US to Treat Cyberattacks as Terrorism
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The Department of Justice is prioritizing cyberattacks as highly as acts of terrorism, reports NBC News. The Biden administration is moving to treat ransomware attacks as a national security threat, using intelligence agencies to spy on foreign criminals and cyber operations against hackers in Russia. President Joe Biden intends to raise hacking in his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month, reports MSN News.
Ahead of the summit with Putin on June 16 in Switzerland, Biden is also being urged to put missile defense reductions on the agenda, reports Defense News.
Christine Wormuth is the newly confirmed secretary of the Army, reports Army Times. She is the first woman to hold the top civilian Army role. Wormuth promises to usher along the service’s modernization efforts, which have been closely guarded in recent budget battles.
Naval Station Everett in Washington state will be the homeport for the next generation Constellation-class frigates, reports Navy Times. Twelve frigates will be based there.
The Navy destroyer Gridley caused an oil spill in at Naval Magazine Indian Island on Port Townsend Bay in Washington over the weekend, reports Navy Times, and emergency crews have begun the cleanup. The Naval Station Everett is the Gridley’s homeport. Navy vessels stop at Indian Island when headed to or from the Pacific to stock up on supplies.
Federal News Network reports that many government agencies that saw their staffs shrink or, in some cases, relocate during the Trump administration are all due for large budget and workforce increases under Biden’s 2022 request.
A group of lawmakers is asking the White House to begin transporting Afghan allies “immediately” to a safe zone ahead of the full withdrawal of US forces from the war-torn country later this year, reports Military Times.
Two drones were shot down over the Iraqi al-Asad Aairbase that houses US troops and Iraqi and coalition forces on Sunday, reports CNN.
United Airlines wants to revive supersonic air travel, reports Market Watch. The airline has agreed to purchase 15 supersonic jets from Boom Technology, an aerospace start-up company based in Denver CO.
The latest moving season for military personnel is in high gear, and some troops are already feeling the effects of stretched capacity in the moving industry, reports Military Times. The shortages of labor, wood and equipment are causing problems.
The Pentagon expects all of its per-fluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (also known as PFAS), preliminary assessments and site investigations on military sites to be completed by the first quarter of 2024, reports UPI.
After a review, the Pentagon has decided not to grant an exception to display LGBTQ+ flags on military installations during June, the official LGBTQ+ pride month, reports Military Times.
Scientists are busy studying the Brood X cicadas, reports NPR. “I didn’t see it 17 years ago, and I wanted to experience it,” says entomologist Marianne Alleyne. “My brother-in-law actually put it perfectly: ‘This is your entomology Woodstock, isn’t it?'” Southern Maryland doesn’t get periodical cicadas, reports NBC4, and Brood X isn’t typically found in central, southern or western parts of Virginia. Recipes are flying around the internet for the cicadas, but the Food and Drug Administration warns that if you have allergies to some kinds of seafood, take a pass on the bugs. reports WTOP News.
A poll of likely Maryland Democratic 2022 primary voters shows that former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III and state Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot are ahead in the Democratic primary for governor, reports Maryland Matters. But more than 40% of likely voters said they were undecided. The state’s Republican Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz is the latest to get into the race for governor, reports The Associated Press. The Baltimore Sun took a look at potential candidates for the 2022 open seat for governor.
Contracts:
Amentum Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, has been awarded a $42,832,919 modification (P00026) to contract FA7014-18-F-5045 for the executive airlift aircraft maintenance and back shop support services. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility (JBA-NAF) Washington, Maryland, and is expected to be completed Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the full amount will be obligated at the time of award. The cumulative face value of the contract is $149,513,996. The 316th Contracting Squadron, JBA-NAF, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Progeny Systems Corp., Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $10,642,255 cost-plus-incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification to previously awarded contract N00024-19-C-6267 to add ceiling to previously exercised options for engineering services, material, and travel. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia (85%); and Charleroi, Pennsylvania (15%), and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Fiscal 2021 ship building and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $669,744 (46%); fiscal 2016 ship building and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $478,129 (33%); fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $201,224 (14%); fiscal 2020 ship building and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $60,720 (4%); and fiscal 2021 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $55,660 (3%) will be obligated at time of award, of which funds in the amount of $201,224 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
ASI-BryMak JV, Clarksville, Virginia, was awarded a $8,658,357 firm-fixed-price contract for The Department of Defense Educational Activities preventive maintenance and repair services at Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jun. 22, 2026. US Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91236-21-D-5001).
Textron Systems Corp., Hunt Valley, Maryland, was awarded a $92,535,540 cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for One System Remote Video Terminal (OSRVT) and Soldier Portable OSRVT (SPOT) production with contractor logistics support. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 7, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-21-D-0059).
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland (HT001121D0002), was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, single award contract with a maximum of $100,000,000 to maintain an essential research and engineering capability supporting long-term organizational performance improvement within the Military Health System (MHS); engagement with external stakeholders and supported military commands; advisory and assistance support on complex issues affecting strategic planning, resource allocation, and operational oversight of the MHS; and exploratory research and investigations in topics of interest to the MHS. This effort has an ordering period beginning June 1, 2021, and ending May 31, 2026. Work location is task order dependent but primarily will occur at Laurel, Maryland. Task orders will be funded by research, development, test and engineering; or operation and maintenance appropriations available for obligation at the time of ordering. This contract was awarded under other than full and open competition with no other sources solicited. The Defense Health Agency Professional Services Contracting Division, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded June 1, 2021)
Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC, Herndon, Virginia (HT001121F0040), was awarded a sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract in the amount of $12,142,648 for the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Information Technology Global Service Center (GSC) support. This is a bridge contract to allow the current vendor to provide the same level of service, and allow time for the GSC mission to be transitioned to the newly established Enterprise Information Technology Services Integrator (EITSI) that will be part of the first call order awarded against the EITS blanket purchase agreement. This non-personal services contract provides 24/7/365 state-of-the-art management of the DHA GSC, infrastructure performance optimization, and supports transforming into a world-class customer advocate using data and methodologies to drive efficiencies and continuous process improvement. The contract has a period of performance for three months, and three three-month option periods. The place of performance is San Antonio, Texas. The Defense Health Agency, Professional Services Contracting Division, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Q.E.D. Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $51,041,888 modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-4312. The modification is for the support of execution planning efforts to support West Coast, East Coast and outside the contiguous U.S. maintenance and sustainment execution contracts for Littoral Combat Ship class ships, and increases the cumulative value of this contract to $141,400,436. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (80%); and Virginia Beach, Virginia (20%), and is expected to be completed by June 2022. No funding 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, DC, is the contracting activity.
AMP United LLC, Dover, New Hampshire (N42158-21-D-S001); International Marine and Industrial Applicators LLC, Spanish Fort, Alabama (N42158-21-D-S002); and Q.E.D. Systems Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia (N42158-21-D-S003), are awarded a combined $41,745,389 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the preservation and maintenance of Navy submarines. Typical work under the scope of this multiple award contract effort includes but is not limited to: blasting, preservation, and surface preparation; touch-up, blasting, and painting of high solid coatings and non-high solid coatings; cleaning of sanitary and other tanks; construction of scaffolding required to accomplish taskings; general shipboard cleaning; containment/blast protection; preparation and preservation of dampening tiles; zinc replacement; lead ballast removal and installation; and special hull treatment removal, preparation, preservation, and installation. Each awardee will be awarded $10,000 (minimum contract guarantee per awardee) at the time of award. The contracts have a base one-year ordering period with four additional optional one-year ordering periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $248,692,224 over a five-year period to the three vendors combined. Work will be performed at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY), Portsmouth, Virginia (80%); and other locations under the cognizance of NNSY (80%), as well as at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY), Kittery, Maine, and other locations under the cognizance of PNSY (20%). If all options are exercised, work will continue through June 2026. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $30,000 ($10,000 minimum guarantee per contract) will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. These contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with three offers received. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Management Services Group Inc., doing business as Global Technical Systems, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a $13,291,701 firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee term modification to previously awarded contract N6339419C0008 to exercise options for ordnance alteration kit production, on-board allowance spares kit production, and engineering services for Technical Insertion 12H of the Common Processing System. Work will be performed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by May 2022. Fiscal 2021 procurement (defense-wide) funds in the amount of $7,118,244 (54%); and fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $6,173457 (46%) will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity.
