Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Military Books

Military-Writers.com is pleased to announce the addition of these servicemembers to the website:

General Merrill B. Twining, USMC (ret.)
Colonel George S. Oliver, USA (ret.)
Captain George P. Santos, USN (ret.)
Captain Allan P. Slaff, USN (ret.)
Colonel Richard Taylor, USA (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Leigh M. Trowbridge, USA (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Fredrick D. Sundloff, USAF (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Robert M. Boyles, II, USA (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Norman J. Fortier, USAF (ret.)
Lt. Colonel Troy Thompson, Jr., USAF (ret.)
First Lieutenant Morris Cohen, USA (ret.)
Mark Mynheir, USMC


The Website now lists 643 servicemembers and their 2196 books.

MORE INFORMATION
Military Books

This information was sponsored by
Criminal Justice Degree information online.

National Security Archive Update, December 23, 2008

"We can bomb the bejesus out of them all over North Vietnam."

Archive Publishes Treasure Trove of Kissinger Telephone Conversations

Comprehensive Collection of Kissinger "Telcons" Provides Inside View of Government Decision-Making;

Reveals Candid talks with Presidents, Foreign Leaders, Journalists, and Power-brokers during Nixon-Ford Years

For more information contact:
William Burr/Thomas Blanton - 202/994-7000

http://www.nsarchive.org

Washington, DC, December 23, 2008 - Amidst a massive bombing campaign over North Vietnam, Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon candidly shared their evident satisfaction at the "shock treatment" of American B-52s, according to a declassified transcript of their telephone conversation published for the first time today by the National Security Archive. "They dropped a million pounds of bombs," Kissinger briefed Nixon. "A million pounds of bombs," Nixon exclaimed. "Goddamn, that must have been a good strike." The conversation, secretly recorded by both Kissinger and Nixon without the other's knowledge, reveals that the President and his national security advisor shared a belief in 1972 that the war could still be won. "That shock treatment [is] cracking them," Nixon declared. "I tell you the thing to do is pour it in there every place we can... just bomb the hell out of them." Kissinger optimistically predicted that, if the South Vietnamese government didn't collapse, the U.S. would eventually prevail: "I mean if as a country we keep our nerves, we are going to make it."

The transcript of the April 15, 1972, phone conversation is one of over 15,500 documents in a unique, comprehensively-indexed set of the telephone conversations (telcons) of Henry A. Kissinger--perhaps the most famous and controversial U.S. official of the second half of the 20th century. Unbeknownst to the rest of the U.S. government, Kissinger secretly taped his incoming and outgoing phone conversations and had his secretary transcribe them. After destroying the tapes, Kissinger took the transcripts with him when he left office in January 1977, claiming they were "private papers." In 2001, the National Security Archive initiated legal proceedings to force the government to recover the telcons, and used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the declassification of most of them. After a three-year project to catalogue and index the transcripts, which total over 30,000 pages, this on-line collection was published by the Digital National Security Archive (ProQuest) this week.

Kissinger never intended these papers to be made public, according to William Burr, senior analyst at the National Security Archive, who edited the collection, Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977. "Kissinger's conversations with the most influential personalities of the world rank right up there with the Nixon tapes as the most candid, revealing and valuable trove of records on the exercise of executive power in Washington," Burr stated. For reporters, scholars, and students, Burr noted, "Kissinger created a gift to history that will be a tremendous primary source for generations to come." He called on the State Department to declassify over 800 additional telcons that it continues to withhold on the grounds of executive privilege.

The documents shed light on every aspect of Nixon-Ford diplomacy, including U.S.-Soviet détente, the wars in Southeast Asia, the 1969 Biafra crisis, the 1971 South Asian crisis, the October 1973 Middle East War, and the 1974 Cyprus Crisis, among many other developments. Kissinger's dozens of interlocutors include political and policy figures, such as Presidents Nixon and Ford, Secretary of State William Rogers, Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Robert S. McNamara, and Soviet Ambassador Anatoli Dobrynin; journalists and publishers, such as Ted Koppel, James Reston, and Katherine Graham; and such show business friends as Frank Sinatra. Besides the telcons, the Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977 includes audio tape of Kissinger's telephone conversations with Richard Nixon that were recorded automatically by the secret White House taping system, some of which Kissinger's aides were unable to transcribe.

Visit the Web site of the National Security Archive for more information.

http://www.nsarchive.org

New Unified Command Plan Spells Out Responsibilities, Missions

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Dec. 23, 2008 - President George W. Bush has signed an updated unified command plan that codifies U.S. Africa Command, shifts responsibility for parts of the Caribbean Sea to U.S. Northern Command and assigns cyberspace and pandemic influenza missions to other combatant commanders. The revised plan, which Bush signed Dec. 17, is the key strategic document that spells out the missions, responsibilities and geographical boundaries of each functional and geographic combatant command within the U.S.
military, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman explained.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Joint Staff led the review process, with input from every combatant commander and service chief and much of the Defense Department leadership.

Mullen submitted the plan through Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to the president for final approval, officials said. Congress received notice of the revisions yesterday.

Major changes to the plan include:

-- Codifying Africom, which became fully operational-capable Oct. 1, as a geographic combatant command by assigning specific missions, responsibilities and geographic boundaries;

-- Shifting the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands from U.S. Southern Command's to U.S. Northern Command's area of responsibility;

-- Assigning every combatant commander responsibility for planning and conducting
military support for stability, security, transition, reconstruction operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief;

-- Assigning central planning authorities for several global missions, including pandemic influenza response, cyberspace operations, global operations against terrorist networks, combating weapons of mass destruction and global missile defense; and

-- Codify U.S. Pacific Command's responsibility for homeland defense operations in Hawaii, Guam and other U.S. territories within its area of responsibility.

The plan codifies a new "pandemic influenza" mission and tasks Northcom to plan departmentwide efforts in support of the U.S. government response to an outbreak. U.S. Strategic Command is assigned responsibility for the department's cyberspace mission, Whitman said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Special Operations Command is assigned responsibility for global operations against terrorist networks, and Stratcom becomes responsible for combating weapons of mass destruction and global missile defense.

"This is a new concept," Whitman said of the synchronized global planning construct. "What it means is the assignment of responsibilities to a single coordinator to coordinate missions that exceed the responsibility of any one commander."

The new document is the first unified command plan to assign all combatant commanders responsibility for missions ranging from stability operations to humanitarian and disaster relief. The goal, Whitman explained, is to give added emphasis on these areas to head off problems "before they reach crisis proportions."

"If all the combatant commanders are out there conducting stability operations, this can have the effect of strengthening governance and really preventing the creation of these ungoverned spaces ... that are troublesome and are used as safe havens for terrorist activities," he said.

The realignment of Northcom's boundary is designed to improve the department's effectiveness in its homeland defense and support to
civil authorities missions, officials said. The revision follows Gates' decision in August 2007 to task Northcom to provide civil support if requested by the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico in the event of a natural disaster.

Meanwhile, assignment of the cyberspace mission to Stratcom recognizes cyberspace as a warfighting domain critical to joint
military operations, officials said. The revised unified command plan will give new emphasis to this capability, they said, ensuring it is protected, defended and leveraged for the United States.

Many Pentagon Political Appointees Asked to Serve Past Inaugural

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Dec. 23, 2008 - Many Bush administration-appointed employees posted at the Pentagon have been asked by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates if they'd remain in their jobs past the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, a senior Defense Department official said here today. "The secretary has arranged for the majority of those [appointees] to be afforded the opportunity to continue their service past Jan. 20, until a successor or a replacement is on board," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

About 250 political appointees work at the Pentagon, Whitman said. A majority, but not all, he said, were asked to stay on past the inaugural.

"Those people have been notified [and] informed of this opportunity," he said.

Pentagon officials are determining how many employees affected by the offer are "willing to take advantage or consider committing to this opportunity that's been extended to them to stay on awhile for the transition," Whitman said.

Meanwhile, the incoming Obama administration is diligently working to fill anticipated vacancies at the Pentagon, Whitman said.

"A smooth transition at the Defense Department while we are engaged in two wars is very important," Whitman pointed out. He declined to get into specifics regarding positions or jobs involved as part of the service-extension offer.

Those people not affected by the extension offer were informed over the past several days, Whitman said.

MILITARY CONTRACTS December 23, 2008

Navy

Oshkosh Corporation, Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded a $176,328,868 fixed price delivery order #0025 under a previously awarded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (M67854-06-D-5028). This delivery order is exercise priced options for the purchase of 400 each Logistic Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) production cargo vehicle, 17 each LVSR Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) 5TH Wheel Vehicles, 11 each LVSR LRIP Wrecker Vehicles, 275 production weapons mount kits, 110 engine arctic kits, and 171 add-on armor kits. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., and work for this delivery order is expected to be completed by May 31, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The
Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

Electric Boat Corporation, Groton, Conn. is being awarded a $75,654,118 cost plus fixed fee contract for engineering, technical services, concept studies, and design of a Common Missile Compartment (CMC) for the United Kingdom Successor SSBN and the Ohio Replacement SSBN. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $591,826,822. This contract involves Foreign
Military Sales to the United Kingdom (100 percent). Work will be performed in Groton, Conn. (92 percent), Newport News, Va. (4 percent), Quonset, R.I. (3 percent), Newport, R.I. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by December 2009 for the base contract and December 2013 if all options are exercised. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-2100).

Alliant Techsystems, Mission Systems Group, Advanced Weapons Div., Woodland Hills, Calif., is being awarded a fixed price incentive fee contract with a not-to-exceed value of $55,147,226 for the low rate initial production of AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles (AARGMs), to include conversion of U.S. Government-provided AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs) into 27 AGM-88E AARGM All-Up-Round (AUR)/Captive Air Training (CATM) missile systems. In addition, this contract provides for related supplies and services required for manufacture, sparing, and fleet deployment. Work will be performed in Woodland Hills, Calif. (87.5 percent); Rocket Center, W.V. (11 percent); and
Clearwater, Fla. (1.5 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0026).

McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an undefinitized contract action with a ceiling price of $50,300,000 for the procurement of time critical parts (TCP) for 22 Full Rate Production (FRP) Airborne Electronic Attack systems planned for insertion into 22 Lot 33 EA-18G airframes. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in May 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0086).

Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego, Owego, N.Y., is being awarded a $45,113,334 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price multi-year contract (N00019-06-C-0098) to provide for end of life components and FY10 long lead material and associated efforts required for the production and delivery of MH-60S Lot XII and MH-60R Lot VIII Common Cockpit kits. Work will be performed in Owego, N.Y. and is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.

Sikorsky Support Services, Inc., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $38,477,022 firm fixed price contract for organizational, selected intermediate, and limited depot-level maintenance for 44 F-5 aircraft operated by the Adversary Squadrons based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Key West, Fla.; NAS, Fallon, Nev.; and
Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz. Work will be performed in Key West, Fla. (40 percent); Fallon, Nev. (30 percent); and Yuma, Ariz. (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2009. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; two offer was received. Contract funds in the amount of $38,477,022 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0024).

EADS North America Test and Services,
Irvine, Calif., is being awarded a $29,766,000 firm fixed price contract for 2 pilot production Shaft Engine Test Instrumentation (SETI) units, 19 production SETI units, test program sets (T700 and T64) and associated technical documentation which include site survey, installation control drawings, reports, etc. Work will be performed in Austin, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $2,900,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; one offer was received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity (N68335-09-C-0110).

McDonnell Douglas Corp. a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $21,221,503 firm fixed price, cost plus fixed fee modification to a previously awarded delivery order contract (N00383-06-D-001J) for integrated logistics support (engineering and logistics at all levels) and equipment in support of the EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Bethpage, N.Y. (60 percent) and St. Louis, Mo. (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $7,237,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.

McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $19,944,479 cost plus fixed fee order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for engineering efforts in support of F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., and is expected to be completed in October 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Critical Solutions International, Inc. Dallas, Texas, is being awarded an $18,000,000 firm fixed price, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with a maximum ordering quantity of four Spare Parts Blocks and one Lot of individual spare parts for the Vehicle Mounted Mine Detector (VMMD) System. The initial delivery order is for four Spare Parts Blocks valued at $16,544,564. Work will be performed in Dallas, Texas, and is expected to be complete by Dec. 22, 2010. Contract funds will not expire by the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is a sole source award to Critical Solutions International, Inc. for production of Spares Parts Blocks and Individual Spare Parts in support of the VMMD systems currently in theatre. The
Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity (M67854-09-D-5029).

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $14,909,781 fixed price contract for three FY09 Ship Self Defense System (SSDS) MK2 Open Architecture Computing Environment (OACE) kits to support CVN/Amphibious ship modernization efforts. The SSDS MK2 OACE kits include cabinets, processors, converters, network devices and interface units. The equipment sets consolidate the computing and interface requirements for the SSDS Ship Class variants. The FY09 kits will be installed on LPD 18, Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS) and CVN 69. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. (50 percent) and Portsmouth, R.I. (50 percent). Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Sea Systems Command is the Contracting Activity (N00024-09-C-5100).

Oceaneering International, Inc., Chesapeake, Va., is being awarded a $12,409,651 firm fixed price, cost plus fixed fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-06-C-6269 to provide general and administrative, engineering, and technical support for field change development and installation for the dry deck shelter (DDS). This contract modification will augment and supplement internal capabilities and provide for fleet-funded maintenance of DDS assets and procure material to support the alteration, modernization, and fit-up of DDS Program assets. Work will be performed in Chesapeake, Va. and is expected to be complete by September 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

General Dynamics C4 Systems, Scottsdale, Ariz., is being awarded a $12,055,007 modification to previously awarded contract (M67854-02-C-2052) to incorporate Engineering Changes that will bring 318 Combat Operations Centers (COC) Systems to the current level of configuration for the COC Program. Work will be performed in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by August 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The
Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

Sherlock, Smith and Adams, Inc., Montgomery, Ala., is being awarded a $9,795,558 modification to firm fixed task order #0003. The work to be performed provides for all design and engineering services for FY09 Defense TRICARE Management Activity
Military Construction Project 55918, Hospital Replacement, Guam Naval Hospital, Guam, to develop design documents for construction of a hospital including inpatient medical/surgical, labor and delivery care, acute/intensive care units, outpatient primary and specialty care clinics, emergency medicine, support functions, and medical logistics. After award of this modification, the total cumulative task order value will be $15,020,301. Work will be performed in Guam, and is expected to be completed by January 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (contract number N62742-01-D-0023).

This contract was awarded on December 22
Raydon Corporation*, Daytona Beach, Fla. is being awarded a $46,279,898 cost plus fixed fee, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, service type contract to provide system training through the development, modification, manufacturing, installation and site support, testing, training services, contractor maintenance and program management support for ground system trainers. Work will be performed at Daytona Beach, Fla. and is expected to be completed by December 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $36,813,736 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with two offers received via NECO (
Navy Electronic Commerce Online). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Md. is the contracting activity (N00174-09-D-0006)

This contract was awarded on December22
Wyle Laboratories, Inc., Huntsville, Ala., is being awarded a $29,787,397 modification to a previously awarded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity multiple award contract to exercise an option for continued E-2/C-2 planning, program, and financial services in support of the U.S.
Navy and the Governments of France, Taiwan, Egypt, Japan, Singapore, and Canada under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., and is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00421-03-D-0015).

This contract was awarded on December22
Bearing Point, Inc., Lexington Park, Md., is being awarded a $27,259,500 modification to a previously awarded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity multiple award contract (N00421-03-D-0014) to exercise an option for continued E-2/C-2 planning, program, and financial services in support of the U.S.
Navy and the Governments of France, Taiwan, Egypt, Japan, Singapore, and Canada under the Foreign Military Sales Program. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md., and is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00421-03-D-0014).

This contract was awarded on December22
BAE Systems (BAE), Minneapolis, Minn. is being awarded a $22,988,433 modification to exercise an option under previously awarded contract for Advanced Gun System (AGS) Class Common Services. Work will be performed in Cordova, Ala. (32%), Minneapolis, Minn. (25%),
Louisville, Ky. (23%) and Burlington, Vt. (20%) and is expected to be completed by September 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-05-C-5117).

This contract was awarded on December22
Maritime Helicopter Support Company, 2510 Hunter Place, Suites 201 and 202, Woodbridge, Va. 22192-3932, is being awarded a firm fixed price, definite delivery definite quantity contract in the amount of $16,507,463 for repair, repair management and Commercial Asset Visibility reporting of H-60 aircraft weapons replaceable assemblies and system replaceable assemblies. This contract contains a base period with two option periods, which if exercised, bring the total value of the contract to $49,522,390. Work is to be completed by June 2009. Work will be performed at Stratford, Conn. (60 percent); and Owego, N.Y. (40 percent). Funding is provided by
Navy Working Capital Funds (NWCF) BP85. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This announcement does not include a foreign Military sale. This contract was not awarded competitively. One company was solicited and one offer was received. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00383-09-C-011F).

This contract was awarded on December22
EG&G Technical Services, Inc. is being awarded a task order in the amount of $13,462,075 task order. The scope of this effort is to provide on-going acquisition, engineering, analytical, logistics, sustainment, and warranty support for PM Engineer Systems (PM/ES) in the areas of Mobility and Countermobility (MCM), Construction and Material Handling Equipment (CE/MHE), Engineer Support Equipment (ESE), and Lifecycle Support. PM/ES manages approximately 50 programs of record plus emerging requirements. It is a fast paced, high deliverable program office. On-site liaison personnel will continue to be required at Camp Lejeune, NC; Camp Pendleton, CA; Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan; and the
Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, GA (LOGCOM) to provide subject matter expertise (SME) and to support fielding, warranties, and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Work will be performed in Marine Corps Command organizations Quantico, VA. Work is expected to be completed in January 2010. Contract funds will expire: 30 September 2009 and 30 September 2010. The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M6785402A9011-0072).

This contract was awarded on December22
Immix
Technology, Inc., 8444 West Park Drive, Suite 200, McLean, Va. 22102-5102, is being awarded a firm fixed price contract in the amount of $12,376,986 for Oracle Database Enterprise License Agreement renewal. This contract contains one base period, and one option period, which if exercised, brings the total estimated value of the contract to $37,404,924. Work is to be completed by September 2009. Work will be performed in McLean, Va. (100 percent). Funding is provided by Operation & Maintenance, Navy. Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This announcement does not include a foreign Military sale. This contract was awarded competitively. Six companies were solicited and two offers were received. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00104-09-F-Q259).

This contract was awarded on December22
Lockheed Martin Corp., Manassas, Va., is being awarded an $8,409,711 modification to a previously awarded indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (N00019-05-D-0018) for the procurement of non-recurring engineering support for the Acoustic Processor Technical Refresh (APTR) in support of the P-3 Aircraft. Work will be performed in Manassas, Va. and is expected to be completed in December 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

This contract was awarded on December22
Sauer, Incorporated, Jacksonville, Fla. 32256, is being awarded firm fixed price Task Order 0008 at $8,339,514 under a multiple award construction contract for the design and construction of Electromagnetic Launch RDT&E Facility, Naval Support Activity, South Potomac, Dahlgren, Va. Work will be performed in Dahlgren, Va., and is expected to be completed by May 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five (5) proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (contract number N62477-04-D-0036).

This contract was awarded on December22
Turner Construction Company, Arlington, Va. 22203-1764, is being awarded a firm fixed price contract at $7,294,531 for the design and construction of National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) Utility Upgrade Project, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. Work will be performed in Bethesda, Md. and is expected to be completed by October 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract will be awarded as a sole-source procurement, in accordance with FAR 6.302-2, Unusual and Compelling Urgency. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, OICC Bethesda, Bethesda, Md., is the contracting activity (contract number N40080-09-C-1502).

This contract was awarded on December22
Rockwell Collins Government Systems, Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded a $6,800,592 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed priced contract to exercise an option for the FY 2009 production of the AN/ARC-210(V) Electronic Protection Radio System for the U.S.
Navy's MH-60R and MH-60S aircraft. This modification consists of 96 RT-1794 ARC-210 Receiver-Transmitter Radios; 48 C-12561A Radio Control Sets; 96 MT-6567 Mounting Bases; 48 MT-7006 Amplifier Mounts; 48 AM-7526 High Power Amplifiers; and 48 MX-11745 LNA Diplexer with Hi Power RF Switch. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed in December 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity (N00019-05-C-0050).

This contract was awarded on December22
Insight
Technology, Inc., 9 Akir Away, Londonderry, NH 03053-2002, is being awarded a firm fixed price requirements contract in the amount of $3,459,205 for manufacture of infrared illuminators for the Special Warfare Program. Work is to be completed by December 2013. Work will be performed in Londonderry, NH (100 percent). Funding is provided by Navy Working Capital Funds (NWCF). Contract funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This announcement does not include a foreign Military sale. This contract was not awarded competitively. One company was solicited and one offer was received. The Naval Inventory Control Point is the contracting activity (N00104-09-D-L001).

Troops Escape Financial Trends, Enjoy Money Management Benefits

By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service

Dec. 23, 2008 - Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are relatively insulated from the financial disasters affecting many Americans, and increasingly are taking advantage of programs designed to promote what
military leaders call "financial readiness," military financial counselors say. All the services offer free financial counseling to servicemembers on installations, and troops and their spouses increasingly are using the services even while few are reporting mortgage foreclosures or spousal job losses that are increasing in the civilian sector.

The Navy provided financial counseling to 237,000 sailors and their spouses at 70 installations this year, increasing by 51 percent their outreach to sailors and their outreach to spouses by 100 percent, said Patricia Johnson, who oversees the Navy's personal financial management programs.

"It's not that they're having more problems," Johnson said. "But people are more concerned." Only 4 percent of 1,300 sailors surveyed in May said they felt "in over their heads" with personal finances, she said.

Johnson credits the Navy financial programs with helping sailors feel confident. "We feel that our robust program that we have in the Navy ... and what our financial educators and [counselors] do in the field help these numbers stay down."

Some
Army installations also are seeing an increase in soldiers seeking financial help. Lynn Olavarria, manager of the financial readiness program at Fort Bragg, N.C., said her group sees about 400 soldiers and spouses per month.

"We're getting a few more every year," she said. "I think that's more awareness."

With a steady paycheck, good benefits and a lower rate of home ownership, troops enjoy some buffers to financial instability. "I think the services that are available to
military people make it a very desirable place during a recession, more so than in the private sector," Johnson said.

Still, servicemembers began experiencing the same price increases earlier this year -- when gasoline spiked to more than $4 per gallon -- as everyone else.

"In the commissaries, there was an increase in prices just like in the private sector," said Mike Hire, director of the Navy-
Marine Corps Relief Society on Camp Pendleton, Calif. "Things are cheaper overall [than on the economy], but they did get more expensive."

Hire said he expected to see fewer people when gas prices dipped this fall to less than half of the price in early summer, but they've sought help in about the same numbers.

"A lot of our
military members have been using credit cards to get by, and now they're trying to get down some of that credit card debt, just like the general public," he said. "That's where we're seeing that extra gas money going."

The military and its support organizations have unveiled several programs in the past year and a half to promote personal financial stability with the understanding that financial hardships can pose a distraction to military missions. Some of the programs include:

-- "Financial Readiness Challenge" events at installations around the country sponsored by the Defense Department's
military community and family policy office and scheduled through February;

-- Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, Military Edition, provided by chaplains at some
Army installations;

-- The
military Saves campaign to promote financial savings among servicemembers; and

-- Quick-assistance loans from the service relief societies, which provide grants and no-interest loans.

Service officials say they are being proactive in offering services to combat problems specific to servicemembers.

"The biggest thing we have with the economy is soldiers worried that their civilian landlords will go bust,"
Army spokesman Paul Boyce said. Staff judge advocate offices on installations are working with soldiers to create the best rental contracts based on state laws, Boyce said.

"That's been the No. 1 source of financial concern in
Army," he said. "That's what we're hearing from staff judge advocate legal assistance community."

Another issue for servicemembers is being the target of financial scams -- a problem that has gotten so bad that Arizona state Attorney General Terry Goddard recently created an advisory board to stop it.

Predatory lending also has been a problem, but seems to be decreasing through educational outreach to servicemembers and passage of a federal law last year to curb it, officials said.

The Navy-
Marine Corps Relief Society helped to disperse $1.1 million to sailors after they sought high-interest commercial loans last year, John Alexander, vice president and chief communications officer at the society's headquarters, said. That amount was down to $250,000 in the first three quarters of this year, he said.

Sailors and Marines were seeking the high-interest or "payday" loans because "it was just too easy," Alexander said. The society had been sitting down with each servicemember and asking questions and providing counseling, he explained, and the commercial lenders "didn't ask you anything."

As an alternative to payday loans, the society started its "quick-assistance" loans of up to $300 for which applicants do not have to see a financial counselor, Alexander said. The society's requests for assistance are up 39 percent over last year because of the popularity of the quick-assistance loans, he said.

Like servicemembers, the relief societies also report faring better than their civilian-sector counterparts. None report a significant decrease in donations, although investment values are down, causing some decrease in nonoperating fund expenditures.
Army Emergency Relief will decrease its annual allocation for scholarships next year from $10 million to $8 million to reflect the loss on investments, retired Army Col. Dennis Spiegel, deputy director for administration for AER, said.

"Like everyone else, we won't be able to make up that shortfall in investments," Spiegel said.