Survey: Women Reentering Workforce Want STEM Jobs

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.

A new MetLife employment survey finds women who quit working during the COVID-19 pandemic now want jobs in STEM fields, reports The Hill. Many of the women surveyed said they are considering careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, reflecting a “shift in the paradigm from the ‘Great Resignation’ to the ‘Great Reevaluation,'” reads the survey, which aims to offer insights for top tech leaders.

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies recommended that US Air Force abandon plans to revive fourth-generation fighters under the F-15EX program, and instead boost production of F-35As and stealth jets, reports Defense News. The institute said the F-15EX Eagle II program is a dead end. “The complexity of the global security environment requires fifth-generation fighters in numbers that the Air Force does not have today,” reads “The Future Fighter Force Our Nation Requires: Building a Bridge.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a plan to research, restrict, and remediate harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, reports CNN. The “forever chemicals” can cause severe health problems and linger in the environment after being released. “This comprehensive, national PFAS strategy will deliver protections to people who are hurting, by advancing bold and concrete actions that address the full lifecycle of these chemicals,” said Michael Regan, EPA administrator.

The Navy had reported that high concentrations of the chemicals were found in groundwater at NAS Pax River and Webster Field in St Inigoes, reports Chesapeake Bay Magazine. The Environmental Working Group has identified 679 military sites with known or suspected discharges of PFAS.

LT GEN Michael Groen, head of the Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, said that a former software officer for the Air Force was wrong to assert that China has the advantage, as the US moves too slowly to develop new software, reports Defense One. The JAIC has launched a new AI accelerator to allow services to much more quickly build and fund AI solutions, Groen said.

USS The Sullivans left the Royal Navy’s carrier strike group last week after operating with the multi-national CSG since the deployment began, reports USNI. Queen Elizabeth deployed with a blended air wing of UK Royal Air Force and US Marine Corps F-35Bs and an international group of escorts to include The Sullivans and Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen.

The US and China are stepping up their war of words over Taiwan, reports Military Times, in a long-simmering dispute that has implications for the power dynamic in the Indo-Pacific. US President Joe Biden said last week that the US has a commitment to help Taiwan defend itself in the event of an attack from Chinese. China followed that up by saying there is “no room” for compromise or concessions over the issue of Taiwan, CNN reported.

The US has few credible options to respond if China were to seize the islands administered by Taiwan, reports The Washington Post, according to a war game conducted by the Center for a New American Security.

 

 

While upset by the pace of the investigation into the so-called Havana Syndrome cases affecting US diplomats, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) of the Senate Intelligence Committee said that lawmakers are “in a bipartisan way, absolutely on top of this,” reports Politico. The State Department has been accused of downplaying both the symptoms and the cause, which is thought to be directed-energy weapons.

Travelers are donating frequent-flyer miles toward flights for refugees from Afghanistan, reports The Associated Press. The campaign is being organized by Welcome.US and Miles4Migrants.

Are there too many civilian employees at the Pentagon? That was being discussed this week before the House Appropriations Committee defense panel. The top Republican on the panel says the current number is unsustainable, reports Military.com. Pentagon officials disagree, saying the 790,000 civilians are key to the defense of the country. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) said the Pentagon should automate more jobs and responsibilities.

The US Navy now has an expeditionary medical facility in Norway, reports Navy Times. The mobile hospital has been set up in Norwegian caves, but can be moved to other areas on short notice.

Possible changes to the Marine Corps policy on tattoos might be coming. The USMC may soon allow sleeve tattoos, an unlimited number of tattoos for officers, and allow future recruiters and drill instructors to sport visible ink, reports Marine Corps Times.

Purdue is one of 10 universities in the country identified by the US Space Force for its university partnership program, reports The Exponent. Purdue was chosen because of its engineering programs, laboratories, and a robust ROTC program, said COL Ken Callahan, commander of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the Indiana school.

Local artist George McWilliams’ mural “Naval Aviation in Space” is awaiting completion at Test and Evaluation Hall at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum in Lexington Park, MD, reports The BayNet. The painting hung above the doorway inside the old Officers Club at NAS Pax River from 1986 until it was salvaged in 2018, prior to the building’s demolition. It is now being restored for installation at the museum.

The effort to pursue secession of Allegany, Garrett, and Washington counties from Maryland and join West Virginia is a dead issue, reports Cumber Times-News. Several lawmakers have dropped their support for the plan.

Contracts:

Lee Hartman and Sons Inc., Roanoke, Virginia, is awarded a $32,546,688 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract procures 16,072 pieces of video teleconference (VTC) equipment in support of the integration of specialized network VTC systems supporting intelligence agencies and the command, control, communication, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions of Joint Staff and combatant commanders, Department of Defense agencies and services, and Department of Homeland Security operational and support components. Work will be performed in St. Inigoes, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in October 2023. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; three offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (N6833522D0003).

Serco – IPS Corp., Herndon, Virginia, is awarded a $24,903,276, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00174-18-C-0015 to procure professional support services for the Naval Sea System Command’s deputy commander for surface warfare (SEA 21). Work will be performed in Washington, D.C. (55%); Norfolk, Virginia (19%); San Diego, California (18%); Mayport, Florida (2%); Yokosuka, Japan (2%); Sasebo, Japan (1%); Manama, Bahrain (1%); Pascagoula, Mississippi (1%); and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (1%), and is expected to complete October 2021. Fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $810,855; fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,845,992; and fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $16,246,052 will be obligated at time of award, of which $17,056,907 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia, has been awarded an $11,873,715 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable contract for Technical Security Team support services. This contract provides for program management, technology security support, food services support and facilities management support. Work will be performed in locations in Pakistan and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2022. This contract involves 100% Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and was a sole-source acquisition. FMS funds in the amount of $11,873,715 were obligated at time of award. The Air Force Security and Assistance Directorate, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8630-22-C-5001).