MILITARY CONTRACTS May 16, 2008

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

McRae Industries, Inc., Mt. Gilead, N.C.*, is being awarded a maximum $20,603,699.40 fixed price with economic price adjustment, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity, total set aside contract for Army hot weather combat boots. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is Army. This contract is exercising option year one. This proposal was originally Web solicited with nine responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Date of performance completion is May 16, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa. (SPM1C1-07-D-1521).

NAVY

PAE Government Services, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., was awarded $56,183,925 on Apr. 30, 2008, to exercise the first option period under a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract (N33191-07-D-0207) for base operating services at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, Horn of Africa. After exercise of this option, the current total contract amount will be $119,717,229. The contract contains three additional one-year option periods, which if exercised, will bring the total contract value to $177,585,524. Work will be performed in Djibouti, Africa, and work is expected to be completed Aug. 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Europe and Southwest Asia, Naples, Italy, is the contracting activity.

Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Co., – Calif., Operations, Hollister, Calif. is being awarded a $9,992,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for laser initiator system components to support the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense System. This acquisition consists of various components of a laser initiator, and these items will be used as test assets. These items are required for life accelerated environmental testing; parametric testing critical for the identification of current failure mechanisms; analysis of root cause failures; potential refinements or upgrades; mitigation of risk; sustainment, storage, and service life involving the unique equipment of the currently deployed GMD system. Work will be performed in Hollister, Calif., and work is expected to be completed by May 2012. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity (N00164-08-D-GP19).

Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $6,489,820 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-4404) for the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) FY08 Planned Incremental Availability (PIA). A PIA provides for an extensive renovation and modernization of an aircraft carrier, including alterations and repairs as well as inspection and testing to all ships systems and components ensuring safe and dependable operation of the ship. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif. and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 2008. Contract funds in the amount of $6,489,820 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.

AIR FORCE

Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., of Herndon, Va., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $30,700,000. The objective of this Technical Area Task is to provide Air Force Communication Agency with research and technical analysis to enable information superiority both on and off the battlefield and in business operations, enable secure, integrated interoperable, and scalable information sharing and increase the ability to deliver timely war fighting power through strong identity authentication. At this time $317,858 has been obligated. Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SPO700-98-D-4002, DO 0342).

Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. of Herndon, Va., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $20,700,000. The objective of this Technical Area Task is to provide the Air Mobility Command (A6) with Information Assurance technical research and analysis for collaborative technologies and cyber security. At this time $10,000 has been obligated. Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SPO700-98-D-4002, DO 0346).

Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. of Herndon, Va., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $20,000,000. The objective of this Technical Area Task is to provide Assistant Secretary of Defense for Network and Information Integration with research and technical analysis of NIPRNET, SIPRNET and Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System network. At this time $285,000 has been obligated. Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SPO700-98-D-4002, DO 0341).

Centerre Government Contracting LLC of Denver, Colo., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $14,801,775. This action will provide cadet gym renovation phase 2, in support of the US Air Force Academy. At this time $14,801,775 has been obligated. USAF Academy, Colo., is the contracting activity (FA7000-08-C-035).

PC Specialists, Inc., (Technology Integration Group) of San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $11,835,021.11. This action will provide for D630 Dell Latitude laptop computers (qty 895) 385 Client Pro Desktop (qty 3,664), 755 Optplex Desktop computers (qty 654) in various configurations. This procurement will provide critical replacement computer equipment to deployed forces supporting Operation Iraqi/Enduring Freedom throughout the United States Central Command's Area of Responsibility. The contract ensures interoperability, interchangeability, and standardization for in-theater data communication systems. At this time $11,835,021.11 has been obligated. Shaw AFB, S.C., is the contracting activity (FA4803-07-F-0032 issued against GSA Contract No. GS-35F-4188D).

Raytheon Co., of McKinney, Texas, is being awarded a firm fixed price contract for $9,249,507. This action will provide for 1 Lot Group B First Article Inspection Modified LRU and Labor, 1 Lot Labor Installation of Group B Production Kits, 27 each Group B Production Kits, 1 Lot Program Management, 1 Lot Data, 1 Lot Non-Stocklisted Initial Spares, 1 Lot Provisioning IAW DD form 1423-1, 1 Lot Non-Stocklisted Initial Spares and Labor for Installation of Group B Kits, for the MC-130E AN/APQ-122(V) 8 Multi-Mode Radar KaBand Receiver Transmitter. At this time $9,249,507 has been obligated. Robins AFB, Ga., is the contracting activity (FA8509-08-C-0013).

Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. of Herndon, Va., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $9,094,119. The objective of this Technical Area Task is to provide the Aeronautical Systems Center with information assurance to ensure the requirements of the IA-enabled Communication Navigation Surveillance Air Traffic Management are incorporated I order to operate aircraft in world-wide airspace. At this time $185,217 has been obligated. Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SPO700-98-D-4002, DO 0339).

Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. of Herndon, Va., is being awarded a cost plus fixed fee contract for $7,700,571. The objective of this Technical Area Task is to provide the Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) with information assurance to assist in combating the proliferation of computer crime affecting the Department of Defense. At this time $74,750 has been obligated. Offutt AFB, Neb., is the contracting activity (SPO700-98-D-4002, DO 0338).

Dedication Runs High at MRAP Equipping Facility

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Jan. 18, 2008 - Just before rolling the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle they've spent the last several hours configuring with electronics for shipment to Iraq or Afghanistan, crews at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command here slip a simple 8-and-a-half-by-11-inch certificate onto the dashboard. "The SPAWAR Charleston MRAP Team has integrated the electronics capabilities on this MRAP with care and pride," the certificate reads. "We have done our job so you can do yours. Our goal is your safe tour of duty and return home."

Beneath the words are some 40 signatures of the people -- about half of them veterans themselves -- who had a hand in installing radios, sensors, jammers and other government-issued equipment into the vehicles.

It's the final step before the vehicles, with their distinctive V-shaped hulls and beefy profile, get loaded onto aircraft or ships and sent to combat troops whose lives they're designed to help save from improvised explosive devices and other underbelly blasts.

"I get tingles when I see it," said Barbara Holliway, whose job is to improve efficiency in the operation by outfitting the MRAPs with sensitive gear that makes them combat-ready.

"A lot of people here are veterans themselves or have relatives in Iraq, so putting their names on that piece of paper means a lot to them," she said. "It's a thumbprint that we stand behind our equipment. It's a warranty. It says that the person signing it stands behind their work and feels a personal connection to the people who are going to rely on it."

Holliway isn't unique to the sprawling Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command facility here at the old Charleston Naval Base. The once-vacant warehouse building hums with activity 24-7 as workers pull 10-hour shifts in the rush to keep up with demand for the MRAPs.

As quickly as the vehicles roll off the assembly lines at four major production facilities, they roll into this riverfront facility. Crews crawl in, on and around them over the course of the next several hours, readying them for deployment.

The facility reached its goal of equipping 50 MRAPs a day on Dec. 5 and is now up to 62, with hopes of becoming even more efficient, said Joe Rodgers, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command branch chief for Marine Corps Expeditionary Systems who served 30 years in the Navy.

A full "integration," as the staff calls it, takes five to 10 hours, depending on the particular model. "Some trucks are more difficult than others, but regardless of which one it is, the work we do here is pretty doggone fast," said Jim Thigpen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and vice president for the contractor that provides most of the workforce here.

Brian Burger, a former Marine corporal who's been chief engineer here for the past three years, is credited with coming up with the prototypes required to outfit MRAPs with gear that ,initially, was destined for up-armored Humvees.

"Our job is to figure out a way to get everything in (it) in a way that works, that's ergonomic and that's field-friendly," he said. "We make sure that everything doesn't just fit, but that it works."

As a Marine sniper, Burger has an appreciation of the conditions the MRAPs will operate under, and he's incorporated that know-how into his design prototypes. "I wear two hats here, one as an engineer and one as a Marine," he said. "I know what gets broken and how hard they are on things, so I make them tougher and able to withstand the rigors."

One of the big challenges, Burger said, is that there's no single MRAP design to work with. Several manufacturers churn out a wide range of vehicle variants and continually improve on their products. So, installing C4I gear -- command, control, communications, computers and intelligence equipment – requires constant adaptation.

"(Manufacturers) can move one little thing on the vehicle, and it means we have to make rapid decisions on the line to keep them moving," he said.

Manufacturers aren't the only ones making changes. The crews here get feedback from the field, and respond as quickly as possible. "It can be as simple as moving a cable so somebody doesn't trip," said Thigpen.

"This definitely isn't one-size-fits-all where there's one standard way of doing things that everybody follows," said Thigpen. "General Motors couldn't do what we do here running its production lines. For them, when you change horses, it's a major evolution. We change horses 50 times a day."

Throughout the factory floor, there's an appreciation of the importance of the work under way. A large banner stretched out where they enter the building each day reminds them: "Your work is directly supporting the war on terror."

"People here know, deep down, the kind of vehicle we're working on," Burger said. "They know they are the last stop before it gets to Iraq."

"This is a very energetic workforce," said Rodgers. "Well into the neighborhood of 54 percent of them are veterans, so the people working the floor here know their brothers are fighting the war. I can't think of a better motivator."

Christopher Collins, a retired Marine staff sergeant, oversees a section that works nonstop equipping six MRAPs at a time on three different production lines. "This is a team effort," he said. "It's like a Band of Brothers. We work together, learn each other's habits. It's just like a platoon.

"We put in long hours and the demand is high, but there's a lot of dedication and commitment and pride here. You feel it in this building," he said. "We all understand the cost of freedom and that we have to stay focused on the main issue: our men and women in uniform."

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates visited the facility today to see progress being made and to thank the people working behind the scenes to bring it about. In addition to his own appreciation, the secretary offered that of "countless moms and dads, husbands and wives and sons and daughters of U.S. troops deployed abroad."

"I don't think it will surprise you to hear me say you must keep pressing on," Gates told the workers. "The need for these vehicles will not soon go away," he said.

"So keep raising your sights. Keep these vehicles rolling off the line," he said. "Your efforts are saving lives."

America Supports You: Wounded Fort Hood Troops Receive Laptops

American Forces Press Service

Jan. 7, 2008 - Wounded servicemembers at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Fort Hood, Texas, recently got some help staying connected with loved ones during their recovery. Operation Homelink, in collaboration with the Dell computer corporation, presented 30 refurbished laptops to wounded soldiers participating in the Army Wounded Warrior Program on Dec. 21.

The Army Wounded Warrior Program serves the most severely wounded, injured or ill soldiers and their families by helping them with their transition back into civilian or military life.

"This means a lot to us," said laptop recipient Leslie Mansur, a recently retired member of the Army's 4th Infantry Division and a participant in the Army program. "We cannot do our jobs as soldiers if it weren't for the support and faith of the American people and for programs like (Operation Homelink)."

Operation Homelink is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

Having e-mail access during recovery meets soldiers' desires to stay in contact with fellow soldiers and family members, said Dan Shannon, founder and president of Illinois-based Operation Homelink.

Internet access also allows management of medical and financial matters and provides entertainment, which helps boost morale during extended recovery periods. Laptops provided to the most severely injured soldiers in the program have expanded functionality to run adaptive software and accessories.

"We are extremely grateful for Dell's continuing support of our expanded efforts to support our wounded warriors," Shannon said.

Operation Homelink strives to assist military support programs like Army Wounded Warrior Program by providing refurbished computers, which are donated by sponsors such as Dell.

"Dell has a longstanding relationship with the U.S. military," said Troy West, vice president of Dell Federal. "We are proud to assist programs like Operation Homelink in providing technology that will help soldiers like those in the Army Wounded Warrior Program to not only keep in touch with family, friends and fellow soldiers, but to also assist in their recovery processes."

Formed in 2003, Operation Homelink also provides desktop computers to families of servicemembers so they can stay in touch with deployed loved ones.

With this latest laptop donation, Operation Homelink has provided more than 100 laptops to wounded servicemembers. To date, the organization has connected more than 2,500 military families through its donations of laptop or desktop computers.

"If we ask our closest family members and dearest friends if they would die for us, we will get many different answers: but a soldier will die for us without being asked," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Rickey Tucker, who attended the laptop distribution event. "They do not often hear thanks or praise for their efforts, so it is very much appreciated when organizations like Dell and volunteers from Operation Homelink show how much they value the sacrifices being made on their behalf."

(From an Operation Homelink news release.)

America Supports You: Deployed Units Get Boost From Donated Computers

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Dec. 10, 2007 - Many deployed servicemembers have received a morale boost thanks to computers donated by a Michigan-based organization. "We are a group of volunteers (who) rebuild laptop computers and supply them to deployed units for (morale, welfare and recreation), education and entertainment," said James R. Payne, a Vietnam veteran who's president of JDS Computer Donations.

The group accepts laptops, which it refurbishes and donates to nonprofit groups, public schools, and most recently, to deployed servicemembers. Nearly 500 of the refurbished machines already have been sent overseas to help servicemembers keep in touch with their loved ones back home.

Payne and his volunteers have received many responses from grateful servicemembers, many of which appear on the JDS Computer Donations Web site. One from the executive officer of Company A, 50th Signal Battalion, is a good summary of the sentiment expressed by others.

"On behalf of the soldiers, NCOs, and officers of Alpha Company, 50th Signal Battalion, I want to express how grateful we are for the donation of laptops to our unit," said Army 1st Lt. Benjamin Quimby. "Especially with the price of telephone minutes being so high, being able to use computers to communicate to loved ones back in the States is a convenience that we do not take for granted.

"Your effort in supporting our deployed soldiers is inspiring and represents the true heart of the American people," he concluded.

JDS Computer Donation as part of the Any Soldier Inc. support team. Both JDS Computer Donations and Any Soldier Inc. are supporters of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.