AIR FORCE
The Air Force is modifying a fixed price incentive firm contract not to exceed $324,600,000 with Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Integrated Systems Air Combat Systems of San Diego, Calif. This contract will provide 2 RQ-4B Block 301 Global Hawk air vehicles, 3 RQ-4B Block 40 air vehicles with MP-RTIP sensor, 1 mission element, 1 launch and recovery element, and associated equipment; option for 4 EISS sensor payloads. At this time $180,351,181 has been obligated. 303 AESG/PK, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-07-C-4015 P00008).
NAVY
Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kan.., is being awarded an estimated $48,800,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of six C-12 replacement aircraft for the Navy. Work will be performed in Wichita, Kan., and is expected to be completed in February 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via electronic request for proposal. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-08-C-0057).
ARMY
BAE Systems Tactical Vehicle Systems, LP, Sealy, Texas, was awarded on July 8, 2008, a $16,231,327 firm-fixed price contract for low-signature armored cab upgrade kits. Work will be performed in Sealy, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on Feb. 28, 2007. U.S. Army TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-07-C-A500).
Penn Detroit Diesel Allison, LLC, York Haven, Pa., was awarded on July 9, 2008, a $7,345,000 firm-fixed price contract for dressed transmissions for the family of medium tactical vehicles. Work will be performed in York Haven, Pa., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 2, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Web bids were solicited on Jan. 7, 2007, and seven bids were received. U.S. Army TACOM, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-08-C-0464).
Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Chantilly, Va., was awarded on July 9, 2008, a $6,703,557 fixed-price incentive with award fee contract for a modification to incorporate in-scope changes to the Pentagon renovation. Work will be performed in Arlington, Va., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on Jan. 19, 2001. Pentagon Renovation & Construction Program Office, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (MDA947-01-C-2001).
Mercar USA, Marshall, Texas, was awarded on July 8, 2008, a $6,364,000 firm-fixed price contract for non-standard ammunition. Work will be performed in Marshall, Texas, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Web bids were solicited on Jan. 22, 2008, and three bids were received. Headquarters, Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-08-C-0027).
SAIC, McLean, Va., was awarded on July 9, 2008, a $6,200,000 time and materials contract for professional support services for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology). Work will be performed in the National Capitol Region, primarily, and is expected to be completed by July 6, 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Six bids were solicited on May 16, 2008, and two bids were received. Army Contracting Activity, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (GS-23F-0107J).
Bering Straits Information Technology, LLC, Anchorage, Alaska* is being awarded a maximum $5,860,413 firm fixed price, total set aside, 8(a) Alaskan Native sole-source contract to provide all labor and staff o provide backorder reduction, post-award workload and management of National Stock Number assistance to Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR). Other location of performance is in Richmond. Using service is Defense Logistics Agency. There was originally 1 proposal solicited with 1 response. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is July 31, 2011. The contracting activity is DSCR, Richmond, Va. (SP4703-08-C-0013).
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Senate Confirms Petraeus, Odierno
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
July 10, 2008 - The Senate has confirmed Army Gen. David H. Petraeus as commander of U.S. Central Command and Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to receive his fourth star and succeed Petraeus as commander of Multinational Force Iraq. The full Senate confirmed Petraeus by a vote of 95-2 and Odierno by a 96-1 margin. Odierno is the Army's 3rd Corps commander and served as commander of Multinational Corps Iraq for 14 months.
The changes put Petraeus -- who implemented the U.S. surge into Iraq -- in charge of U.S. military forces in a dangerous part of the world. The command stretches from Pakistan to Egypt and from Kazakhstan to the Saudi Arabian peninsula. It includes the war in Afghanistan and, until Oct. 1, also includes control of Joint Task Force Horn of Africa based in Djibouti.
Petraeus will take over CentCom after giving his assessment on the post-surge conditions in Iraq. The last surge brigade will leave Iraq at the end of this month.
Petraeus called for -- and Defense Department leaders agreed to -- a pause before bringing the U.S. force in Iraq down any further. The decision on further withdrawals probably will not come until mid-September, and Petraeus will not leave the Iraq command until that is complete, officials said.
In another general officer announcement today, the White House has officially nominated Gen. Norton A. Schwartz to be Air Force chief of staff and Air Force Gen. Duncan J. McNabb to succeed Schwartz as commander of U.S. Transportation Command, at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Senate officials could not say when the confirmation hearings for the men would be.
American Forces Press Service
July 10, 2008 - The Senate has confirmed Army Gen. David H. Petraeus as commander of U.S. Central Command and Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno to receive his fourth star and succeed Petraeus as commander of Multinational Force Iraq. The full Senate confirmed Petraeus by a vote of 95-2 and Odierno by a 96-1 margin. Odierno is the Army's 3rd Corps commander and served as commander of Multinational Corps Iraq for 14 months.
The changes put Petraeus -- who implemented the U.S. surge into Iraq -- in charge of U.S. military forces in a dangerous part of the world. The command stretches from Pakistan to Egypt and from Kazakhstan to the Saudi Arabian peninsula. It includes the war in Afghanistan and, until Oct. 1, also includes control of Joint Task Force Horn of Africa based in Djibouti.
Petraeus will take over CentCom after giving his assessment on the post-surge conditions in Iraq. The last surge brigade will leave Iraq at the end of this month.
Petraeus called for -- and Defense Department leaders agreed to -- a pause before bringing the U.S. force in Iraq down any further. The decision on further withdrawals probably will not come until mid-September, and Petraeus will not leave the Iraq command until that is complete, officials said.
In another general officer announcement today, the White House has officially nominated Gen. Norton A. Schwartz to be Air Force chief of staff and Air Force Gen. Duncan J. McNabb to succeed Schwartz as commander of U.S. Transportation Command, at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Senate officials could not say when the confirmation hearings for the men would be.
Navy Mainstay Retires After 50 Years of Military, Civilian Service
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
July 10, 2008 - If you cut Paul Brady, he would probably bleed sea water. Brady is Navy through and through, and he retires today after more than 50 years of service as a sailor and a civilian.
Brady, from near Nashville, Tenn., joined the service in 1958 and served on active duty through 1969. He worked as a civilian Navy communicator from 1969 to 1992, and has worked as a budget analyst in the service's counterdrug program since then.
The 72-year old former sailor was one of only eight survivors among the 28 people working in the Navy Command Center on Sept. 11, 2001. "The good Lord was looking out for me that day," Brady said during a recent interview. "That, and my Navy training."
Brady and the other members of his office watched on television as the airliners hit the World Trade Center. "After the second airliner hit, I remember saying that we would be the next target," Brady said.
He went back to his office against the D-Ring of the Pentagon, and the explosion came. "It sounded like an eight-inch shell detonating behind me," Brady said. It was Flight 78 hitting the building. The shock wave pushed Brady and a co-worker to the floor.
The air was filled with acrid, choking smoke, dust and fiberglass from the overhead tiles. The lights were out, and the water sprinklers cut on. "The place was in complete darkness," he said. "There were no battery-powered battle lanterns in the command center like we have on ships to provide lighting below decks."
Brady stood to find total chaos. He turned to see how his co-worker was and, "there, wonder of wonders, was a light shining through the smoke and dust," he said. "I immediately dropped to the deck and crawled over the rubble, staying below the smoke line to the light. 'Stay low. Stay alive' was drilled into our heads in damage control schools in the fleet."
He came upon a 4-foot square hole in the masonry and limestone wall of the Pentagon. "I bent over and walked through it to the alleyway between the rings," he said. His co-worker was already there, and he helped the then-66-year-old Brady over the rubble. They worked their way along the alleys between the rings to the Pentagon's center courtyard, and then out of the building.
"Aside from some cuts and bruises, I was fine," Brady said.
Brady was on active duty when the Soviets put up the Berlin Wall in 1961, and he helped enforce the blockade of Cuba in 1962 when Soviet missiles were found 90 miles from America's shores.
"Nothing happened either time," he said. "When you are 66 years old and at a desk in the Pentagon, one does not expect a hijacked airliner to blast into the command center."
Brady lives in Dumfries, Va., and is the proud father of seven children. He still tells sea stories of his service aboard the USS Newport News -- "the best damn cruiser in the fleet," he says -- during the Cuban missile crisis.
Over his career, Brady has seen many changes in the Pentagon. He said that when he started in 1969, there were no paintings or displays up in the corridors. People smoked at their desks, and eating establishments were few and far between.
"In the offices, people were really crammed together, and they didn't have the elevators they have now," he said. But not everything at the Pentagon has changed. "The paperwork and bureaucracy are just as bad as they always have been," he noted.
During his half-century of service, the military has become far more of a joint organization, Brady said. He started as a communicator and worked only on systems for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Later, that included the U.S. Air Force. Now, as a budget analyst with the counterdrug office, he routinely works with representatives of the other services, the Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Though Brady retires today, he's not severing his connections to the Pentagon.
"I plan to work as a volunteer in the Pentagon chaplain's office," he said. "Hopefully, I can help some people out and stay in contact with my good friends."
American Forces Press Service
July 10, 2008 - If you cut Paul Brady, he would probably bleed sea water. Brady is Navy through and through, and he retires today after more than 50 years of service as a sailor and a civilian.
Brady, from near Nashville, Tenn., joined the service in 1958 and served on active duty through 1969. He worked as a civilian Navy communicator from 1969 to 1992, and has worked as a budget analyst in the service's counterdrug program since then.
The 72-year old former sailor was one of only eight survivors among the 28 people working in the Navy Command Center on Sept. 11, 2001. "The good Lord was looking out for me that day," Brady said during a recent interview. "That, and my Navy training."
Brady and the other members of his office watched on television as the airliners hit the World Trade Center. "After the second airliner hit, I remember saying that we would be the next target," Brady said.
He went back to his office against the D-Ring of the Pentagon, and the explosion came. "It sounded like an eight-inch shell detonating behind me," Brady said. It was Flight 78 hitting the building. The shock wave pushed Brady and a co-worker to the floor.
The air was filled with acrid, choking smoke, dust and fiberglass from the overhead tiles. The lights were out, and the water sprinklers cut on. "The place was in complete darkness," he said. "There were no battery-powered battle lanterns in the command center like we have on ships to provide lighting below decks."
Brady stood to find total chaos. He turned to see how his co-worker was and, "there, wonder of wonders, was a light shining through the smoke and dust," he said. "I immediately dropped to the deck and crawled over the rubble, staying below the smoke line to the light. 'Stay low. Stay alive' was drilled into our heads in damage control schools in the fleet."
He came upon a 4-foot square hole in the masonry and limestone wall of the Pentagon. "I bent over and walked through it to the alleyway between the rings," he said. His co-worker was already there, and he helped the then-66-year-old Brady over the rubble. They worked their way along the alleys between the rings to the Pentagon's center courtyard, and then out of the building.
"Aside from some cuts and bruises, I was fine," Brady said.
Brady was on active duty when the Soviets put up the Berlin Wall in 1961, and he helped enforce the blockade of Cuba in 1962 when Soviet missiles were found 90 miles from America's shores.
"Nothing happened either time," he said. "When you are 66 years old and at a desk in the Pentagon, one does not expect a hijacked airliner to blast into the command center."
Brady lives in Dumfries, Va., and is the proud father of seven children. He still tells sea stories of his service aboard the USS Newport News -- "the best damn cruiser in the fleet," he says -- during the Cuban missile crisis.
Over his career, Brady has seen many changes in the Pentagon. He said that when he started in 1969, there were no paintings or displays up in the corridors. People smoked at their desks, and eating establishments were few and far between.
"In the offices, people were really crammed together, and they didn't have the elevators they have now," he said. But not everything at the Pentagon has changed. "The paperwork and bureaucracy are just as bad as they always have been," he noted.
During his half-century of service, the military has become far more of a joint organization, Brady said. He started as a communicator and worked only on systems for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Later, that included the U.S. Air Force. Now, as a budget analyst with the counterdrug office, he routinely works with representatives of the other services, the Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Though Brady retires today, he's not severing his connections to the Pentagon.
"I plan to work as a volunteer in the Pentagon chaplain's office," he said. "Hopefully, I can help some people out and stay in contact with my good friends."
America Supports You: Restored 1931 Buick Showcases 'Faces of Valor'
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
July 10, 2008 - Patriotism runs high at Chick and Ruth's Delly, a mainstay along the Maryland capital's Main Street. Ted Levitt, the deli's owner, starts each morning leading patrons as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. A huge flag hovers high over the lunch counter, and yellow-and-orange walls are covered with photos of troops in uniform. Now Levitt has a new addition: a fully restored 1931 Buick, airbrushed with the faces of 43 heroes who have served the country in the armed forces or as police officers, firefighters and other first responders.
Levitt hopes to use his labor of love, which he's named "Faces of Valor USA," to raise money for scholarships and financial assistance for or in honor of those wounded or killed while performing their duty.
The red, white and blue car took two and a half years to restore and made its debut appearance during Annapolis' Fourth of July Parade. Now Levitt is lining up events where he can showcase the car to raise funds to help those who have sacrificed for their country and the families some of them left behind.
Levitt said he got the idea to personalize his project after the parents of Marine Capt. Ben Sammis stopped into his deli to tell him that their son had been killed conducting helicopter rescues in Iraq. Sammis graduated from The Citadel in South Carolina, but met Levitt when he frequented Chick and Ruth's Delly while attending a U.S. Naval Academy program.
Devastated to hear of his death, Levitt asked Beth and Steve Sammis for permission to use their son's face on his car.
Levitt took the project farther, ultimately choosing 43 people to depict on his car and bring faces to the concepts of sacrifice and service. In addition to 15 firefighters killed in New York during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Faces of Valor project highlights troops who have served in operations from the Vietnam War to the war in Iraq.
Levitt knows all but the New York firefighters personally, from his cousin, Army Chief Warrant Officer Stewart Goldberg, who was killed when his helicopter was shot down in Vietnam in July 1969, to Master Sgt. Karl Allen, a local businessman who retired from the reserve components after three deployments.
The face of Army Capt. D.J. Skelton, a Chick and Ruth's Delly patron, appears with his left eye closed; he lost it during a rocket-propelled-grenade attack while serving with 25th Infantry Division in Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004.
But Levitt said he intentionally chose to use not only faces of those wounded or killed in the line of duty.
"This is a tribute, not a memorial," he said of the Faces of Valor project. "A lot of people think you have to have been killed to be honored, but that's not the point here. What matters is that these people put their lives on the line every day to protect us. It's because of them that we get to live the lives we live."
Levitt said he wants people who see the car to focus on each face and recognize the sacrifices so many people make so Americans can live in safety and enjoy freedoms some only dream about.
"These are the men and women who allow us to live in freedom, to do any kind of job we want and allow our constitution to live on," he said. "It's because of them that we get to do what we do."
At age 51, Levitt said, he remembers the protests and abuse that awaited many Vietnam veterans when they returned from that war, and said he wants to ensure that never happens to today's returning troops.
"They need to be treated as heroes," he said. "And for those who need help, they need to know that they will be taken care of. We owe them that."
American Forces Press Service
July 10, 2008 - Patriotism runs high at Chick and Ruth's Delly, a mainstay along the Maryland capital's Main Street. Ted Levitt, the deli's owner, starts each morning leading patrons as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. A huge flag hovers high over the lunch counter, and yellow-and-orange walls are covered with photos of troops in uniform. Now Levitt has a new addition: a fully restored 1931 Buick, airbrushed with the faces of 43 heroes who have served the country in the armed forces or as police officers, firefighters and other first responders.
Levitt hopes to use his labor of love, which he's named "Faces of Valor USA," to raise money for scholarships and financial assistance for or in honor of those wounded or killed while performing their duty.
The red, white and blue car took two and a half years to restore and made its debut appearance during Annapolis' Fourth of July Parade. Now Levitt is lining up events where he can showcase the car to raise funds to help those who have sacrificed for their country and the families some of them left behind.
Levitt said he got the idea to personalize his project after the parents of Marine Capt. Ben Sammis stopped into his deli to tell him that their son had been killed conducting helicopter rescues in Iraq. Sammis graduated from The Citadel in South Carolina, but met Levitt when he frequented Chick and Ruth's Delly while attending a U.S. Naval Academy program.
Devastated to hear of his death, Levitt asked Beth and Steve Sammis for permission to use their son's face on his car.
Levitt took the project farther, ultimately choosing 43 people to depict on his car and bring faces to the concepts of sacrifice and service. In addition to 15 firefighters killed in New York during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Faces of Valor project highlights troops who have served in operations from the Vietnam War to the war in Iraq.
Levitt knows all but the New York firefighters personally, from his cousin, Army Chief Warrant Officer Stewart Goldberg, who was killed when his helicopter was shot down in Vietnam in July 1969, to Master Sgt. Karl Allen, a local businessman who retired from the reserve components after three deployments.
The face of Army Capt. D.J. Skelton, a Chick and Ruth's Delly patron, appears with his left eye closed; he lost it during a rocket-propelled-grenade attack while serving with 25th Infantry Division in Fallujah, Iraq, in November 2004.
But Levitt said he intentionally chose to use not only faces of those wounded or killed in the line of duty.
"This is a tribute, not a memorial," he said of the Faces of Valor project. "A lot of people think you have to have been killed to be honored, but that's not the point here. What matters is that these people put their lives on the line every day to protect us. It's because of them that we get to live the lives we live."
Levitt said he wants people who see the car to focus on each face and recognize the sacrifices so many people make so Americans can live in safety and enjoy freedoms some only dream about.
"These are the men and women who allow us to live in freedom, to do any kind of job we want and allow our constitution to live on," he said. "It's because of them that we get to do what we do."
At age 51, Levitt said, he remembers the protests and abuse that awaited many Vietnam veterans when they returned from that war, and said he wants to ensure that never happens to today's returning troops.
"They need to be treated as heroes," he said. "And for those who need help, they need to know that they will be taken care of. We owe them that."
America Supports You: Communities Sign On for Annual Observance
By Sharon Foster
Special to American Forces Press Service
July 10, 2008 - Two years ago, Steve Newton, founder of Silver Star Families of America, asked the governors of all 50 states and the mayor of the District of Columbia to sign a proclamation to observe May 1 as Silver Star Banner Day, honoring wounded and ill servicemembers from all wars. "We asked the governors to make this day a permanent and official day of observance each year thereafter," Newton said. "This is a community outreach program that can be implemented by each governor to benefit the wounded and ill troop population in this unique way."
Governors held ceremonies honoring wounded and ill servicemembers, Newton said, but the news was not always reaching small cities and towns. They, too, wanted to get involved.
"We started to get feedback, and many mayors wondered why we did not include their cities and towns in this event," Newton said. "They were not able to go to the state capital, but they wanted to do something in their own community."
That feedback led Newton to reach out to 5,000 cities and towns -- 100 per state -- across the nation in preparation for next year's Silver Star Banner Day.
"We want to get down to the grassroots level and have local communities honor their wounded and ill, as well," Newton explained. "At the same time, we wish to send the nation's largest thank you."
May 1 was chosen for this recurring event because it is Loyalty Day and the first day of Military Appreciation Month, Newton said.
A Silver Star Families of America committee contacts city clerks and mayors to inform them of the event and to ask for their participation. When they agree, they receive a proclamation letter to sign. To date, nearly 60 cities in 18 states have signed on to observe Silver Star Banner Day in 2009 and thereafter. The organization's Web site, www.silverstarfamilies.org, is the place to start for people who want to ensure their community has the opportunity to participate.
"It is amazing the outpouring of admiration for our wounded and ill," Newton said. "The general response from the cities has been, 'We are honored to be included in this endeavor.'"
Newton said he hopes this event will let all servicemembers know that "we have not forgotten them and never will."
"Their love of country and sacrifice will remain alive in our hearts," he said, "and the Silver Star Families of America will always be here to make sure we never forget."
Silver Star Families of America is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
Special to American Forces Press Service
July 10, 2008 - Two years ago, Steve Newton, founder of Silver Star Families of America, asked the governors of all 50 states and the mayor of the District of Columbia to sign a proclamation to observe May 1 as Silver Star Banner Day, honoring wounded and ill servicemembers from all wars. "We asked the governors to make this day a permanent and official day of observance each year thereafter," Newton said. "This is a community outreach program that can be implemented by each governor to benefit the wounded and ill troop population in this unique way."
Governors held ceremonies honoring wounded and ill servicemembers, Newton said, but the news was not always reaching small cities and towns. They, too, wanted to get involved.
"We started to get feedback, and many mayors wondered why we did not include their cities and towns in this event," Newton said. "They were not able to go to the state capital, but they wanted to do something in their own community."
That feedback led Newton to reach out to 5,000 cities and towns -- 100 per state -- across the nation in preparation for next year's Silver Star Banner Day.
"We want to get down to the grassroots level and have local communities honor their wounded and ill, as well," Newton explained. "At the same time, we wish to send the nation's largest thank you."
May 1 was chosen for this recurring event because it is Loyalty Day and the first day of Military Appreciation Month, Newton said.
A Silver Star Families of America committee contacts city clerks and mayors to inform them of the event and to ask for their participation. When they agree, they receive a proclamation letter to sign. To date, nearly 60 cities in 18 states have signed on to observe Silver Star Banner Day in 2009 and thereafter. The organization's Web site, www.silverstarfamilies.org, is the place to start for people who want to ensure their community has the opportunity to participate.
"It is amazing the outpouring of admiration for our wounded and ill," Newton said. "The general response from the cities has been, 'We are honored to be included in this endeavor.'"
Newton said he hopes this event will let all servicemembers know that "we have not forgotten them and never will."
"Their love of country and sacrifice will remain alive in our hearts," he said, "and the Silver Star Families of America will always be here to make sure we never forget."
Silver Star Families of America is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.
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