March 29, 2024

POTUS: Fund Military & Hone Government

Trump

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.

President Donald Trump, in his first State of the Union, calls upon Congress to “end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military,” reports Defense News. Minutes before his address, Trump signed an executive order to keep open the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, reports NPR.

Also during the address, Trump pitched expansion of the VA’s new power to terminate low-performing employees, reports FCW. He wants to give expedited firing authority to all agencies. A White House fact sheet cites 1,470 VA employees fired between the law’s enactment and the end of 2017, with 443 suspended and 83 demoted. Military Times reports Trump exaggerated VA accountability law’s impact in his State of the Union address.

North Korea plans a parade on the eve of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, complete with dozens of intercontinental-range Hwasong-15 missiles, reports CNN.

A rare super blue blood moon sets in the western sky over Will Rogers Air National Guard Base in Oklahoma City, Jan. 31, 2018. This lunar event hasn’t happened since 1866. (Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Tyler Woodward)

The Washington Examiner reports on a new Pentagon study that found half of the 3,500 US military bases report climate extremes. The study assessed effects from six key categories of extreme weather, such as storm surge, wildfires and droughts. The nonpartisan Center for Climate and Security posted the full report on its website.

The Vietnam War dogged DefSec Jim Mattis during his two-day visit to Vietnam, part of  his new strategy of developing military relationships in Asia to blunt Russian and Chinese influences, reports The Washington Post. Known in Vietnam as the American War, the five-decade conflict claimed hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and more than 58,000 US troops. Remembrances and lingering impacts remained prominent during the visit.

In an abrupt reversal, reports Military Times, DoD says it erred in halting the release of an independent federal auditor’s findings about how the 16-year-old US war effort in Afghanistan is going. Some newly released information suggests 44 percent of Afghanistan is contested or under the control of insurgents.

The State Department approves a possible foreign military sale of 34 F-35As to Belgium worth an estimated $6.53 billion, reports Flight Global.

GPS tracking company, Strava, will simplify privacy settings and address security concerns, reports Military Times. The company’s fitness app produced a global heat map detailing sensitive military installation locations and patterns.

A former Navy commander, Troy Amundson, pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy in the latest fallout from the Fat Leonard corruption case that spanned a decade and involved dozens of Navy officials, reports Navy Times.

UPI reports German and Norwegian vessels will join the Truman strike group in Norfolk for exercises.

Another female Marine is progressing toward the final selection process to become the first female Marine Corp’s Special Operations Command Raider, reports Military Times.

Vice Chief of Naval Operations ADM Bill Moran makes Surface Warfare Officers School in Newport, Rhode Island, the first stop in his mission to fix root problems in the wake of Navy incidents including fatal collisions in 2017, and he is blogging about progress addressing Navy readiness, reports Navy Times.

Contracts:

Marton Technologies Inc., Newport News, Virginia, was awarded an $11,344,357 modification (000153) to contract W52P1J-14-G-0021 for continued performance of logistics support services at Fort Riley, Kansas. Work will be performed in Fort Riley, Kansas, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $2,113,516 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

Akima Logistics Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,815,953 firm-fixed-price contract to exercise option three in previously awarded contract FA8106-16-D-0001 for full contractor logistics support of 58 Air Force Academy aircraft.  Work will be performed at the Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the Air Force Academy auxiliary airfield.  Work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2019. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance funds for the total amount of the contract are being obligated at the time of the award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8106-18-F-8000).

Q.E.D. Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is being awarded a $43,603,034 cost modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-15-C-4400) to exercise options for third party advanced planning services in support of chief of naval operations availabilities, continuous maintenance availabilities (CMAV), inactivation CMAVs, sustainment availabilities, phased modernization availabilities, re-commissioning availabilities, continuous maintenance and emergent maintenance windows of opportunity for Navy surface combatant ship classes (CG 47 and DDG 51). Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia (53 percent); San Diego, California (36 percent); and Everett, Washington (11 percent), and is expected to be completed by February 2019. Fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,022,867 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

Oceaneering International Inc., Chesapeake, Virginia, is being awarded a $7,254,362 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the accomplishment of maintenance requirement card 003 inspections and repairs in support of the conversion of USS San Francisco (SSN 711) to a moored training ship. This action is necessary for conducting the hull structural survey in accordance with unrestricted operations maintenance requirement card (URO/MRC) 003 on USS San Francisco while undergoing conversion. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by August 2019. Fiscal 2017 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,254,362 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N42158-18-C-S001).

Harley Marine Services Inc., Seattle, Washington, has been awarded a firm-fixed-price contract (HTC711-18-C-W001). The contract will provide transportation of Department of Defense owned fuel and marine diesel by tug and barge. Work will be performed between ports and points on coastal waterways and inland waterways in Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Washington, District of Columbia, Defense Fuel Support Point Jacksonville and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The contract base period is April 1, 2018, to March 31, 2019, with four available 12-month option periods. This contract was a competitive acquisition and two proposals were received. Fiscal 2018 defense working capital funds in the amount of $26,163,242 were obligated at award. The contracting activity is US Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

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