Pax Joins Pilot Program on Expanding Commissary Benefit
(US Marine Corps Installations East photo via dvidshub.net)
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.
US Department of Defense civilian employees can shop at 16 commissaries, including the store at NAS Patuxent River, during a pilot program for the next 120 days, reports Air Force Times. The DoD pilot program is testing the feasibility of expanding the commissary benefit to DoD civilians at all stateside commissaries.
The annual Reagan National Defense Survey finds that the public trust in the military rose slightly in the last year and remains significantly higher than most other civic institutions, reports Marine Corps Times. Fifty-one percent of those polled said they have a great deal of trust in the armed forces, up from 46% last year, according to the survey.
Ahead of their annual showdown on Saturday, Dec. 14, Army and Navy football have unveiled their uniforms, reports CBS Sports. Navy’s uniforms pay homage to the Strike Fighter Squadron 103, nicknamed the “Jolly Rogers” and with roots dating back to World War II. The squadron is considered one of the most lethal in the Navy. The group uses the call sign “Victory” and feature the tagline “fear the bones” as a rallying cry. The 125th Army-Navy Game will take place at Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD, at 3pm Saturday.
US Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is leading the call to take out a provision in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would require women to register for the Selective Service System, reports The Hill. Hawley and other senators said they were in “strong opposition” to the provision. “America’s daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers can decide to join the military themselves,” the senators wrote.
President-elect Donald Trump wants Daniel Driscoll to be the next US Army secretary, saying the veteran will be a “fearless and relentless fighter” for the service, reports Army Times. Driscoll served as a senior adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Trump is sticking by his nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, despite the mounting questions about the nomination, reports The Hill. Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran, is facing allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking, and other controversial behavior in previous jobs he has held.
Some military analysts say Trump’s appointment of John Phelan as Navy secretary is aimed at making defense spending more efficient by tackling corruption within the military, reports South China Morning Post via MSN. If confirmed, Phelan would be the first person to serve as a US Navy secretary without military experience since 2009, when Donald Winter finished a three-year term.
Trump’s pick to helm NASA, Jared Isaacman, is a private astronaut and close ally of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, reports Reuters via MSN. Isaacman, CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, has made visits to space on two SpaceX missions, including the first-ever privately funded spacewalk in September.
Rodney Scott, former chief of the US Border Patrol, is Trump’s choice to lead Customs and Border Protection, the agency entrusted with managing ports of entry and stopping irregular immigration at US borders, reports NPR.
Trump’s government efficiency expert Elon Musk’s potential plans to cut the F-35 fighter jet program can expect opposition from the Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., reports KERA News. In an X post, referencing a Bloomberg report about reliability and security issues with the jet, Musk wrote, “Some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35.”
Lockheed Martin last week hired Kevin O’Connor to be its new general counsel, reports Bloomberg Law. O’Connor is a former federal prosecutor who once was a legal adviser to Trump’s 2016-17 transition team.
In an interview with Fox News, Stephen Miller, who will be the incoming administration’s White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said Trump will order federal workers to return to the office and not work remotely, reports The Hill. “When Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20th and that new golden age of America begins, he’s gonna tell the federal workers of this country who your viewers pay for to get back into the office and do their jobs or find another line of work,” Miller said.
Hacks, carried out by the Chinese government-backed Salt Typhoon hacking group, have hit at least eight US carriers, reports nextgov.com. The hacks impacted a couple dozen countries and might have been ongoing for one to two years and targeted telecommunications operators. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI said the group’s intrusions were first investigated in late spring and early summer of this year.
China has sanctioned 13 US defense firms over arms sales to Taiwan, reports The Hill. The companies targeted are smaller tech firms that have worked on drones and other unmanned weapons systems, including ShieldAI, BRINC Drones, and Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems. Also targeted are officials at larger defense companies, including BAE Systems and Raytheon.
China has taken notice over the deployment of a US Typhon missile system in the Philippines, reports Defense News. A Chinese defense spokesman said that the deployment had “intensified geopolitical confrontation and escalated tensions in the region,” as calls were renewed for the withdrawal of the medium-range weapon from the Philippines.
A new Navy lease agreement for Lancaster Park in Lexington Park was approved by the St. Mary’s County commissioners last week, reports somdnews.com. View the discussion on the county government website here.
Fleet Readiness Center East marked a milestone in its support of the F-35 Lightning II program when the depot recently inducted and completed modifications on its 150th F-35 and returned the aircraft to the fleet, reports Seapower magazine.
According to a US Government Accountability Office report, half of the Navy ships the Marine Corps would use to make amphibious assaults are in “poor condition,” reports Breaking Defense. Some of the vessels have been unavailable for operational or training use for years at a time, according to the Pentagon watchdog’s report.
Drinking alcohol on or off base has been banned under a new set of liberty restrictions implemented on the USS George Washington, reports Navy Times. These restrictions come after the deaths of two sailors following the carrier’s arrival in Japan.
The US Navy CAPT Omarr Tobias, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Washington commanding officer, has been selected for rear admiral, making him the first Black civil engineer to be promoted to the rank, reports Military Times. He has led the command since June 2023.
Three US Army soldiers at Fort Cavazos, TX, have been charged with human smuggling, reports Military Times. Emilio Mendoza Lopez, Angel Palma, and Enrique Jauregui were arrested after a vehicle allegedly driven by Palma and carrying Mendoza Lopez, a Mexican national, and two Guatemalan nationals was stopped Nov. 27 by law enforcement in Presidio along the border with Mexico.
Contracts:
Aktarius LLC, doing business as Dawson AKT, Panama City, Florida (N39430-25-D-2001); Makai Ocean Engineering Inc., Waimanalo, Hawaii (N39430-25-D-2002); Marine Ventures International Inc., Stuart, Florida (N39430-25-D-2003); Oceanetics Inc., Annapolis, Maryland (N39430-25-D-2004); and PCCI Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (N39430-25-D-2005), are awarded a $180,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee hybrid multiple award contract for ocean engineering support services. This contract provides for services in support of projects involving ocean cable systems, ocean work systems, waterfront facilities, offshore structures, moorings, and ocean construction equipment. Work will be performed within the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC) area of operations aboard government, government-contracted, or contractor-chartered vessels or platforms, with an expected completion date of December 2029. The maximum dollar value including the base period and one six-month option period for all five contracts combined is $180,000,000. Fiscal 2024 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $10,000 are being obligated to each contractor at time of award for a total award of $50,000. Contracted funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the solicitation module in SAM.gov, with six offers received. NAVFAC EXWC, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity.
EY Government Services LLC, New York, New York, is being awarded a $38,726,635 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price ordering provisions to provide Navy performance improvement technical support services in support of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Problem Solving and Process Improvement Office. The contract will include a five-year ordering period with no options. The ordering period is expected to be completed by December 2029. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia (45%); New York; New York (30%); Washington, DC (5%); Norfolk, Virginia (3%); Suffolk, Virginia (3%); Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (3%); Pensacola, Florida (2%); Jacksonville, Florida (2%); Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (2%); San Diego, California (2%); Bremerton, Washington (2%); and Everett, Washington (1%). Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M, N) funds in the amount of $10,000 will be obligated to fund the contract’s minimum amount, and funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year. Subsequent task orders will be funded with appropriate fiscal year O&M, N funds. This contract was competitively procured through the sam.gov website, with four offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Pentagon Directorate, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-25-D-Z005).
Raymond Pond JV, Conyers, Georgia, is awarded a $15,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modification to previously awarded contract (N4008021D0003) for architect-engineering services. This modification adds capacity for architect-engineer services in support of general purpose facilities. Work will be performed within the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington area of responsibility and will be completed by March 2026. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Future task orders will be funded with military construction and operations and maintenance (Navy) funds. NAVFAC Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Wiley Wilson, Burns McDonnell JV, Alexandria, Virginia, is awarded a $15,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modification to previously awarded contract N4008020D0018 for architect-engineering services. This contract modification adds additional capacity for architect-engineering services in support of general administrative facilities. Work will be performed within the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Washington area of operations and will be completed by July 2025. No funds are obligated at time of award. Future task orders will be funded with military construction and operations and maintenance, (Navy) funds. NAVFAC Washington, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $13,600,381 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering, logistics, and repair services for airborne electronic attack systems and all variants/derivatives of these systems. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring its cumulative value to $27,216,224. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland (90%); Bethpage, New York (8%); and San Diego, California (2%), and is expected to be completed by December 2025. If all options are exercised, work will continue through December 2026. Fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,281,450 (60%); fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,457,911 (20%); and Foreign Cooperative Projects, Foreign Military Sales (Australia) funds in the amount of $1,457,911 (20%) will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 US Code 3204(a)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N0016421GWS42 N0016425FW016).
Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison, Mississippi, was awarded a $299,965,743 firm‐fixed‐price, indefinite‐delivery/indefinite‐quantity contract for the C‐12 fleet. This contract provides for contractor logistics support services. Work will be performed at Joint Base Elmendorf‐Richardson, Alaska; Edwards Air Force Base, California; Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Madison, Mississippi; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Okmulgee, Oklahoma; San Angelo, Texas; Buenos Ares, Argentina; Gaborone, Botswana; Brasilia, Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; Cairo, Egypt; Accra, Ghana; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Budapest, Hungary; Yokota Air Base, Japan; Nairobi, Kenya; Rabat, Morocco; Manila, Philippines; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Bangkok, Thailand; Ankara, Turkey; and Oslo, Norway, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2025. This contract was a competitive acquisition, and three offers were received. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance funds (Air Force) in the amount of $14,034,629; fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance funds (Defense Intelligence Agency) in the amount of $8,947,117; fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance funds (Defense Security Cooperation Agency) in the amount of $4,659,709; and fiscal 2025 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $4,204,286 are being to be obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8134‐25‐F‐6008).
