Confederate Sculpture Returns to Arlington
Posted by Java Joe on Monday, August 11, 2025 · Leave a Comment
Arlington National Cemetery’s Confederate Memorial, shown here July 2020, was removed in December 2023 but will be restored in coming weeks. (Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery)
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.
DefSec Pete Hegseth announced last week the controversial “Reconciliation Monument” sculpture will return to Arlington National Cemetery in coming weeks, the latest move by administration officials to return symbols honoring the Confederacy to military sites, reports Military Times. The news came the day after the National Park Service unveiled plans to rebuild a statue commemorating Albert Pike, a Confederate brigadier general, just a few blocks from the US Capitol.
The restoration is expected to take two years and will cost roughly $10 million total, reports Military.com, to include panels offering context about its history, replacing the base, and refurbishing the monument itself. On social media, Hegseth said the Arlington statue “never should have been taken down by woke lemmings. Unlike the Left, we don’t believe in erasing American history — we honor it.”
Homeland Security is removing age limits for new hires as it aims to expand hiring after a massive infusion of cash from Congress for immigration enforcement, reports Military.com. Currently, ICE applicants must be 21 and no older than 37 or 40, depending on what position they are applying for. In an interview with Fox & Friends, DHS Sec Kristi Noem said applicants could be as young as 18 and all age caps had been lifted. Additional enticements include an eye-catching bonus of up to $50,000 for new recruits, student loan forgiveness, and abundant overtime for deportation officers.
President Trump has secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels signaling a continued willingness to use military forces to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs, previously considered a law enforcement responsibility, reports The New York Times.
The Pentagon is in the realm of reaching the Trump administration’s topline goal of downsizing the US defense civilian workforce by 5% to 8% through voluntary reduction efforts and other methods, officials told DefenseScoop. About 55,000 applications have been approved for Deferred Resignation Programs.
The General Services Administration will make Amazon’s cloud business available through OneGov, GSA’s procurement centralization initiative, reports Washington Technology. Amazon Web Services will provide agencies up to $1 billion in savings through December 2028 under the pact, which is non-exclusive and follows similar OneGov arrangements GSA previously made with Google and Oracle.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an emergency directive Thursday instructing agencies to take immediate action to remediate a vulnerability in hybrid Microsoft Exchange environments. The vulnerability allows hackers to deploy a series of techniques that enable compromise of on-premises versions of Active Directory, the Microsoft tool suite that centralizes the management of users, computers and other resources across an organization’s network, reports NextGov/FCW.
Veterans Affairs leaders on Wednesday announced plans to terminate nearly all of its collective bargaining contracts with federal unions, upending employment agreements for hundreds of thousands of department workers, reports Military Times. The move affects members of the American Federation of Government Employees, the AFL-CIO , the National Association of Government Employees, the National Federation of Federal Employees, the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United, and the Service Employees International Union.
Northrop Grumman has published a conceptual rendering for its submission for the Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based fighter. The company tells TWZ that this is the current official artwork associated with its F/A-XX concept. The future of the Navy program is being increasingly questioned, with the service and Pentagon officials apparently at loggerheads about how best to proceed with it.
Japan received its first three F-35B Lightning II fighters last week, with a fourth being delayed due to maintenance and inspection requirements, reports .
Trump on Thursday demanded the immediate resignation of new Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, calling him “highly conflicted” due to his ties to Chinese firms and raising doubts about plans to turn around the struggling American chip icon. Reuters reported in April that Tan invested at least $200 million in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military.
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket is scheduled to fly its first military space launch tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 12, carrying Space Force satellites destined for geosynchronous orbit, about 22,000 miles above Earth, reports Defense News. Pending range approval, the mission is slated to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Trump has named himself chair of a White House task force on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, which he views as “a premier opportunity to showcase American exceptionalism,” according to a White House statement. Military.com reports, speaking in front of banners adding the presidential seal to the logo for LA28, Trump said he would send the military back to Los Angeles if he so chose in order to protect the Games.
A sergeant shot five soldiers Wednesday at Fort Stewart, GA, one of the country’s largest Army bases before he was quickly tackled by other Fort Stewart troops and arrested, reports Military Times. The shooter, SGT Quornelius Radford, 28, used a personal handgun, not a military firearm. The injured soldiers are stable and expected to recover. ArmySec Dan Driscoll commended six soldiers at Fort Stewart, for their heroic actions, reports Military.com. Recognized were Master SGT Justin Thomas, who helped restrain the shooter; 1st SGT Joshua Arnold, who administered emergency aid and helped with evacuating wounded personnel to medical facilities; Staff SGT Melissa Taylor, who secured the scene to stabilize wounded soldiers for transport; SGT Aaron Turner, played a central role in subduing the shooter; and two combat medics: Staff SGT Robert Pacheco and SGT Eve Rodarte, who provided critical medical care to the injured, directly contributed to the survival of all those wounded.
The Air Force said last week it would deny all transgender service members who have served between 15 and 18 years the option to retire early and would instead separate them without retirement benefits, reports Military.com. The move means that transgender service members will now be faced with the choice of either taking a lump-sum separation payment offered to junior troops or be removed from the service.
Ocean City has jumped on the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent challenge to Maryland’s approval of the US Wind project planned off the city’s shore. Maryland Matters reports, the construction of 121 wind turbines about 10 miles off the Delmarva coast has been in a long-running battle. The project has the backing of the Moore administration and the Biden administration had granted a key federal permit. Opponents include some leaders in tourism-dependent Ocean City, who fear the distant turbine towers will harm the beach view.
President Trump also opposes wind and solar electricity and his abrupt termination of tax credits for clean energy projects have states scrambling to get pending projects off the ground before the tax credits expire. The tax credits were the linchpin for countless states’ wind and solar projects, says Maryland Matters. Renewable energy advocates in those states say the loss of the tax credits could mean higher utility bills.
Contracts:
M.C. Dean Inc., Tysons, Virginia, is awarded a $15,566,212 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a secure working area in the renovated P-8A operations & fleet support facilities at Keflavik Air Station, Iceland. Work will be performed in Keflavik, Iceland and is expected to be completed by October 2027. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $15,566,212 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Solicitation Module in the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment, with four proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Europe Africa Central, Naples, Italy, is the contracting activity (N33191-25-C-6008).
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Mission Systems Sector, Linthicum Heights, Maryland, is awarded a $18,537,253 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to the previously awarded contract (N00024-22-C-5520) to exercise an option for design agent engineering of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 3 systems. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland (55%); Tampa, Florida (6%); Andover, Massachusetts (5%); Chelmsford, Massachusetts (4%); Rochester, New York (3%); San Diego, California (3%); Los Angeles, California (2%); Winona, Minnesota (2%); Stafford Springs, Connecticut (2%); Glendale, Arizona (1%); Nashua, New Hampshire (1%); Elk Grove Village, Illinois (1%); White Marsh, Maryland (1%); Tucson, Arizona (1%); Chandler, Arizona (1%); Washington, North Carolina (1%); Woodridge, Illinois (1%); Richardson, Texas (1%); Minneapolis, Minnesota (1%); El Cajon, California (1%); Hiawatha, Iowa (1%); Littleton, Colorado (1%); Glendale, California (1%); and miscellaneous locations – each less than 1% (4%), and is expected to be completed by August 2026. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,725,263 (36%); fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,080,909 (64%); and fiscal 2025 research, development, testing and evaluation funds in the amount of $14,029 (<1%), will be obligated at time of award. The $3,080,909 (64%), fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds are expiring funds and will be invoking the 10 U.S. Code 3133 Authority. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Bristol Design Build Services LLC, Anchorage, Alaska (N69450-21-D-0064); HGL Construction Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (N69450-21-D-0065); Klutina River Contractors, Irvine, California (N69450-21-D-0066); PacWest-Korte JV, Temecula, California (N69450-21-D-0067); The Clement Group LLC, Montgomery, Alabama (N69450-21-D-0068); VHB LLC, Boyds, Maryland (N69450-21-D-0069); Walga Ross Group 3 JV, Joplin, Missouri (N69450-21-D-0070); EMR Inc., Niceville, Florida (N69450-22-D-0025); and Tybe-Garney Federal JV LLC, Newbern, Tennessee (N69450-22-D-0026), are awarded a combined-maximum-value $58,000,000 firm-fixed-price modification to increase the capacity of their respective, previously-awarded contracts for general building type projects. Award of this modification brings the total cumulative value for all nine contracts combined to $307,000,000. Work will be performed in Florida (67%) and Tennessee (33%) and is expected to be completed by September 2026. No funds will be obligated at time of award. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southeast, Jacksonville, Florida, is the contracting activity.
Marinette Marine Corp., Marinette, Wisconsin, is awarded a $43,114,274 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-20-C-2300) to exercise the option and provide funding for engineering and class design support for the Constellation-class Guided Missile Frigate. Work will be performed in Camden, New Jersey (42%); Arlington, Virginia (30%); Millersville, Maryland (9%); Marinette, Wisconsin (5%); Annapolis, Maryland (2%); Hanover, Maryland (2%); Walpole, Massachusetts (1%); Mobile, Alabama (1%); Evans, Georgia (1%); Segrate, Italy (1%); Rome, Italy (1%); Mathews, Louisiana (1%); Hauppauge, New York (1%); Columbus, Ohio (1%); Allentown, Pennsylvania (1%); and Arvonia, Virginia (1%), and is expected to be completed by August 2026. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,500,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
CACI, Inc. – Federal, Chantilly, Virginia, is being awarded a $62,490,208 modification (P00020) to a previously awarded indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-19-D-7614). This modification will increase the contract ceiling amount by $62,490,208 from $249,960,831 to $312,451,039. This increase will allow continued Post Deployment System support services including service management, service operations; production and pre-production system sustainment; solution development environment; enterprise training and training devices; product lifecycle support; and service transition for change requests, engineering change proposals, and reduction of reports, interfaces, customizations, and extensions; and potential tasks to support Global Combat Support System – Marine Corps future initiatives under the existing contract. The current ordering period of the contract ends Dec. 25, 2026. Work will be performed in Stafford, Virginia (90%); Kansas City, Missouri (5%); and other locations (5%), and is expected to be complete in December 2026. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. This action was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-19-D-7614).
Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $276,131,707 cost-plus- incentive-fee and cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-24-C-2106) for additional advance planning effort and long-lead-time material required for the accomplishment of the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Refueling Complex Overhaul. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2026. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $65,000,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Akima Facilities Operations LLC, Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $23,034,485 modification (P00129) to contract W52P1J-20-F-0137 for maintenance, transportation, and supply services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $23,034,485. Work will be performed in Fort Hood, Texas, with an estimated completion date of July 9, 2026. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $2,866,921 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
CACI NSS LLC, Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $43,202,330 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed fee, and cost-reimbursable no fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the sustainment and modernization of the Integrated Broadcast Services Network Services (IBS-NS) system. This contract provides for the sustainment of the IBS-NS fielded systems as well as procurement, development, and modification of this system. Work will be performed at multiple locations inside and outside of the contiguous U.S., and is expected to be complete by August 19, 2028. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to the United Kingdom and Canada. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $1,643,185 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8555-25-D-B001).
Leidos Inc., Reston, Virginia, is being awarded a $105,545,414 single-award, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the provision of operational readiness research support services to include investigative studies that involve planning, coordinating, designing, and executing experimental protocols in support of the Naval Health Research Center. The contract will include a 60-month ordering period with no options. Work will begin in September 2025 and is expected to be completed by September 2030. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (80%), and Reston, Virginia (20%). Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the contract’s minimum amount of $1,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Subsequent task orders under the resultant contract will be funded with appropriate fiscal research, development, test and evaluation funds (Navy). The requirement was competitively procured through the system for award management (SAM.gov) as unrestricted, competitive procurement with two offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-25-DZ021).
