Space Force: World’s 1st Digital Military Service

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.

Space Force leaders say they’re delivering the first digital military branch in the world, reports C4ISRNET. While still in development, the Space Force is sharing its virtually recreated space environments for simulations. “So the industry can now play with their designs and understand environments that we think they’re going to be challenged within space,” said LT GEN Mike Guetlein, head of Space Systems Command.

House Armed Services Committee ranking member Mike Rogers (R-AL) would increase weapons procurement spending by $9.8 billion, drawing significantly from the military’s unfunded priorities lists, reports Defense News. Rogers proposes a $25 billion defense plus-up ahead of NDAA markup. The key Republican seeks an amendment to his panel’s draft 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

NavSec Carlos Del Toro tells the Navy and industry to resist “requirements creep” to complete its number one strategic priority, the Columbia class ballistic missile submarine program, reports USNI.  The Navy needs to resist changing designs, and Del Toro stressed that the defense industry needs to be equally observant in holding down costs.

The Army wants to use facial recognition and advanced machine learning algorithms to continuously monitor “the health and well-being” of kids at base child care centers. A solicitation to SAM.gov seeks a pilot program that integrates with the Fort Jackson, SC, center’s existing closed-circuit television system, reports Defense One.

All California national forests have closed until mid-September due to the “wildfire crisis,” reports CBS News. The order posted by the US Forest Service went into effect August 31 at 11:59 pm local time until the same time on September 17, according to the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region.

Roughly 200 soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, deployed Tuesday to northern California to help fight wildfires burning in the state, including the Dixie Fire, which has burned more than 1,200 structures but is less than half contained, reports Military.com.

 

 

gCaptain tells the tale of the humble shipment and arduous world journey of one box of fertilizer, stuck in the global supply chain crisis. The journey — from factory to river to clogged ports, with lack of shipping containers and extreme weather — promises no let-up.

The Turkish shipyard Ares has developed an anti-submarine drone, reports Defense News. The company plans to begin mass production this year. The vessel passed laser-guided firing tests and will first enter the Turkey’s military before Ares seeks export contracts with potential customers Oman, Qatar, and African and South American countries.

The January 6 probe takes initial steps to obtain phone records — possibly those of lawmakers, reports Politico. The select panel investigating the January 6 insurrection has asked a broad group of nearly three dozen telecommunication companies to preserve records related to the attack from April 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021.

The VA eyes more focused employment help with future education and benefits efforts, reports Military Times. Charmain Bogue, executive director and head of the Veterans Affairs’ Education Service service says that the future of the benefit may be focused on narrowing down some options, based on the success of a few recent department job training programs. “It would be nice to be able to say, ‘These are the top five or top 10 occupations to look at, these are the types of degrees or certificates you need in this type of occupation.’”

Six task groups from the US, UK, Australian, Japanese, and Indian navies are on operational deployments in the Indo-Pacific region amidst an intense fall and early winter period of multilateral exercises, reports USNI. Currently operating in the region are the US Navy’s Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group and Japan-based America Expeditionary Strike Group, the UK Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG 21), Australian Defense Force Indo-Pacific Endeavour 21 (IPE 21) task group, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Indo-Pacific Deployment 2021 (IPD21) force, and the Indian Navy Eastern Fleet task group.

It’s official: No more US boots on the ground in Afghanistan, reports Military Times. Monday 1 am Kabul time, the final C-17 took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport. The end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan was marked by one of its deadliest days, as well as a State Department vow to evacuate Americans and allies from Afghanistan after military exit. StateSec Antony Blinken said work will be part of a new “diplomatic” mission instead of a military one.

The US military is investigating reports from an Afghan family saying an errant US missile killed 10, including seven children, reports The New York Times.  Relatives, friends, and colleagues of Zemari Ahmadi angrily dismissed any suggestion he had ties to ISIS-K.

The Hill reports President Joe Biden told his top generals that they should “stop at nothing” to make Afghanistan’s ISIS affiliate pay for the 13 US service members’ deaths in Kabul last week.

Contracts:

Acacia7, Diamond Bar, California (FA8903-21-D-0034); CEMS-RS&H USAF JV Inc., Summerville, South Carolina (FA8903-21-D-0035); EBL Engineers LLC, Baltimore, Maryland (FA8903-21-D-0036); Evergreen JV, San Diego, California (FA8903-21-D-0037); SOL – Merrick JV LLC, Jackson, Mississippi (FA8903-21-D-0038); HDR and Tehama JV, Kansas City, Missouri (FA8903-21-D-0039); Raymond Pond Full Service Solutions JV LLC, Conyers, Georgia (FA8903-21-D-0040); and Summer Consultants Inc., McLean, Virginia (FA8903-21-D-0041), were awarded a $2,000,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award task order contract for architect and engineering services. This contract supports the Air Force Stateside Infrastructure Design and Construction Missions, and work will be performed stateside for Pool 3, including in U.S. territories. This award is the result of a competitive small business acquisition, and fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $3,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland, Texas, is the contracting activity.

M1 Support Services, Denton, Texas, was awarded a $26,417,252 modification (P00057) to contract (FA4890-16-C-0012) for the T‐38 Aircraft Maintenance Program. The modification will provide intermediate and organizational maintenance of T‐38 aircraft for Air Combat Command, Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force Global Strike Command. Work will be performed at Beale Air Force Base, California; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Langley AFB, Virginia; Tyndall AFB, Florida; and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2022. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance funds will be used but no funds will be obligated at time of award. Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis Air Force Base, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

ARINC Inc., Annapolis, Maryland, was awarded a non-competitive, firm fixed-price, single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling value of $205,062,956, for Datalink Services to provide certified and continuous flight safety services, Datalink messaging and voice communications with worldwide air traffic control agencies, and general data and voice for government command and control agencies. The $15,000 minimum guarantee will be funded by fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds. Primary performance will be at the contractor’s facility. The period of performance is Oct. 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2031. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC1013-21-D-0009).was awarded a non-competitive, firm fixed-price, single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling value of $205,062,956, for Datalink Services to provide certified and continuous flight safety services, Datalink messaging and voice communications with worldwide air traffic control agencies, and general data and voice for government command and control agencies. The $15,000 minimum guarantee will be funded by fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds. Primary performance will be at the contractor’s facility. The period of performance is Oct. 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2031. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC1013-21-D-0009).

Leidos Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, was awarded a $20,948,444 modification (P00043) to contract W58RGZ-17-C-0058 for contractor logistics support for Mi-17 and PC-12 aircraft previously supporting Afghanistan forces in over-the-horizon location, United Arab Emirates. Work will be performed in United Arab Emirates, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 Afghanistan Security Forces Funds in the amount of $20,948,444 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Stell Environmental Enterprises Inc.,* Exton, Pennsylvania (9127N-21-D-0017); DR Reed and Associates Inc.,* Nederland, Colorado (W9127N-21-D-0011); EGC-AGEISS LLC, San Antonio,* Texas (W9127N-21-D-0012); GEO-Stanley Joint Venture 2,* Kevil, Kentucky (W9127N-21-D-0013); Harris Environmental Group Inc.,* Portland, Oregon (W9127N-21-D-0014); International Business Sales & Services Corp.,* Silver Spring, Maryland (W9127N-21-D-0015); Pinyon Environmental Inc.,* Lakewood, Colorado (W9127N-21-D-0016); The Clark Group LLC,* Washington, D.C. (W9127N-21-D-0018); and ANAMAR Environmental Consulting Inc., Gainesville, Florida (W9127N-21-D-0010), will compete for each order of the $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for planning and environmental services required in support of water resource studies and projects. Bids were solicited via the internet with 14 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2026. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland, Oregon, is the contracting activity.

HART Technologies Inc.,* Manassas, Virginia (N0017821D4414); and QinetiQ Inc., Lorton, Virginia (N0017821D4415), are awarded a combined $30,300,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for design, technical documentation, fabrication, system integration, test and evaluation, and rapid prototyping support. These contracts do not include options, and have a maximum cumulative value of $30,300,000. This contract was competitively awarded with full and open competition. All items will be procured and evaluated at the delivery order level. Types of equipment may include radar, voice and data communications, cryptographic equipment, electronic countermeasures and navigation aids as they pertain to electronic warfare and radio frequency systems. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (50%); and Lorton, Virginia (50%), and is expected to be completed by September 2026. Fiscal 2021 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $1,000 ($500 minimum contract guarantee per awardee) will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of fiscal 2023. All other funding will be made available at the delivery order level as contracting actions occur. This contract was competitively procured via the beta System for Award Management website, with three offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Rockwell Collins Simulation and Training Solutions, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is awarded a $17,619,012 firm-fixed-price modification (P00040) to a previously awarded contract N6134017C0014. This modification procures initial spare parts and aircraft common equipment to support the E-2D Hawkeye Integrated Training Systems flight, tactics, and maintenance devices. Work will be performed in Norfolk, Virginia (77%); Iwakuni, Japan (20%); and Point Mugu, California (3%), and is expected to be completed in March 2024. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $5,715,006; and fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,904,006 will be obligated at the time of award, $11,904,006 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity.