Trump to Speak From Carrier Deck in Newport News, Va.

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.

Navy Times reports, President Trump is scheduled to speak from the deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford at the Newport News Shipbuilding yard today, Thursday. Newport News Shipbuilding is the sole designer and builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the Navy.

The president’s first address to a joint session of Congress, on Tuesday, reiterated promises he made on the campaign trail, Military Times reports, including rebuilding the military, boosting veterans spending, defeating the Islamic State, and forcing European allies to pay more for defense. But early reactions on both sides of the aisle have rebuked aspects of Trump’s early budget plans for 2018, reports Defense News. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (TX-R) and his Senate counterpart, Chairman Sen. John McCain (AZ-R) say it is too little for the military.

According to USNI News, McCain, a vocal critic of the LCS, plans hearings on the frigate program and says, “The frigate acquisition strategy should be revised to increase requirements to include convoy air defense, greater missile capability, and longer endurance.”

Final numbers won’t be available until May, Federal News Radio reports, still the director of OMB Mick Mulvaney said the budget blueprint in Trump’s Tuesday address was a “true ‘America first’ budget” with non-defense discretionary spending at $462 billion and defense spending at $603 billion, the defense spending a $54 billion increase.

Stocks are rising on the president’s defense spending proposals, reports Defense One.

Although technology wasn’t mentioned in the president’s speech, FCW reports 13 new senior staff members were appointed to the National Economic Council, including an experienced telecommunications and technology attorney on Capitol Hill, Grace Koh, who will serve as special assistant to the president for technology, telecom, and cybersecurity policy. Koh, before working on the Hill, represented Cox Enterprises before the FCC and was a product manager for BeliefNet, a religion content and community site that rose to prominence in the early days of the web.

And DoD has turned a corner on public-private software partnerships with Code.mil — an experiment in Open Source at the Department of Defense. The URL is open to anyone, allows a seamless copyrighting process, and DoD hopes will draw from the vast pool of individual coding talent to “… achieve more rapid development and security for tools and applications our military and civilians rely upon for their missions,” said Lt. Col. Eric Badger, Pentagon spokesman.

There’s a new DefSec in town, so of course there’s talk of savings from consolidation, modernization, but there’s something a bit different this time, reports Washington Technology. DefSec Jim Mattis’ plans reflect a 2016 Defense Business Board report identifying billions of dollars of savings and improved performance, but rejected at the time by the department’s leadership. Few of those positions have been filled, meaning Mattis’ experienced deputy, Bob Work, can direct the review largely unencumbered by the influences of senior officials whose organizations could be impacted.

Some commissary customers are seeing longer lines at the cash register as the result of the federal civilian hiring freeze, reports Military Times. Commissaries have a high turnover, more than 20 percent, and an extended hiring freeze could force a cut in services or reduction of hours. The Naval Exchange at NAS Pax River is undergoing an $8 million expansion, TheBayNet reports, adding 28,000 square feet of retail space.

VASec David Shulkin outlines his 10-point plan for reforming the department, reports Military Times reports.

The Air Force has requested funding for a low-cost fighter experiment in its supplemental budget request, Flight Global reports, indicating the service is serious about finding a close air support alternative. USAF Gen. David Goldfein has said the experiment would not cost much money.

Contracts:

Mythics Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, has been awarded a $293,247,466 firm-fixed-price contract for an Air Force-wide enterprise software license agreement. Contractor will provide an unlimited license agreement for a core set of Oracle technology products including a catalog which provides price holds with discounted pricing on technology products and continues and consolidates enterprise license agreements (ESLA) for commercial proprietary maintenance support of 745,768 Oracle licenses currently in use. Additionally, this ESLA will allow improvement in Oracle license management, provide access to the MilCloud and other cloud service providers, allow use of Air Force Oracle software in the joint environment, and replace multiple Oracle products approaching end-of-life. Work will be performed at Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by Feb. 28, 2022. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition amongst Oracle Department of Defense Enterprise Software Initiative blanket purchase agreement holders, with three offers received. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $17,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex, Alabama, is the contracting activity (FA8771-17-F-0008).

Battlespace Flight Services LLC, Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded an $11,766,078 modification (04) to task order 0014 on previously awarded contract FA4890-13-D-0001 for remotely piloted aircraft operations and maintenance support. Work will be performed at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, and is expected to be complete by March 31, 2018. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance; and overseas contingency operations funds in the amount of $11,766,078 are being obligated at the time of award. Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Battlespace Flight Services, LLC, Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $7,007,039 modification (26) to task order 0002 on previously awarded contract FA4890-13-D-0001 for remotely piloted aircraft operations and maintenance support. Work will be performed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, and Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and is expected to be complete by March 31, 2018. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,007,039 are being obligated at the time of award. Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, is being awarded $44,407,081 for modification P00016 against a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable contract (N00421-16-C-0032) to exercise an option for services in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Ship and Air Integrated Warfare department. Services will include rapid design, development, customization, manufacturing, fabrication, integration, test and evaluation, installation, certification, maintenance and upgrade, logistic, modernization, and life cycle support of new and/or existing shipboard and airborne systems. Work will be performed in St. Inigoes, Maryland (15 percent); and various locations inside and outside the continental US (85 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2018. Fiscal 2017 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $12,944,206 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current year.  The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

QED Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is being awarded a $10,153,591 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity modification to a previously awarded contract (N39040-16-D-0001) to exercise options for the accomplishment of non-nuclear production trade touch labor services to support upcoming availabilities aboard Virginia- and Los Angeles-class submarines. The trades include non-nuclear welders, pipefitters, firewatches, outside machinists, shipwrights, shipfitters, painters, electricians and weight handlers. Work will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be completed by February 2018. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 (planned) operations and maintenance (Navy) funding will be obligated upon award of each task order as they are issued. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, is the contracting activity.