March 28, 2024

Pax Alums Selected for SpaceX Mission

SpaceX

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Morning Coffee logoeconomic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Two US Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Pax River alums — Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada — have been selected to command and pilot NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission headed to the International Space Station next year, reports Space.com. The pair expected to fly on early missions of Boeing’s crew capsule, but instead will ride to orbit with SpaceX.

A recent survey of US military power rated the Pentagon as “only marginally able” to operate in key regions – such as Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, reports USNI News. The 2022 Index of Military Strength was conducted by The Heritage Foundation. It rated the Navy’s ability to defend the nation’s security interests as “marginal,” and the Marine Corps’ ability was graded as “strong.”

A US Air Force study found that fighter pilots and crew members are more likely to be diagnosed with certain types of cancers than fellow airmen, reports Defense One. The 2021 study was conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Performance Wing. It tracked airmen who had recorded more than 100 flight hours in an Air Force fighter aircraft from 1970 to 2004.

The US Marine Corps is looking at what it needs to do to get Marines to reenlist, reports Marine Corps Times. Marines and civilians working for the corps have until November 30 to submit ideas on how to accomplish that goal.

The US is urging North Korea to stop its missile testing and resume nuclear diplomacy, reports The Associated Press. This comes after North Korea last week fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in its fifth round of weapons tests in recent weeks.

The US has proposed a deal that would allow the sale of 40 upgraded Lockheed Martin-built General Dynamics F-16 fighters to Turkey as compensation for its exclusion from the F-35 program, reports The National Interest.

India’s Defense Ministry has signed a contract with US to purchase Mk 54 Lightweight Torpedoes for its navy’s P-8I Poseidons, reports Navy Recognition.

Boeing announced it has delivered the 11th P-8I Neptune MPA to the Indian Navy, reports Naval News. India was the first international customer for the P-8 and today operates the largest non-US fleet.

 

 

Some members of the House Armed Services Committee are worried that the COVID-19 vaccination mandate might compromise supply chains, reports The Hill. In a letter, they urged President Joe Biden “to reconsider the manner in which you are seeking to address this issue so as not to harm the livelihood of civilian contractors, industry partners, and strategic goals of our armed services.”

The Pentagon says it will hand down punishments to civilian employees who do not comply with the requirement that government workers get their coronavirus vaccine, reports Federal News Network.

Denis McDonough, Veterans Affairs secretary, said the VA will move more than 500 homeless veterans in the Los Angeles area into housing by the end of the year, reports The Hill.

Military spouses will soon have more opportunities to get jobs with the federal government, including telework or remote work positions, with recent changes made by the Office of Personnel Management, reports Military.com. Spouses will no longer need relocation orders to a specific area to be eligible for non-competitive federal employment consideration.

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Oct. 21, 2021) Sailors assigned to the Fighting Checkmates of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 211 attach a tactical combat training system pod to an F/A18E Super Hornet on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. (US Navy photo by Airman Marvin Gabriel)

A Veteran and Military Career Fair will be held at the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir on November 4, reports insidenova.com. There will be both virtual and in-person interviews that day.

The US Coast Guard is monitoring 40 shipping containers that fell from a ship into the Pacific Ocean last week, reports oregonlive.com.

The Maryland Department of the Environment has issued a warning that elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances have been found in fish caught in Piscataway Creek off the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, reports Bay Journal. This is the first official warning issued anywhere in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for fish containing unsafe levels of PFAS, also called “forever chemicals.”

Two regional transportation projects were included in federal funding announced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen last week, reports The Southern Maryland Chronicle.

Portsmouth, VA, will be the home of the first offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in the US, reports WTOP News. Dominion Energy selected the Siemens Gamesa company to partner on its offshore wind energy project 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

Contracts:

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, San Diego, California, has been awarded a $50,882,788 definitized modification PZ0001 to settle the 407th Supply Chain Management Squadron undefinitized contract action order FA8539-21-F-0007. The delivery order provides for repair services for 36 critical common items for the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton. It will support reparable National Stock Numbers (NSNs) encompassing the air vehicle, multiple sensor packages, Mission Control Element, and Launch and Recovery Element. In addition, this effort includes support engineering services covered under the Engineering Delegation Authority for NSNs transferred to and under the 407th Supply Chain Management Squadron. Work will performed in San Diego, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; El Segundo, California; Sterling, Virginia; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Valencia, California; Joplin, Missouri; Vandalia, Ohio; Troy, Ohio; Longueuil, Quebec, Canada; Woodland Park, New Jersey; Whippany, New Jersey; Indianapolis, Indiana; Woburn, Massachusetts; Twinsburq, Ohio; Medford, New York; Cypress, California; Wichita, Kansas; San Jose, California; and Linthicum, Maryland. The period of performance to induct repairs is from Jan. 1, 2021, to Oct. 31, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition, and fiscal 2021 funds in the amount of $857,788 will be obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Oct. 15, 2021)

Chitra Productions LLC, Norfolk, Virginia (W91249-22-D-0001); Choisys Technology, Ashburn, Virginia (W91249-22-D-0002); Higher Echelon Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (W91249-22-D-0003); MilSup LLC, North Las Vegas, Nevada (W91249-22-D-0004); Paramount Solutions and Global Services Inc., Lake Mary, Florida (W91249-22-D-0005); and Pono Aina Management LLC, Midwest City, Oklahoma (W91249-22-D-0006), will compete for each order of a $229,482,384 firm-fixed-price contract to provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision and other items and non-personal services to perform instructor and training support services for the Cyber Center of Excellence. Bids were solicited via the internet with 38 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 28, 2026. US Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded an $8,210,220 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for planning and design yard activities for standard Navy valves installed in commissioned nuclear-powered submarines, submersibles, and aircraft carriers. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $48,402,233. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,000,000 (100%) will be obligated at time of award, which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 US Code 2304(c)(1) — only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-22-C-2105).

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