Recruitment Keeps Falling; Navy the Worst
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 Pentagon ended fiscal 2023 on a sour note for military recruiting, falling short of goals by tens of thousands of new enlistees, reports Military Times, in what turned out the worst recruitment year ever of the all-volunteer force. In the first quarter of FY24, only the Air Force exceeded its 6,249 new active-duty airmen, by 130. During that Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023 timeframe, the Army, at 6,100 new soldiers, fell short, reaching only 74% of its first-quarter goal. The Navy fared worse at about 5,400 new sailors, 65% of its target.
There are currently 22,000 gaps in at-sea billets for ranks E1 to E4 – a problem dating back to 2016, but one aggravated by the current recruiting environment, according to Chief of Naval Personnel VADM Richard Cheeseman. At the end of fiscal 2023, in October, the Navy announced it had recruited 30,236 new active duty sailors, short of its 37,700 planned accessions for the year, reports Military Times.
The Elon Musk-led SpaceX is deepening its ties with US intelligence and military agencies, reports The Wall Street Journal, with a $1.8 billion major classified contract and expanding a secretive company satellite program called Starshield for national-security customers. Starshield operates largely out of the public eye and won a $70 million award to provide communications services to dozens of Pentagon partners.
The US Space Force is pulling the plug on its classified military communications satellite program due to cost and schedule overrun as the service refocuses its mission and operations, reports Task & Purpose.
Records turned over to Congress this month reveal how top officials at the US Coast Guard engaged in a calculated plan to conceal the damning findings of an investigation into decades of sexual assault cases at the agency’s academy, going so far as to create a list of the pros and cons of being transparent, reports CNN.
A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Sunday damaged a Belize-flagged ship traveling within waters of the Red Sea and forced the crew to abandon the vessel, reports AP News. Another ship reportedly came twice under attack in the adjacent Gulf of Aden.
Houthi rebels shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper intelligence-gathering drone off Yemen’s coast on Monday, reports Stars and Stripes. This is the second US Reaper drone that the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have shot down in recent months. The Houthis claim their attacks are retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza.
The European Union launched on Monday a naval mission to help protect cargo ships in the Red Sea as attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to threaten maritime traffic, hamper trade, and drive up prices, reports AP News. US and British forces have bombed multiple targets used by the Houthis. The EU mission will not take part in any military strikes and will only operate at sea.
Defense News analyzes a tale of two charts: The first, in 1993, when the Pentagon pivoted away from a defense industry it considered too large to sustain. And 30 years later, with the industry now too small to surge. “As dumb as it sounds, given how much we spend on defense, oftentimes the volume for any single supplier isn’t enough,” said Dave Bassett, a retired Army lieutenant general, who until December ran the Defense Contract Management Agency. Defense companies build what government wants, but rarely any more or anything different.
Texas is building an 80-acre base camp in Eagle Pass for Texas National Guard soldiers deployed to Operation Lone Star, a $10 billion state effort to deter illegal immigrating into Texas, reports Army Times. The new facility will house between 1,800 soldiers to 2,300 soldiers and provide individual rooms for troops.
Politico reports the US will transfer nearly $500,000 of confiscated Russian funds to Estonia to be used in support of Ukraine. This is the first time the US will transfer funds to a foreign ally for the explicit purpose of assisting Ukraine. Release of US foreign aid is stalled in Congress. “The funds were forfeited by the United States following the breakup of an illegal procurement network attempting to import into Russia a high-precision, U.S.-origin machine tool with uses in the defense and nuclear proliferation sectors,” according to a DOJ press release.
The investigation into the most recent deadly crash of a USAF Osprey suggests the November mishap involves the aircraft’s propeller rotor gear box, reports NBC News. The crash into the ocean off Japan, killing eight airmen, was the fourth fatal crash of the unique tiltrotor aircraft in less than two years. Twenty US service members have died in the incidents, leading to the grounding in December of all Osprey aircraft by all branches of the US military. Air Force Special Operations Command said Tuesday it knows what failed on its CV-22B Osprey but it still does not know why the failure happened, reports Military Times.
The Navy has begun the most expensive building project in its history with construction of a $3.4 billion submarine-repair dry dock in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, reports Stars and Stripes.
The country’s newest national park opened this week in Colorado at a former camp incarcerating thousands of Japanese Americans, nearly 80 years after WWII ended, reports NBC News. The Department of the Interior reopened what was Camp Amache on Thursday, nearly two years after President Joe Biden signed the park into law, following a multiyear bipartisan effort by Colorado lawmakers, reports NBC News.
Officials have asked Gov. Maura Healey to send in the Massachusetts National Guard to stop violence and address security concerns at the troubled Brockton High School south of Boston. Four of the seven members of the Brockton School Committee backed the National Guard request amid teacher shortages and budget deficits, but city officials weren’t unanimous in their support, reports AP News.
Philippine troops, in a gun-battle against Muslim militants, left at least six soldiers and two rebels dead, military officials said Monday. Military chief GEN Romeo Brawner Jr. said four other soldiers were wounded in the army offensive Sunday against fighters of the Dawlah Islamiyah, a small armed group aligned with the Islamic State group, near Munai town in Lanao del Norte province, reports AP News.
NSA Cybersecurity Director Rob Joyce will retire at the end of March after 34 years of service, the agency announced Tuesday. NextGov reports David Luber, the Cybersecurity Directorate’s second-in-command, will take his place.
Contracts:
Accenture Federal Services LLC, Arlington, Virginia (N00039-24-D-9000), is awarded an estimated cumulative $789,507,575 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity cost plus fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost only contract for procurement of SHARKCAGE Total Solution. This effort provides Program Executive Office, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Program Manager, Warfare Cybersecurity (PMW 130) with ashore and afloat SHARKCAGE systems consisting of integrated Commercial and Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) hardware and software specifically configured to provide Defensive Cyberspace Operations analytics across Navy networks (e.g., Information Technology-21, ONENet, Navy/Marine Corps Intranet). Tasks supporting delivery of these integrated Commercial and COTS systems include design, architecture, testing, production, delivery, installation support, and integrated logistics support. No funding will be placed on contract and obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,936,203 will be obligated at the time of award on the first delivery order. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The period of performance will consist of a five-year ordering period with one option for additional five-year ordering period; work could continue through February 2034. Work will be performed at the Accenture office in San Diego, California, along with various naval ashore and afloat platforms and facilities. This contract was competitively procured as a full and open solicitation and five offers received via the SAM.org website via the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
Computational Physics Inc., Springfield, Virginia, is awarded a $67,391,437 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide scientific support services in the fields of atomic and molecular physics, radio astronomy, aeronautical engineering, astrometry and photometry of celestial objects, black hole research, mechanical and electrical engineering, solid state physics, computational sciences, stellar astrophysics, optics, database development, mathematics, astronomical software development, and space weather in support of the US Naval Observatory. The contract will include a five-year base ordering period with six-month ordering period option pursuant of Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8 – option to extend services, which if exercised, will bring the total estimated value to $72,710,410. The base ordering period is anticipated to begin March 2024 and is expected to be completed by February 2029; if the option is exercised, the ordering period will be completed by August 2029. All work will be performed in Washington, DC. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the contract’s minimum amount of $10,000 will be obligated at time of award, and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Individual task orders will be funded with appropriate fiscal operations and maintenance appropriations, or other procurement (Navy) appropriations, determined by the contracting officer at the time of their issuance. The award was the result from a full and open competitive solicitation with one offer was received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department Norfolk Office, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00189-24-D-0009).
Altus LLC, Darlington, Maryland (W911QX-24-D-0003); Applied Research Associates Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico (W911QX-24-D-0004); Corvid Technologies LLC, Mooresville, North Carolina (W911QX-24-D-0005); PeopleTec Inc., Huntsville, Alabama (W911QX-24-D-0006); and The Survice Engineering Co. LLC, Belcamp, Maryland (W911QX-24-D-0007), will compete for each order of the $99,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for analytical services associated with target descriptions, vulnerability, survivability and kinetic/non-kinetic weapon effectiveness studies, support to current operations. Bids were solicited via the internet with six received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 20, 2029. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Golden Wolf LLC, Brandon, Florida (W912DY-24-D-0005); The Outfit Inc., New Braunfels, Texas (W912DY-24-D-0006); and VW International Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (W912DY-24-D-0007), will compete for each order of the $82,470,000 firm-fixed-price contract for non-personal services for medically related project and program support. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 20, 2031. US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
McKinsey & Co. Inc., Washington, DC, has been awarded a $23,803,200 firm-fixed-price contract. The contact provides for analysis that will assess the health of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center’s Sentinel program’s industrial base. The location of performance will be the contractor’s facilities in Washington, DC; and Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The work consists of one base period which is to be completed by July 15, 2024, and two optional periods for additional analysis and reporting which, if both are exercised, will be completed by March 18, 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition under Commercial Solutions Opening, under which one white paper was received for the relevant topic. Fiscal 2023 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $5,005,500 will be obligated at the time of award. The contracting activity is The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center/PZNK, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico (FA9422-24-C-0001). (Awarded Feb. 16, 2024)
Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia, is awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for architect-engineer design and related services. The work to be performed provides for professional engineering services for the preparation of design-bid-build documents and design-build requests for proposals. Work will be performed at various locations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southeast area of operations and is expected to be completed by February 2029. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via sam.gov contract opportunities website, with 14 offers received. NAVFAC Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity (N69450-24-D-0005).
Raytheon Missiles and Defense, Marlborough, Massachusetts, is awarded a $38,151,861 firm-fixed-price order under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00024-22-G-5311) for the procurement of AEGIS modernization kits for Navy guided-missile destroyers and allied nations. This contract combines purchases for the US Navy (98%); and the governments of Japan (1%) and Australia (1%), under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Work will be performed in Andover, Massachusetts (56%); Chesapeake, Virginia (28%); Marlborough, Massachusetts (15%); Burlington, Massachusetts (1%), and is expected to be completed by February 2028. Fiscal 2024 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $32,398,008 (85%); fiscal 2023 defense-wide procurement funds in the amount of $3,971,738 (10%); fiscal 2024 defense-wide procurement funds in the amount of $980,290 (3%); FMS Japan funds in the amount of $533,086 (1%); and FMS Australia funds in the amount of $268,739 (1%), will be obligated at time of award and will not 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 Sea Systems Command, Washington DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-24-F-5302).
National Industries for the Blind, Alexandria, Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $46,578,579 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for innerspring mattresses. This is a two-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is North Carolina, with a Feb. 19, 2026, ordering period end date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2024 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-24-D-B009).
Logos Technologies LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $19,379,640 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for wide-area persistent surveillance hostile fire and unmanned aerial system detection for aerostats, manned and unmanned air platforms, static ground positions and moving vehicles. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 25, 2029. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $470,000 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W911QX-24-C-0006).
ASM Research LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $12,253,813 modification (P00015) to contract W519TC-23-C-2003 for operations and management support services in support of the Army Training Requirements and Resources System. Work will be performed in Fairfax, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 12, 2024. Fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $11,238,527 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
