The Pentagon erased a potential trove of material related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol from the phones of senior defense officials in the Trump administration, reports The Washington Post. Court records published on the website of the watchdog group American Oversight indicate that the Pentagon “wiped” the government-issued phones of senior DoD and Army officials who were in charge of mobilizing the National Guard to respond to the Capitol attack, including then-acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller and then-Army secretary Ryan McCarthy. The erasing was in keeping with DoD and Army policy for departing employees, according to legal filings that state: “the text messages were not preserved.”
Young Federal Workers Aren’t Staying
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.
Young federal employees are leaving the federal government at a rapid rate, with nearly 9% of those under 30 quitting in fiscal 2021, reports Government Exec. The overall attrition rate was 6.1% that year, a fairly steady figure. Veterans Affairs had the highest attrition rate in government, at 7.1%, followed by the Army, Air Force, and Treasury; EPA the lowest at 4.1%; and Small Business Administration the largest leap, from 4.5% in fiscal 2020 to 6.1% last year.
After five days of an around-the-clock “fire watch” on the US Capitol steps by veterans, the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act — better known as the PACT Act — was adopted Tuesday by a 86-11 vote after a lengthy series of procedural moves by GOP senators. The vote ended a week of turmoil surrounding the bill to help millions of vets suffering from burn pit and toxic injuries, reports Military Times. The legislation is headed to the White House to become law.
A top Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin (D-IL), wants the Justice Department to take over investigating the missing text messages in the lead up to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, reports FCW. Durbin said it’s necessary for Justice to get involved because the Homeland Security Department’s watchdog has mishandled the probe so far.
A special US military cell flows weapons and equipment into Ukraine, reports The New York Times. A little-known group at US European Command in Germany fills Ukraine’s battlefield requests with donations from more than 40 countries.
Eric Schmitt, the attorney general of Missouri, is investigating the investment firm Morningstar’s environmental, social, and governance analysis policies for violations of a state consumer-protection law, reports Reuters. Also under review are potential violations of another Missouri law which protects Israel from a campaign to isolate the Jewish state over its treatment of Palestinians.
Under new rules released in June, telephone-only telehealth appointments will become a permanent benefit of TriCare, reports Military.com, but co-payments will resume. The start date for the new rules has not been announced.
The future USNS Apalachicola could become the Navy’s first autonomous ship, reports gCaptain. The Navy is conducting a series of tests aimed at advancing autonomous capabilities and navigation, demonstrating that a large ship can become a self-driving platform, and potentially laying the groundwork for future unmanned operations. The tests are using the future USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13), a Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship scheduled for delivery later this year.
NATO is creating a nearly seamless shield from the Baltic to the Black Sea with a new effort it calls “air shielding,” reports Military Times. The 30-country transatlantic alliance has long flown “air policing” missions. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a neighbor it shares with NATO nations, the new posture brings together disparate allied air and missile defense units under a single command rather than a more piecemeal, reactive method.
BBC describes the laser focused missile that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, but not his family. This type of air-to-surface missile has become a fixture of US counter-terrorism operations overseas in the decades since the September 11, 2001, attacks. The missile can be fired from a variety of platforms, including helicopters, ground vehicles, ships, and fixed wing aircraft — or, in Zawahiri’s case, from an unmanned drone.
The US Senate confirms LT GEN Michael Langley to lead US Africa Command, reports USNI. Langley becomes the first Black Marine to receive a fourth star.
The Navy is ready to distribute the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, reports USNI News. Novavax is the latest company to receive emergency use authorization from the FDA for its vaccine to prevent COVID-19, and it is now an option for active-duty troops, who have not yet been vaccinated. The Novavax shot is more traditional and similar to other vaccines against disease like tetanus or HPV than the COVID vaccines produced by Pfizer or Moderna.
The National Guard has rescued hundreds amid flooding in Kentucky; 37 dead, reports Military.com. Since Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency in Kentucky on July 26, the Kentucky National Guard — along with partners from bordering states — has rescued an estimated 580 people, according to Kentucky Guard spokesperson LT COL Carla Raisler. The unit will soon be transitioning to food and water distribution for those affected by the disaster.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledges solidarity with Taiwan as China holds military drills and vents its anger, reports Reuters. China furiously condemned the highest-level US visit to Taiwan in 25 years with a burst of military activity in surrounding waters, summoning the US ambassador in Beijing, and halting several agricultural imports from Taiwan.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it’s ready for talks with the United States on nuclear arms control even as Moscow and Washington have remained locked in a tense standoff over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, reports Military.com. Commenting on US President Joe Biden’s statement that Washington is open for talks on a new arms control deal to replace the New START treaty after it expires in 2026, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that such negotiations are long overdue.
Big changes are ahead for how troops battle chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiation threats, reports Military Times. But also some smaller changes in combating those threats, such as new suits, gloves, and better detection devices arriving in the next few years.
The US Army reports success at its second test of the Iron Dome air defense system at intercepting a variety of threats and operating with existing US systems, reports Defense News. Iron Dome has been active for more than a decade with the Israel Defense Forces. The tests took place at two-week intervals in early June at White Sands Missile Range, NM, in conjunction with the Israel Missile Defense Organization.
CBP’s facial recognition program at airports is expanding but concerns remain, reports FCW. Customs and Border Protection has rolled out its facial recognition program at all US international airports, and at seaports and land entry points, but concerns about oversight and the potential for so-called “mission creep” remain, witnesses and lawmakers said at a July 27 House Homeland Security hearing.
Contracts:
Textron Systems Corp., Hunt Valley, Maryland, was awarded a $9,032,500 modification (P00009) to contract W911QY-20-C-0025 for an Aerosonde MK4.7 aircraft. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 27, 2023. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales (Nigeria) funds in the amount of $9,032,500 were obligated at the time of the award. US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
Veraxx Engineering Corp., Chantilly, Virginia, is awarded a $40,841,034 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides for the upgrade, integration, and fielding of a completed baseline version of the Marine Corps Tactical Environment (TEn) for the four Marine Corps aircraft wings and complete integration of the TEn into Marine Corps aviation training systems and devices, as well as address interoperability bridges. Work will be performed in New River, North Carolina (15%); San Diego, California (15%); Oceanside, California (15%); Craven County, North Carolina (10%); Ginowan, Japan (10%); Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii (5%); Jacksonville, North Carolina (5%); Beaufort, South Carolina (5%); Twentynine Palms, California (5%); Yuma, Arizona (5%); Orlando, Florida (5%); Chicago, Illinois (1%); Fort Worth, Texas (1%); Lakehurst, New Jersey (1%); New Orleans, Louisiana (1%); and Chicopee, Massachusetts (1%). The work is expected to be completed in January 2028. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity (N6134022D0009).