What the Future Holds for Remote Work

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.

A Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor says that many companies will adopt remote work on a permanent basis and will need to devote considerable attention and focus to systematically assessing the lessons they have learned during the pandemic, reports newswise.com. Timothy Golden envisions companies will add chief remote work officers. One CEO predicts rural towns will flourish … if they’re fast, reports Inc. “World-class people will move to smaller cities, have a lower cost of living, and higher quality of life. These regions must innovate quickly to attract that wealth,” says Chris Herd.

Forbes looks at how the COVID crisis influenced the popularity of remote work and how companies coped and are coping with the ongoing challenges. Analyst Andrew Hewitt expects about 60% of companies to offer a hybrid work model, while 10% will be fully remote, reports CNN.

House Armed Services Committee members, chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) and ranking member Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), are “deeply troubled” by the military presence around the US Capitol, reports Military Times. This comes only a few days after DoD officials said the National Guard would remain stationed there until late May, Stars and Stripes reports. CNN reports that the Capitol Police will reduce perimeter fencing and is considering scaling back the Guard’s presence.

The National Guard’s deployment at the Capitol is expected to cost $521 million through May, reports The Hill.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz wants a meeting with military leadership so they can explain why officials in charge of some service social media accounts insulted the conservative pundit Tucker Carlson last week for his comments about women in the military, reports Military Times. After a story on new Air Force maternity flight suits, the Fox News anchor had made comments about how catering to pregnant women is “feminizing” the military and allowing China to surpass the US in its dominance of national defense.

Threats from China and North Korea are looming large over DefSec Lloyd Austin and StateSec Antony Blinken’s trip to Asia this week, reports Military Times. The trip abroad is part of an effort to bolster US influence and calm concerns about America’s role in Asia. The Pentagon also wants to draw India closer to the US, reports Washington Examiner.

The US engaged in “prior consultation” with South Korea before reaching out to Pyongyang in an attempt to initiate engagement, reports UPI. The US has tried since February to make contact with North Korea.

China’s arms exports have dropped, reports South Chinas Morning Post, a decline that experts have attributed to tensions between China and the US prompting some of China’s neighbors to buy more American weapons. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute recently published the “Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2020” report.

A dozen C-130Js from the Yokota Air Base, Japan, supported more than 500 Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members in a large-scale airborne operation last week, reports Air Force Magazine. The exercise provided an opportunity to better the US and Japan’s military-to-military relationship.

 

 

The US has about 1,000 more troops in Afghanistan than it has disclosed, reports The New York Times, which could complicate the withdrawal of troops, first numbered at 2,500, by May 1.

Afghanistan says its security forces can hold their ground against the Taliban even if US troops withdraw, reports Military Times. “The Afghan security forces are fully capable of defending the capital and the cities and the territories that we are present in right now,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said.

The first operation of a Britain-led partnership of nine northern European countries — Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Britain — was conducted last week in the Baltic Sea, reports UPI.

A 12-day, five-nation NATO anti-submarine exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, Dynamic Manta 2021, was completed last week, reports UPI. The US, France, Turkey, Italy, and Greece participated.

During routine maintenance aboard the Sioux City, an engine cooling issue was discovered, reports Navy Times. The littoral combat ship has been sidelined for several months.

Some House Republicans say they are concerned over the reading list provided by the Chief of Naval Operations Professional Program, reports Fox News. In a letter to ADM Mike Gilday, they say Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to be an Antiracist,” Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow,” and Jason Pierceson’s “Sexual Minorities and Politics” “undermine faith in our nation and weaken unit morale and cohesion.”

The Washington, DC, metropolitan area ranked No. 1 nationally for the number of information technology-related job openings in February and ranked No. 4 for the month-over-month increase in new postings, reports WTOP News.

The Transportation Security Administration says it screened the most passengers in a single day since last year at the end of last week as spring break travel continues, reports UPI. On Friday, 1,357,111 travelers were screened, the most since March 15, 2020.

An unexpected light set against the dark morning skies Sunday morning prompted people along the East Coast to post images of the unknown phenomenon on social media, reports WTOP News. It was from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch at NASA’s Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Contracts:

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., San Diego, California, is awarded an $81,992,887 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This contract provides for sustainment, engineering, logistics, test, mission control, and operator training systems support for MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This effort also includes procurement of field service representatives and technical support to ensure that the MQ-4C Triton UAS aircraft are mission-capable for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions supporting Triton’s early operational capability and initial operating capability. In addition, this effort supports reach-back engineering support for both the Navy and the government of Australia MQ-4C Triton UAS assets. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (36.5%); San Diego, California (22.5%); various locations outside the continental US (12.7%); various locations within the continental US (8.8%); Jacksonville, Florida (7.7%); Mayport, Florida (6.5%); and Baltimore, Maryland (5.3%), and is expected to be completed in March 2022. Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $52,700,590, fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,376,000; and foreign cooperative project funds in the amount of $40,880 will be obligated at the time of award, $8,376,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 US Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0001921C0060).

Stratascorp LLC, doing business as Stratascorp Technologies, Virginia Beach, Virginia, has been awarded a $28,211,143 firm-fixed-price task order (N3220521F1092) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N3220519D1000). This task order is for continued command, control, communications, and computers (C4) afloat operations and sustainment support. The contractor will provide technical support services for the various C4 capabilities aboard Military Sealift Command’s fleet of ships; the operation and sustainment of the MSC Network Operations Centers (MNOCs); and future C4 capabilities hosted at the Navy Fleet Network Operation Centers (FLTNOCs). The support includes, but is not limited to, knowledge management, cybersecurity, maintenance and sustainment, modernization, equipment, and asset management, MNOCs and future FLTNOCs, and training. The task order period of performance commences March 15, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2021. Fiscal 2021 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $11,943,053; and fiscal 2021 working capital funds (Transportation) in the amount of $7,349,104 are being incrementally funded at time of award. Fiscal 2022 working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $7,255,463; and fiscal 2022 working capital funds (Transportation) in the amount of $1,663,523 will be obligated Sept. 30, 2021. Work under this task order will be performed at various world-wide locations. The Navy’s Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

Unity Technologies Corp., Myersville, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $24,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for professional support services. This was a competitive acquisition with 13 responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Maryland and Pennsylvania, with a March 31, 2026, performance completion date. Using customer is Defense Logistics Agency Distribution. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Distribution, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania (SP3300-21-D-0005).

Amentum Service Inc., Germantown, Maryland, has been awarded a $18,308,694 modification (P00061) to contract FA4890-16-C-0007 to provide program support for Air Combat Command’s Unmanned Aircraft System Operations Center Support, providing the warfighter long endurance, real time reconnaissance and surveillance, and precision attack against fixed and time critical targets. Work will be performed at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; Whiteman AFB, Missouri; Shaw AFB, South Carolina; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and Kadena AB, Japan, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2022. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds in the full amount are being obligated at time of award. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $119,050,656. Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.