Readiness Not Improving Says NDIA

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.

The National Defense Industrial Association completed its second unclassified summary of the health and readiness of the defense industrial base, “Vital Signs 2021,” reports National Defense Magazine. Like “Vital Signs 2020,” this report’s final grade for the health and readiness of the defense industrial base was a “C.” This year’s score was 74, slightly lower than last year’s 75.

More than 7,000 National Guard troops add snowy conditions to their continued deployment to the US Capitol. There remain questions about detected plans for a possible repeat of extremist violence, reports Washington Examiner, adding that the FBI declined comment on the threat assessment.

Navy Times has video of a Russian Su-24 jet buzzing the destroyer Donald Cook in the Black Sea, getting as close as 100 yards away from the port beam.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) of the House Armed Services Committee urges the federal government and DoD in particular to screen the social media accounts of US service members and other “individuals with sensitive roles” for ties to white supremacist and far-right groups, reports The Hill.

The War Zone continues its investigation into NAWCAD’s “UFO patents” by Salvatore Pais involving a theoretical concept for generating high-intensity electromagnetic fields that could supposedly lead to hypothetical breakthroughs in power generation and advanced propulsion.

Coast Guard and Navy personnel offloaded approximately 11,400 pounds of cocaine and 9,000 pounds of marijuana Feb. 1, amounting to more than $211 million from seizures in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, reports SeaPower Magazine.

Three organizations — Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars — are calling for an $11 billion increase in the Department of Veterans Affairs budget to address  shortfalls in health care and benefits services, reports Military.com. The organizations’ annual VA “independent budget” is an assessment of veterans’ needs heading into the fiscal 2022 congressional budget deliberations process.

Einstein observes traffic flowing in and out of federal networks, allowing the government to target threats using a database of known malware. It’s unlikely Einstein ever could have detected the malware implanted into SolarWinds Orion, reports FCW, but if confirmed as secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas is going to have to explain why the federal cybersecurity measures failed to detect or defend against the SolarWinds Orion hack.

 

 

DoD awarded a $30.4 million contract to Lynas Rare Earths Limited, to boost domestic processing of light rare earth elements as part of an effort to become less dependent on China for critical technologies, reports C4ISRNET. The company is the largest rare earth element mining and processing company outside of China and will use the funds to open a processing facility in Hondo, TX.

Veterans Counseling Veterans launches a podcast series for Black History Month on Black veterans and their mental health. the series will discuss issues including how PTSD impacts Black veterans and their family members, Black veterans’ experience with military sexual trauma, and research related to Black veterans’ mental health, reports Military Times.

The US military on Sunday held its first training engagement in Somalia after the recent drawdown of most American troops stationed there, reports Military.com. An agreement between the two nations allows the US to provide a variety of training, advice, and support to the Somali National Army Danab forces.

International troops plan to stay in Afghanistan beyond the May deadline envisaged by the insurgent Taliban’s deal with the United States, four senior NATO officials said, a move that could escalate tensions with the Taliban demanding full withdrawal, reports Reuters.

Some 4,700 troops from nine allied and partner nations were scheduled to arrive at the US Army’s largest training area in Europe Monday for an exercise to test the readiness of US troops to fight potential Russian aggression, reports Stars and Stripes. Forces from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia will be in Germany for the Combined Resolve XV exercise.

President Joe Biden’s pick for deputy defense secretary, Kathleen Hicks, was expected to cruise through her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, reported Defense News, ready to face a long list of concerns. Military Times has the schedule for this week’s already meeting Senate Arms Services Committee, which tomorrow, Thursday, includes a closed briefing on the Fort Hood command climate survey. The base was the site of several high-profile tragedies last year, including the killing of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen last April.

Wisconsin’s beloved badger statue will stay at least two more years outside the governor’s state Capitol office after the Navy announced Monday it has paused plans to move it to an East Coast museum, reports Stars and Stripes. The statue, crafted from melted-down cannons seized from Cuba during the Spanish-American War, was affixed to the first USS Wisconsin prior to World War I. The Naval Academy loaned it to the state in 1988. It has sat outside the governor’s Capitol office since 1989.

Most troops paid at least $1,000 a year out of pocket in 2020 because of reductions in the Basic Allowance for Housing, reports Military Times. Starting in 2015, DoD reduced the BAH rates gradually by 5% so that service members are required to pay a share of their housing costs out of pocket. Instead of the previous goal that BAH would cover 100% of housing costs, the rate was reduced to 95%.

Contracts:

ACTS-Meltech JV1 LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia (N00178-21-D-4403); Athena Construction Group Inc., Triangle, Virginia (N00178-21-D-4404); Cremer Global Services Inc., Melbourne, Florida (N00178-21-D-4405); Encon Desbuild JV2 LLC, Bladensburg, Maryland (N00178-21-D-4406); HSU EGI JV LLC, Gaithersburg, Maryland (N00178-21-D-4407); Matos Builders LLC, Baltimore, Maryland (N00178-21-D-4408); New Dominion Construction LLC, Dumfries, Virginia (N00178-21-D-4409); Signature Renovations LLC, Capitol Heights, Maryland (N00178-21-D-4410); and Trinity USA Contracting Inc., White Stone, Virginia (N00178-21-D-4411), are awarded a combined $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for facility repairs and renovations in multiple buildings, trailers and labs. This contract was competitively awarded among HUBZone small businesses. It provides standard maintenance, sustainment, repair and minor construction as well as field surveying of sites, mapping of new site conditions, soil boring sampling, sampling and testing of potential existing hazardous construction materials, performing and providing engineering analysis and evaluations for purposes of structural and electrical capacities and providing energy computations for infrastructure solutions. Operation and execution are primarily focused in repairing, upgrading and nonstructural construction in accordance with and not exceeding Category II of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Engineering & Construction Bulletin Issue No.2006-04. Each awardee will be awarded $500 (minimum contract guarantee per awardee) at contract award. These contracts do not include options and consist of a cumulative value of $30,000,000 over a five-year period to the nine vendors combined. Work will be performed in Dahlgren, Virginia (85%); Wallops Island, Virginia (5%); Virginia Beach, Virginia (5%); and Washington, DC (5%), and is expected to be completed by February 2026. Fiscal 2021 sustainment, restoration and modernization funds in the amount of $4,500 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. All other funding will be made available at the delivery order level as contracting actions occur. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website, with 11 offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News Shipbuilding division, Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $12,500,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-4316 to continue performance of the repair, maintenance and upgrade efforts on the USS Helena (SSN 725) Dry-Docking Selected Restricted Availability. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by April 2021. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $12,500,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Newport News, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Federal Prison Industries Inc., doing business as UNICOR, Washington, DC, has been awarded a maximum $21,978,000 modification (P00009) exercising the first one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-20-D-F057) with four one-year option periods for various types of coats. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, and Washington, DC, with a Feb. 5, 2022, ordering period end date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.