March 28, 2024

VADM: Navy Needs to Bust the Rust on Its Ships

Bust the Rust

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The Navy needs to bust the rust. That’s the message from VADM Thomas Moore of the Naval Sea Systems Command. He says if the service plans to keep its destroyers on the water for decades, then it must get the corrosion under control, reports Defense News. “We have to stay on top of it. We have to be willing to do the work necessary to limit corrosion on the ship. And it’s not just at the depot. It’s in intermediate maintenance and its with ship’s force. We have to recognize that this is a law-of-physics thing and stay on top of it,” he said.

When President Donald Trump stepped across the Demilitarized Zone to North Korea on Sunday he made history by becoming the first sitting US president to do so. Though seen as a symbolic gesture toward Kim Jong Un, the photo op was followed by a private meeting between the two leaders, who agreed to restart stalled nuclear talks, reports The Hill.

President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping agreed to restart trade talks after the G20 conference in Japan. Trump said existing US tariffs will remain in place against Chinese imports while negotiations continue, reports CBS News.

F-22 Raptor jet fighters have been deployed for the first time to Qatar as part of a build-up of forces ahead of a possible clash with Iran, reports The Associated Press. The Drive reports this marks the return of the Raptors to the Middle East for the first time since 2018.

F-35 pilots from the US, Britain, and Israel took part in Exercise Tri-Lightning, reports Air Force Times. The one-day training exercise took place over the Eastern Mediterranean Sea late last month.

Sailors aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney man the anchor detail during a straits transit en route to the Black Sea, June 29, 2019. Carney, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is on its sixth patrol in the US 6th Fleet area of operations in support of regional allies and partners as well as US national security interests in Europe and Africa. (Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Fred Gray IV)

Iran has breached the limit on its stockpile of enriched uranium set by the 2015 nuclear accord, reports The Washington Post, but some Iranian news agencies are contradicting the information.

The destroyer USS Jason Dunham is stationed off the coast of Cuba, shadowing a detachment of Russian naval ships that includes one of the country’s most advanced surface ships, USNI News reports.

South Carolina legislators have decided to sink the Balao-class Clamagore, a museum submarine that’s been floating in Charleston Harbor for 40 years, reports Navy Times.

The USNS Comfort hospital ship made the first stop in Ecuador on its five-month humanitarian mission to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, reports Navy Times. US Southern Command announced earlier this year that the ship would deploy to Latin America from June through November in the midst of a power struggle between US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó and Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

Army Sgt. Benjamin Cleland, a Fort Benning soldier and member of the Army Marksmanship Unit’s Service Rifle Team, set a national record with the first-ever perfect score on a National Rifle Association high-power rifle course, reports Task & Purpose.

The Senate approved a bill last month that will extend disability benefits to veterans who served on Navy ships off the coast of Vietnam, reports Military.com, signaling the end of a fight for these former servicemembers to receive compensation for diseases presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange and other defoliants used during the Vietnam War.

With 10 months to go before the Maryland primary, two women have announced campaigns against US Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md., 5th), reports Maryland Matters. Both of the challengers say they were inspired by freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Hundreds of new laws took effect in Maryland on July 1, including efforts to combat opioid addiction, modernize 911 systems, and loosen restrictions on alcohol sales, reports The Baltimore Sun.

Contracts:

Cardno GS Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia (W91278-19-D-0027); AECOM Technical Services Inc., Los Angeles, California (W91278-19-D-0025); Atkins North America Inc., Dallas, Texas (W91278-19-D-0026); HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction Inc., Englewood, Colorado (W91278-19-D-0028); Tetra Tech Inc., Fairfax, Virginia (W91278-19-D-0031); Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Dallas, Texas (W91278-19-D-0029) and Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia (W91278-19-D-0030) will compete for each order of the $49,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect and engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 12 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Hughes Network Systems LLC, Germantown, Maryland, was awarded an $11,823,659 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the research and development effort to research solutions, prototype products and demonstrate solutions that include machine learning to improve transport and network performance availability and reliability. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Germantown, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 30, 2023. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,863,123 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W56KGU-19-C-0016).

Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military, Bethesda, Maryland, was awarded an $8,168,074 modification (P00005) to contract W81XWH-18-C-0337 to provide diagnostic and clinical research support. Work will be performed in Silver Spring, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2023. Fiscal 2019 Defense Health Program funds in the amount of $6,834,794 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

CACI Technologies Inc., Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded a $34,837,804 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for software agility and resiliency software/hardware. This contract provides for the development of technology and methods to test and evaluate the effectiveness of virtual infrastructure with regard to malware analysis and mission assurance and web-based mission management functionality integration with current operational systems. Work will be performed in Rome, New York, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,150,000 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-19-C-0014).

Raytheon Co., Dulles, Virginia, has been awarded $8,045,715 modification (P00004) to previously awarded firm-fixed price contract FA4890-17-C-0014 for persistent surveillance and dissemination system of systems and mission video distribution system services. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract from $15,626,799 to $23,672,514. Work will be performed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina; and Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2022. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $4,022,857 are being obligated at time of award. Headquarters ACC, Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

AECOM Management Services Inc., Germantown, Maryland, has been awarded a $7,497,087 firm-fixed-price, task order (FA8131-19-F-0002) to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract FA8131-18-D-0001 for contractor logistics support of the Air National Guard’s C-26 Fleet. This task order is to provide sustainment and engineering support for the current fleet of 11 aircraft. Work will be performed at Fresno, California; Clarksburg, West Virginia; Kirtland, New Mexico; Meridian, Mississippi; Ellington Field, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Fairchild, Washington; Tucson, Arizona; Madison, Wisconsin and Montgomery, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 Air National Guard operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $7,497,087 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity.

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