Thornberry to Retire, 2020 End of Term

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Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), the GOP’s top voice on military and national security, will not seek reelection next year, reports Military Times. He will end his 25-year congressional career at the conclusion of his current term, December 2020. Thornberry, 61, serves as the House Armed Services Committee’s ranking member and was chairman of the powerful panel from 2015 to 2018. He joins five other Texas congressmen retiring at the end of their current term, reports Dallas News.

US retaliated with airstrikes for an al-Shabab attack on a US commando outpost in Somalia, reports Military Times.

Veterans can expect a cost-of-living bump this year, but no news on how much, reports Military Times, but likely smaller than the last one they received. The COLA signed into law last week guarantees that a host of veterans benefits will see the same annual boost as Social Security recipients.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, sworn in as Joint Chiefs chairman, tells President Donald Trump, “You can rest assured that I will always provide you informed, candid, impartial military advice,” reports Military Times.

Peace negotiations are dead, but the war’s alive in Afghanistan, reports Military Times. This is the 18th year the US has been at war in Afghanistan. Troop deaths have risen to the most in years, the Taliban holds more territory than ever and a new foe, ISIS-K, has emerged to add to the deadly misery. Toward the end of 2016 about 8,400 US troops were in Afghanistan. Now there are about 14,000.

Major Gen. Lori Reynolds, commander of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, says diversity of “races, religions, backgrounds and genders” is essential to warfighting in the information age, reports Marine Corps Times.

Iran sentences man to death for spying for the CIA, reports Reuters. The Iranian courts have also jailed two others for 10 years for the same crime, as well as imprisoning a fourth person for 10 years for spying for Britain.

Former national security adviser John Bolton is critical of North Korea and pessimistic in first speech since ouster from the Trump administration, reports Military Times.

North Korea complains at UN about US “political and military provocations,” reports Military Times. “It depends on the US,” North Korean Ambassador Kim Song said, whether the negotiations “will become a window of opportunity or an occasion that will hasten the crisis.”

Perpetrators of biggest scam in Tricare’s history soon to learn if they’re going to jail, reports Military.com. As of May 2019, the Justice Department has indicted and sentenced 74 people, with 50 more convicted and awaiting sentencing in the nationwide scheme perpetrated by at least 100 pharmacies. For those who saw a loophole, it was easy money. The criminals include at least five veterans, with more arrests of former service members possibly to come.

In 2018, 58 active-duty Marines and 19 reservists died by suicide. This was a 10-year high suicide rate in the Marine Corps, reports Marine Corps Times. A variety of counter measures have been implemented by the Marines and comparisons of the early months of 2019 with the same months in 2018 show a significant reduction.

Contracts:

Intelligent Waves LLC, Reston, Virginia, has been awarded an $89,200,000 indefinite-quantity contract for crowd sourced data support services. This contract provides the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron with crowd support data support services. The contractor shall provide flight test mission instrumentation modifications, improvements and operations for 53rd Wing test aircraft test instrumentation packages at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and other operational flight-testing locations. The contractor shall evaluate, upgrade, modify and operate instrumentation systems before, during, and after test missions. This work may include design, integration, functional checkouts and mission data capture activities for each period of performance. Work will be performed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; Yuma, Arizona; Patuxent River, Maryland; Norfolk, Virginia; Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; and Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and is expected to be completed by March 2025. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $1,600,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The 99th Contracting Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, is the contracting activity (FA4861-19-D-A005).  

ASRC Communications Ltd., Beltsville, Maryland, has been awarded a $66,954,742 firm-fixe-price single contract modification (P00039) to previously awarded contract FA3002-16-C-0004 for acquisition of base operations support services. Work will be performed at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020. This award is the result of a competitive source acquisition and six offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds are being used and no funds are being obligated at the time of the award. The Air Force Installation Contracting Center, the 338th Specialized Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity.

Progeny Systems, Manassas, Virginia, was awarded a $25,689,916 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and cost only contract for the procurement of Navy systems engineering. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $98,044,894. Work will be performed in Middletown, Rhode Island (70%); and Manassas, Virginia (30%), and is expected to be completed by September 2021. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2027. Fiscal 2019 research, development test and evaluation (Navy) funding in the amount of $800,000 will be obligated at time of award. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-6201). (Awarded Sept. 30, 2019)

CORRECTION: The Sept. 30, 2019, announcement of a $43,889,245 delivery order (N0002419F5637) under previously awarded contract N00024-15-D-5217 to Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, for 281 Technical Insertion Sixteen (TI-16) Common Display System Variant A water-cooled and air-cooled production consoles, included the incorrect completion month. The work is expected to be complete by September 2020. All other information in the announcement is correct.

CORRECTION: The $67,371,583 contract awarded to EMCube Inc., Alexandria, Virginia (N00030-20-C-0009), to provide services for the US and United Kingdom Trident II D5 Strategic Weapon System programs and the United Kingdom Dreadnought program, was incorrectly announced on Sept. 30, 2019. The contract is being awarded Oct. 1, 2019. All other information in the announcement is correct.