Pentagon DEI Content Purged from Websites, Social Media

CAPT Elizabeth Somerville became the US Navy’s first woman to command Naval Test Wing Atlantic after a change of command ceremony in 2022. The original story link leads to a page with this message: “We’re sorry, the page you’re trying to access does not exist.” (US Navy photo)

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.

Historic military events, war heroes, and military firsts are among the thousands of images that are being flagged across the military branches for removal, reports AP News. This is part of the Defense Department’s work to purge diversity, equity, and inclusion content — photographs, stories, and online posts — from its websites and social media sites. The vast majority of the Pentagon purge targets women and minorities. The database includes 26,000 images; the eventual total could be much higher.

The firings at the Pentagon began last week. Military.com reports that civilian workers in at least four organizations — Defense Health Agency, Defense Logistics Agency, US Navy, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences — were told they were fired.

The Defense Logistics Agency had started firing civilian employees who were hired, transferred, or promoted within the last year or two, reports Defense One. “[C]ertain probationary employees have been separated from the Agency,” Defense Logistics Agency leaders told “all hands” in a message reviewed by Defense One. “Prior to these actions, J1 and leadership from each MSC/J-D Code carefully reviewed the affected personnel to ensure mission continuity.”

The CIA is also terminating some probationary employees. Recent intelligence finds that foreign adversaries, including Russia and China, have recently upped efforts to recruit US federal employees working in national security, reports CNN on MSN.

Two active-duty soldiers stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state and another former soldier were arrested on bribery and theft charges last week after being accused of selling sensitive information to China, reports The Hill. “These arrests underscore the persistent and increasing foreign intelligence threat facing our Army and nation,” said BRIG GEN Rhett Cox of Army Counterintelligence Command, in a DOJ news release.

Many of the top agencies earning spots in the Partnership for Public Service’s 2024 Best Places to Work rankings have now become the targets of layoffs and reductions in force, reports Federal News Network. The list published last week had NASA in the number one spot on the Best Places to Work list of large agencies for the 13th year in a row. The Environmental Protection Agency came in second place, and the Department of Health and Human Services was ranked third.

US Marine Corps CAPT Joshua Watson was honored for his leadership in the aftermath of a 2023 MV-22 Osprey crash in Australia that killed three people, reports Task & Purpose. Watson rallied his Marines after the crash, accounting for those missing and evacuating the wounded despite having a broken ankle.

The US government extradited a suspect in the Abbey Gate bombing in 2021 in the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal that killed 13 American servicemembers, reports Marine Corps Times. The suspected planner, Mohammad Sharifullah, was taken into custody last week and appeared in federal court in Virginia to face charges. Officials accuse him of being a member of the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate, known as ISIS-Khorasan, or ISIS-K, and say he admitted his role in that attack and others during an interview with FBI agents after being taken into custody. He is scheduled for a detention hearing today, March 10, Fox News reports.

A West Point colonel will be arraigned for misconduct charges similar to ones that were dropped twice before, reports Army Times. COL William Wright previously faced charges in 2024 over allegations that he drank with a cadet, tampered with witnesses, and falsified information, Military Times reported at the time. Wright is now charged with violating the service’s trainer-trainee policy, interfering with an adverse administrative proceeding, and making a false official statement.

Marines and Army soldiers forced out of the military for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine are showing limited interest in returning to military service, reports Navy Times. About 8% of the roughly 8,200 troops have been allowed to rejoin since 2023. President Donald Trump’s offer to provide back pay may be a factor in spurring a bit more interest now.

DefSec Pete Hegseth reinstated the name “Fort Benning” last week for one of the nation’s largest military bases, reports Marine Corps Times. This is the second reversal Hegseth has ordered and the first that requires actually removing the name of a US service member. The Columbus, GA, base had been renamed Fort Moore after LTGEN Hal Moore, whose memoir “We Were Soldiers Once … and Young” chronicled his service in Vietnam. The name also commemorated his wife, Julia, who pushed the military to develop a more humane system for notifying family members of casualties.

The Moores’ son said he was saddened and angered over the renaming of Fort Benning, reports Task & Purpose. “[I]t’s just very disappointing, saddening, and I guess to some degree, I’m angry that the secretary of defense was unwilling or unable to see the value of Hal and Julia Moore and Fort Moore and what it could mean to the future of the Army,” said David Moore.

This time, the new Fort Benning, is being named for CPL Fred Benning, who received the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery during World War I, reports Task & Purpose.

A South Korean military training incident injured 15 people after bombs accidentally hit a civilian area near the North Korean border, reports NBC News. The South Korean military said the accident occurred March 5 during training ahead of Freedom Shield, an annual joint military exercise with the US. Eight 500-pound MK-82 bombs were “abnormally released” by two air force KF-16s, landing outside the designated firing range.

Space Systems Command is bracing for impact as the Trump administration’s orders aimed at cutting the size of the federal government begin to take effect, reports Air Force Times. The command based in Los Angeles, CA, manages the process for buying and building most of the satellites, sensors, and ground systems the US Space Force operates.

Trump’s AFSec nominee, Troy Meink, a top official at the national spy satellite agency, may have arranged a multibillion-dollar contract solicitation to favor Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Changes to the classified contract’s requirements led the inspector general to investigate if Meink improperly directed the transaction toward SpaceX, which won the contract in 2021. It isn’t clear whether the inspector general concluded a report or if any investigation remains underway, reports Reuters.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have asked Meink to disclose information about his relationship to Musk and if he arranged a multibillion-dollar contract solicitation to favor SpaceX above other competitors, reports Breaking Defense.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued ground stops for flights departing for four Florida airports for more than an hour Thursday after the failure of a SpaceX Starship test flight scattered debris over parts of the Caribbean, reports Reuters. SpaceX’s spacecraft exploded minutes after lifting off from Texas, according to Reuters. In January, SpaceX launched its Starship rocket, catching the booster back at the pad but losing contact with the ascending spacecraft as engines went out, NPR reported at the time. The craft was destroyed. The flight in January was the first for the new and upgraded spacecraft.

A new Gallup survey finds that more than 60% of Americans want the US to take a leading or major role on the international stage, reports The Hill. Nineteen percent of respondents said they want the US to take a “leading role,” and 47% want the country to take a “major role” in solving global problems. These results are based on Gallup’s annual World Affairs poll, conducted Feb. 3-16.

Forty-three businesses that operate across 17 jurisdictions in the state are the latest beneficiaries of the Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 program, reports Technica.ly. Platform Systems Inc. of St. Mary’s County received a grant for advanced sensor integration into UAV rotary systems, according to the list provided by the Maryland Department of Commerce.

The US Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit for the rebuild of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which grants the Maryland Transportation Authority the ability to construct the bridge that will reconnect the Interstate 695 Beltway, reports WTOP News. The announcement comes three weeks before the one-year anniversary of when a cargo ship slammed into the bridge and sent it collapsing into the Patapsco River on March 26, 2024.

The Trump administration published a list of 443 federal office properties last week that were tagged as “not core to government operations” and subject to sale, but the next day, the list had vanished, reports Capital News Service. The administration revised the list before its removal, reducing the number of targeted properties to 320. Among the initial list issued by the General Services Administration were 83 locations in Maryland; the revised list had 21 Maryland properties.

Contracts:

Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $17,548,483 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded delivery order (N00024-23-F-6313) under indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00024-20-D-6337) to exercise an option for Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessels (OUSV) and Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles operations and sustainment. Work will be performed in Reston, Virginia (51%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (26%); La Jolla, California (7%); Morgan City, Louisiana (6%); Lexington Park, Maryland (5%); Newport News, Virginia (4%); and Bethpage, New York (1%); and is expected to be completed by March 2026. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,500,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, DC, is the contracting activity.

Anduril Federal, a Division of Anduril Industries Inc., Washington, DC, is awarded a $642,210,000 firm-fixed-price/cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to deliver, install, and sustain Installation-Counter small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The awardee will be awarded its first order for system procurement, site survey, program management and engineering services, physical configuration audit, new equipment training immediately following contract award. Work will be performed in Costa Mesa, California (80%); Washington DC (10%); and various Marine Corps installations (10%), and is expected to be completed by March 2035. Fiscal 2024 procurement (Marine Corps) funding in the amount of $9,486,676 will be obligated with the first delivery order and will expire at the end of fiscal 2026. All other funding will be made available at the delivery order level as contracting actions occur. The maximum dollar value, including the base period with nine additional ordering periods, is $642,210,000. This contract was competitively procured via the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment Solicitation Module with proposals from 10 offerors received. Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-25-D-0003).

Lockheed Martin Space, Titusville, Florida, is awarded a $63,378,390 fixed-price-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00006) to a previously awarded and announced un-priced letter contract (N0003024C0100) for TRIDENT II (D5) missile production and deployed systems support. Work will be performed in Culpeper, Virginia (50%); Magna, Utah (22%); Denver, Colorado (16%); Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (5%); Fairfield, California (5%); Sunnyvale, California (1%); and other locations less than 1.0 % each, for 1% total. Work is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2029. Fiscal 2024 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,021,128 will be obligated on this award. Fiscal 2025 research development test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,427,716 will also be obligated on this award and no funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The maximum dollar value of the contract action, including all optional line items, if exercised, is $63,378,390. This contract is being awarded to the contractor on a sole source basis under 10 US Code 2304(a)(1) and was previously synopsized on the Systems for Award Management (SAM) website, with one proposal received. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

L3 Harris Technologies Interstate Electronics Corp., Anaheim, California, is awarded a $24,720,118 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee modification (P00032) for new procurement options under a previously awarded and announced contract (N0003022C2001) to provide services and support for flight test instrumentation systems. The total value of the modification is $24,720,118 and the total cumulative face value, including all optional line items, is $84,699,148. Work will be performed in Anaheim, California (56%); Cape Canaveral, Florida (30%); Washington, DC (5%); Bremerton, Washington (3%); Kings Bay, Georgia (3%); and Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom (3%). Work is expected to be completed by February 2029. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $594,000; fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force) in the amount of $3,500,000; fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,637,805; fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,605,272; fiscal 2025 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,290,825; and fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount $500,000, are being obligated at time of award. The total amount incrementally funded under this award is $12,631,402 and $594,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is being awarded on a sole source basis under 10 US Code 3204(a)(1) and was previously synopsized on the System for Award Management online portal. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Nisou Enterprises Inc., Farmington Hills, Michigan, was awarded a $21,449,190 firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new access-control point at Fort Eustis. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 6, 2027. Fiscal 2021 military construction, Army funds in the amount of $21,449,190 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91236-25-C-2009).

Modern Technology Solutions Inc., Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded a ceiling $48,500,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for implementation of advanced government simulation capabilities. This contract provides engineering services and cyber security support services. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by March 17, 2027. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2025 working capital funds in the amount of $3,846,543 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Sustainment Center, Hill AFB Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8224-25-D-B002).

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Dulles, Virginia, was awarded an $8,000,000 undefinitized contract for payload integration on the Rapid On-orbit Space Technology Evaluation Ring 5 (ROOSTER-5) spacecraft. This contract provides for the integration of payloads on a multi-manifest ridesharing spacecraft. Work will be performed in Dulles, Virginia; and Gilbert, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2028. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $553,012; fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2,000,000, are being obligated at the time of award. The Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA8819-25-C-B002).