US Troops Readied for Ukraine
From Ukraine: US Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jason Baldorossi, a native of Burlington, NJ, and a rifleman with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, observes a squad-level live-fire training event during Exercise Sea Breeze 21 in a nondisclosed location July 3, 2021. Exercise Sea Breeze is an annual event that brings together military units from several countries, and within 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, to enhance their warfighting capabilities and build strong relationships. (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jacqueline Parsons)
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.
Up to 8,500 US troops are on heightened alert for possible NATO deployment in response to a Russian move on Ukraine, reports Military Times. The units were not named and have not received orders to deploy, according to the Pentagon.
The Federal Reserve still hasn’t sided for or against a central bank digital currency, but a new report lays out the potential benefits and risks of fully digitizing the US dollar, reports Business Insider. Last week, the Fed published a report suggesting a central bank digital currency would serve as a purely digital version of cash, backed by the Fed, and as available to the public as physical cash. It wouldn’t require the same deposit insurance that banks need for cash, and it wouldn’t need to be backed by a physical asset.
The Navy announced Saturday it completed initial flushing and testing of the water distribution lines at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, reports Military.com. Successful test results from the system-wide flush could allow the service to begin flushing affected homes and buildings, paving the way for residents to return to their houses or begin using water from their taps. The Navy teams began flushing the water distribution lines to the first of 19 neighborhood zones on December 20, reports Stars and Stripes.
Seven sailors were injured in a “landing mishap” aboard carrier Carl Vinson, reports Navy Times. The jet was conducting routine flight operations in the South China Sea on Monday when the mishap occurred. The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft. Three sailors on the deck required medical evacuation to a Manila, Philippines, hospital, the other four were treated by medical personnel onboard the ship.
BBC reports on how the world’s deepest shipwreck was found. In 1944, the USS Johnston sank after a battle against the world’s largest battleship. More than 75 years later, her wreck was finally located, 3.7 miles below the waves. The magnitude of the endeavor speaks for itself!
Space Force launches two new satellites built to monitor opposing satellites, reports The National Interest. The satellites are part of the Space Force’s mysterious Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, which finds and tracks satellites, and determines what kind of satellites are in space. It could also determine the capabilities of these satellites by moving through space and closer to other country’s space hardware.
An army of millionaires is fueling a Senate primary spending spree unrivaled by any election cycle in history, reports Politico, months before the first Senate primary vote will be cast this year. In Ohio, a few millionaires are chasing the GOP nomination. In Pennsylvania, an open Senate race anticipates $110 million to $130 million in spending on TV advertisements in the Republican primary alone — nearly as much as both parties combined spent on ads during the state’s entire 2016 Senate election.
Pentagon: Judge’s halt of vaccine mandate for federal workers does not impact troops, reports Stars and Stripes. A federal judge’s order temporarily halting President Joe Biden’s coronavirus mandate for federal workers does not impact military service members, Pentagon says.
The DoD faces a $5 billion shortfall across its lab and testing infrastructure, reports C4ISRNET. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu seeks to identify which needs are most critical and find ways to fund them while leading a review of infrastructure needs across the labs and testing facilities.
In a stark turnaround, the Air Force is struggling to meet this year’s recruiting goals, reports Air Force Times. “We have warning lights flashing,” MG Ed Thomas, the two-star general in charge of recruitment, warned on January 10. Just four months ago the Air Force hit its service-wide recruiting and staffing goals for the first time in five years. About 501,000 troops currently serve in the Department of the Air Force, including 326,000 active-duty airmen and Space Force guardians.
The Navy is offering up to $50K in recruiting bonuses, reports USNI. The bonuses are dependent on the program and the recruit’s eligibility and will apply to any sailor who has been classified or reclassified as of January 21, 2022. The recruitment bonus will also apply to an enlistment bonus for shipping, which is available to all future active-duty sailors who are shipping out before June. While the Navy is offering up to $50,000, the total a new sailor will receive depends on the position. For example, the recruiting bonus for an air rescue swimmer is $24,000, while a missile technician would receive $5,000. Those in the nuclear field could receive the highest incentive bonus at $38,000.
Unprecedented crowds are visiting Maryland parks during the pandemic, prompting state lawmakers to propose expanding amenities, staffing, and accessibility. More than 21 million visited 75 state parks in 2020, during the same year park rangers were forced to close 14 state parks 292 times, which was triple the amount of times they had to turn away visitors in 2019, reports Maryland Matters.
A cruise ship altered course to dock in the Bahamas avoiding Miami and a US-issued arrest warrant, reports CBS News. A US judge has granted an order to seize the vessel as part of a lawsuit over unpaid fuel. Cruise trackers show Crystal Symphony currently docked in the Bahamian island of Bimini. Passengers were taken by ferry to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Kentucky’s Fort Knox military police shot and killed a man who breached the main gate and tried to run them over, reports Army Times. The man drove toward Fort Knox police officers after initially fleeing from them through the gate, which is near the US Bullion Depository.
There’s no easy fix for ID verification for government benefits, reports FCW. While states look for turnkey solutions to qualify applicants for government programs, people are falling between the cracks. At least 27 state unemployment programs now are working with ID.me, a commercial identity verification provider to improve the system.
The historic 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, known as the Island Warriors, cased its colors and deactivated Friday at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, part of the corps’ plan to downsize and modernize, reports Marine Corps Times.
Defense News has an electrical engineer explain 5G, which is a 10x multiplier of your cell phone’s 4G and not the 5 GHz band on your Wi-Fi router. 5G stands for fifth-generation cellular network technology, the technology that enables wireless communication. Bandwidth is like highway width — more lanes mean more cars fit. 5G gives 10x the bandwidth of 4G.
Contracts:
FGS, LLC, La Plata, Maryland, is awarded a $90,789,661 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract action for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance enterprise support services for the Headquarters of the U.S. Marine Corps (HQMC) Intelligence Division. Work is expected to be performed in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (20%); Quantico, Virginia (20%); Camp Pendleton, California (15%); Okinawa, Japan (15%); Arlington, Virginia (10%); Yuma, Arizona (10%); and Washington, DC (10%). The contract is structured with a five-year ordering period and contract line items for labor, other direct costs, and data. The five-year ordering period is from Jan. 25, 2022, to Jan. 24, 2027. Work is expected to be completed by January 2027. Fiscal 2022 operation and maintenance (Marine Corps) funding in the amount of $204,781; and fiscal 2022 research, development, testing, and engineering funding in the amount of $11,597 will be obligated at time of award, of which $204,781 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 US Code 2304(c)(1) — only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, as implemented by Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(2). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division, Norco, California, is the contracting activity (N6426722D0114).
MAG Aerospace, Fairfax, Virginia, has been awarded a face value $19,849,304 firm-fixed-price contract modification (P00001) to previously awarded contract FA8691-22-C-1000 for integration of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment on C-208 aircraft, and an option for an additional integrated C-208 aircraft. This modification changes the specifications to add integration of ISR equipment on C-208 aircraft and an option for an additional integrated C-208 aircraft. Work will be performed in Titusville, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2024. This award is 100 percent Foreign Military Sales to the Philippines. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $23,853,913. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Jan. 24, 2022)
