by the Army’s Mission Command Training Program. Work will be performed in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 14, 2024. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $68,133,496 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

TrussWorks, San Francisco, California, was awarded a firm-fixed-price and time and materials/labor hours contract (HQ0034-21-C-0113). The amount of this action is $9,479,260, and the total if all options are exercised is $14,730,551. The purpose of this contract is to provide digital transformation and agile software development for the Defense Digital Services (DDS) System for Insider Threat Hindrance (SITH) prototype and Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to the office of DDS. The scope will include discovery and framing, research, application engineering, infrastructure engineering, and product development. Work will be performed at the Mark Center, Alexandria, Virginia. Fiscal 2020-2021 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be obligated in the amount of $9,479,260 at the time of award. The expected completion date is Sept. 29, 2023. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Sept. 30, 2021)