US Ramping Up Evacuation Efforts

Marine 1st LT Mitchell Teefey with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit provides fresh water to a child during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 20. Teefey is the godson of two staffers in Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s office, and his mother is a native Charles countian. (US Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz)

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.

President Joe Biden is facing global pressure to extend Afghanistan evacuation efforts as Taliban warns against doing so, reports The Washington Post. But Biden agreed Tuesday with a Pentagon recommendation to stick to an Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw US combat troops from Afghanistan, according to Politico.

Taliban says it won’t accept an extension to Biden’s Aug. 31 Afghanistan withdrawal deadline, reports Military Times. A Taliban spokesman in Doha, Qatar, said the new rulers of Afghanistan would not accept an extension to the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan. If the US extends the deadline, “that means they are extending the occupation,” Suhail Shaneen told Sky News. “That will create mistrust between us. If they are intent on continuing the occupation, it will provoke a reaction.”

The Kabul airport mission is expanding into the city as the Aug. 31 evacuation deadline nears, reports Military Times. With 5,800 troops on the ground and flights leaving on average every hour, the US for the first time on Sunday exceeded its previous daily evacuation ceiling, flying out just under 11,000 Americans, third-country nationals, and vulnerable Afghans.

Nearly 11,000 evacuees left Afghanistan on US military and coalition planes in a 12-hour span Monday. About 48,000 people have escaped the country since Aug. 14. Army GEN Stephen Lyons, commander of the US Transportation Command, vows to ramp up what is already one of the largest airlift operations in history, reports Air Force Times.

At least three babies have been born during the airlifts from Kabul, reports Air Force Times. The US State Department policy says the children are not eligible for American citizenship because they were born on a military plane.

China continues to operate its embassy in Kabul. It’s business as usual, reports Defense One. Foreign policy experts say China’s priority is for stability in Afghanistan. China wants “the Taliban to establish a government that at least jumps through enough hoops that it can reach diplomatic legitimacy. … They don’t want a pariah state on its border again,” said an official at German Marshall Fund’s Asia program.

US Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy has accepted 662 evacuees from Afghanistan, reports Navy Times.

US Vice President Kamala Harris says China uses coercion and intimidation to back its unlawful South China Sea claims, during a visit to Southeast Asia, reports Reuters. Harris’ seven-day trip to Singapore and Vietnam, only her second trip internationally, is aimed at standing up to China’s growing security and economic influence.

How fast the country gets back to a sense of normalcy lies in the hands of the 90 million Americans who have yet to get vaccinated, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said, COVID-19 can be brought under control by spring 2022 — but only if millions more Americans are vaccinated, reports Business Insider. More than 201,700,000 people have gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.

With the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine, the COVID shot will become mandatory for troops, reports Military Times. The Food and Drug Administration made the announcement Monday that the Pfizer vaccine had received approval. The DoD is working up a policy to begin requiring it for troops. “A timeline for vaccination completion will be provided in the coming days,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

 

 

DoD’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation is seeking input for its Community Noise Mitigation initiative. Approximately 250 military facilities have been identified. The office would like to hear from these locations as it works with communities to find measures that would mitigate any impacts from noise caused by defense fixed wing aviation activities, with special attention to communities with new airframes, noting “all types of mitigation efforts should be considered for implementation.”

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford leaves Norfolk for its last repairs before its maiden deployment, reports USNI News. After three bulkhead-rattling explosions off the coast of Florida, carrier USS Ford (CVN-78) and its crew began the ship’s last repair period before a long-delayed deployment. On Friday, the $13 billion carrier made the short trip across the James River to Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding for the six-month planned incremental availability following the explosive shock trials off the East Coast.

As part of its effort to modernize its military, Russia will build new nuclear submarines and other warships, reports The Associated Press. “A strong and sovereign Russia needs a powerful and well-balanced navy,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

After procurement cuts, the US Army jammer is in its “prove it” phase, reports C4ISRNET. “We’ve got to show that the MFEW [Multi-Function Electronic Warfare-Air Large] capability can operate in a robust environment and potentially on platforms, not just the Gray Eagle, but looking at diversified platform set … and looking for how MFEW will operate before we make a commitment on how we’ll necessarily go after a capability like MFEW in the future,” said Mark Kitz, program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare, and sensors.

Andy Travnicek, 50, a commercial airline pilot and a member of the Geico Skytypers, died when his vintage World War II plane crashed after takeoff Friday at an airport in Pennsylvania. The air show team was scheduled to perform Saturday at the Great Pocono Raceway Airshow.

Lockheed Martin will close its plant in Coatesville, PA, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. The plant where Sikorsky helicopters are built was originally set for closure in 2019. Two hundred and forty people are expected to lose their jobs; 120 will be given the chance to relocate or work remotely, according to the company.

The Colorado Gazette reports that Lockheed’s space operations in Colorado are soaring. By the numbers: There are about 6,000 employees in the company’s space division working to build spacecraft integral to NASA’s moon missions and space exploration. There are about 9,000 space division employees, who work from locations statewide.

The Navy is making major changes to safety, security, and shipyard procedures in the wake of the July 2020 USS Bonhomme Richard fire, reports Military.com.

NAS Pax River is accepting nominations for the 2021 Admiral Merlin O’Neill Officer of the Year Award established by the local chapter of Military Officers Association of America, reports Southern Maryland News Net. The award is in honor of O’Neill, commandant of the Coast Guard from 1950 to 1954 and a prominent Southern Maryland resident in his later years.

Contracts:

Grunley Construction Co. Inc., Rockville, Maryland, was awarded a $21,386,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of a new access-control facility at Fort Meade. Bids were solicited via the internet with nine received. Work will be performed in Fort Meade, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 23, 2024. Fiscal 2021 military construction, Army funds in the amount of $21,386,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W912DR-21-C-0016).

Technology Service Corp., Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $230,000,000 (maximum ceiling) contract (H9240121D0003) with a $1,500 minimum ordering guarantee for aircraft, turrets and spares to provide U.S. Special Operations Command with an increased multi-intelligence capability.  The contract is funded at the task order level with operations and maintenance, procurement, and research development test and evaluation funding. The period of performance is a base period of six months with three 12-month options. The contract is a Small Business Innovation Research Phase III authorized under 10 U.S. Code 2304(b)(2) or 41 U.S. Code 253 (5)(2).  U.S. Special Operations Command Headquarters, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity. 

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Virginia, was awarded a $200,000,000 multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders for research and development. This contract provides for innovative research and development in order to identify, mitigate and protect avionics systems against cyber‐attack, and prototype agile, next‐generation platform and system of systems architectures to enable rapid integration and fielding of enhanced mission system capability. The location of performance is Beavercreek, Ohio, and work is expected to be completed by Aug. 23, 2028. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. The Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8650-21-D-1006).

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $98,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee task order (FA7014-21-F-0108) under a General Services Administration One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) Pool 1 contract for A10 strategic plans and policy support services. This task order will provide technical, analytical, operational, programmatic, and planning subject matter expertise support for Air Force A10-S, and its component branches, as well as the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Branch missions. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C.; Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and if all options are exercised, work is expected to be completed by Aug. 25, 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition in which one offer was received. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,024,901 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force District of Washington Contracting Directorate, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity (GS00Q14OADU130).

General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk, Norfolk, Virginia, is awarded a $32,479,184 modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee, incentive fee contract N00024-16-C-4306 for the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) fiscal 2021 planned incremental availability. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Virginia, and is expected to be completed July 2022. Funds in the amount of $30,680,155 will be obligated at time of award. Contract funds in the amount of $32,479,184 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

CORRECTION: The $499,245,545 multiple award contract (MAC III) announced on Aug. 13, 2021, to Life Cycle Engineering Inc.,* Charleston, South Carolina (N00024-21-D-4466); Neal Technical Innovations LLC,* Daphne, Alabama (N00024-21-D-4467); and Valkyrie Enterprises Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (N00024-21-D-4468), does not include chief of naval operations dry docking selected restricted availabilities and selected restricted availabilities, continuous maintenance, and emergent maintenance.

Smiths Detection Inc., Edgewood, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $9,820,917 firm-fixed-price contract under solicitation SPE7MX-21-R-0075 for spare parts for the Joint Chemical Agent Detector. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Maryland, with a Dec. 21, 2026, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 through 2027 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio (SPE7MX-21-D-0117).