Fort Indiantown Gap Increases Operations During COVID-19

June 19, 2020 | BY Brad Rhen , Pennsylvania National Guard

Now that Pennsylvania has begun a phased reopening from the COVID-19 crisis, Fort Indiantown Gap has begun gradually increasing operations.

Several facilities and recreation areas had closed, some training and events were cancelled, and some employees worked from home, but the installation still remained open.

"Although operations were reduced and some things were canceled, Fort Indiantown Gap never closed," said Army Col. Lane Marshall, the garrison commander. "The primary focus shifted from training to supporting our soldiers and airmen who were serving the citizens of the commonwealth in the fight against the spread of COVID-19."

The 17,000-plus-acre installation, which is home to the headquarters of both the Pennsylvania National Guard and the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, is one of the busiest National Guard training sites in the country, with more than 120,000 service members training there annually. The fort also hosts training for law enforcement and other state and federal agencies.

While some training was canceled, training didn't completely cease. For example, the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade completed predeployment training at the fort for a previously scheduled rotation to the U.S. Central Command area of operations.

Training in weapons qualifications, grenade training and land-navigation training was done while taking measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing and wearing facemasks, to the extent practical.

Additionally, Pennsylvania National Guardsmen who were activated for COVID-19 support missions received various types of medical training at the installation's Medical Battalion Training Site and Medical Simulation Training Center.

Now that operations are beginning to ramp up, the training center is anticipating an influx of training requests from units attempting to salvage their training year, and the range scheduling section has already started receiving training requests.

The directorate of plans, training, mobilization and security, under the guidance of the garrison commander, has been developing courses of action aimed at maximizing use of the fort's training assets while incorporating measures to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 among the training population and the installation's permanent party service members and employees.

"We are doing everything we can to ensure units can train in a safe manner so they can maintain readiness and they are able to complete their missions when called upon," Marshall said.

Kentucky National Guard to Assist With Primary Election

June 19, 2020 | BY ARMY CAPT. CASSANDRA MULLINS

More than 200 Kentucky National Guardsmen will assist local officials at polling locations around the state for Kentucky's June 23 primary election as part of the state's ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guardsmen — who will serve out of uniform — will perform nonelection officer duties, such as setting up and cleaning poll locations and assisting with traffic, parking and crowd control in a non-law-enforcement capacity under the direction of election officers, officials said. The guard will not perform duties reserved for trained election officials, such as handling ballots or screening voters to determine who can vote.

Many of Kentucky's poll workers are older and have to self-quarantine because of high risk factors for COVID-19, creating a need for extra help at the polls, said Army Col. Andrew Bates, the deputy chief of staff for the Kentucky National Guard. This partnership will help protect those who are most vulnerable and allow them to remain healthy at home, he added.

''The National Guard has been asked to help in many different ways around the commonwealth, as we stand together against the COVID pandemic,'' Bates said. ''This is just another way the Kentucky Guard is making a difference in their neighbor's lives in times of crisis.''

Army Lt. Col. Andrew Caldwell, the director of military support for the Kentucky National Guard, said this is the first time, to his knowledge, that the Kentucky Guard has been asked to assist in an election. He said the guardsmen who are assisting volunteered to do so.

''We are here to support the commonwealth,'' Caldwell said. ''At a time when most of the volunteers at the polling stations are in the high-risk category for the coronavirus, we are here to step into that role and protect our state and our citizens.''

In addition, Caldwell said, guardsmen will serve only at locations in the 44 counties for which election officials requested the guard's assistance. Richard Vowels, director of the Jefferson County election center, said guardsmen were invaluable in assisting with setting up poll stations in his county ahead of the election. Vowels said because of social distancing requirements, his center has never had to set up polling locations this large.

''Our office does not have many employees in it,'' Vowels said. ''We could not have made this happen without [the guard],'' he continued. ''The help has really been tremendous.''

In Anderson County, where residents can vote early using drive-thru or walk-in stations, County Clerk Jason Denny said the guard's assistance has been a great benefit.

''The soldiers have been helping us with traffic control and doing things like sanitizing voting stations to help prevent the spread of the virus,'' he said. ''It's been very beneficial. We appreciate the guard being able to do this for us.''

On June 12, Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Cureton, with the Kentucky National Guard, received a thumbs-up from a voter as he directed traffic through a drive-thru voting station at the Anthony Stratton Building in Lawrenceburg.

''I'm just doing my part to help provide support during COVID-19,'' Cureton said.

The Kentucky National Guard has found itself serving in multiple capacities during the pandemic, such as assisting with food banks and turning an exhibit hall at the state fairgrounds into a field hospital. This year has presented several missions that require skill sets that are not often required to be used outside of the training environment, said Army Maj. John Kwiek, the special project officer with the Kentucky National Guard.

''Our Kentucky National Guard soldiers have excelled at every task placed in front of them,'' Kwiek said. ''Our soldiers have shown the commonwealth and their communities that we have been trained to provide assistance in many capacities, both home and abroad.''

With this most recent assignment, Kentucky joins other states who have also recently used guardsmen in elections, including Nebraska and Wisconsin. While preparing to assist at polls, Kentucky National Guard leaders said they studied best practices from the Wisconsin National Guard, which reported a successful election-support mission.

(Army Capt. Cassandra Mullins is assigned to the 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)

Red Zone

A Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopter sits on the flightline before a simulated casualty evacuation exercise at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 13, 2020.

DOD Announces $187 Million in Defense Production Act Title III COVID-19 Actions

June 19, 2020

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Statement attributed to Lt. Col. Mike Andrews, Department of Defense spokesman:

Today the Department is announcing five Defense Production Act Title III actions to help sustain and strengthen essential domestic industrial base capabilities and defense-critical workforce in shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, and clothing and textiles.  These actions will help to retain critical workforce capabilities throughout the disruption caused by COVID-19 and to restore some jobs lost because of the pandemic. The Department remains closely partnered with FEMA and HHS, providing almost $2.9 billion in life-saving medical services, supplies and equipment to service members and federal agencies in the nation's whole-of-government approach to the coronavirus pandemic.

DoD announces $50 million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement with Austal USA to Strengthen Domestic Shipbuilding Industrial Base

As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense entered into a $50 million agreement with Austal USA to maintain, protect, and expand critical domestic shipbuilding and maintenance capacity. These investments will have long-term benefits for U.S. Navy shipbuilding while accelerating pandemic recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast region.

Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will protect jobs and bolster the local economy in a region hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure critical capabilities are retained in support of U.S. Navy operational readiness.

Austal USA is based in Mobile, Alabama, which is the principal place of performance.

DoD announces $55 million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement with W International to Strengthen Domestic Shipbuilding Industrial Base

As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense entered into a $55 million agreement with W International to maintain, protect, and expand critical domestic industrial base capability for the U.S. Navy nuclear shipbuilding industry. These investments will have long-term benefits for Navy shipbuilding while accelerating pandemic recovery efforts in the South East region of the United States.

Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will support capital projects to maintain and support capacity, workflow improvements, and workforce development. These investments will protect jobs in a region hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure critical capabilities are retained in support of U.S. Navy operational readiness.

W International is located in Goose Creek, South Carolina, which is the principal place of performance.

DoD announces $25 million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement to Strengthen Domestic Aviation Defense Industrial Base

As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense (DoD) entered into a $25 million agreement with Weber Metals Inc. to sustain critical domestic industrial base capability and capacity for making of large, open and closed die forgings used in many DoD weapons systems. 

Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will expand production capability and capacity to meet vitally important DoD demand and improve associated processes including conversion and core processing in their supply chain. These investments will enable Weber Metals Inc to retain critical workforce capabilities throughout the disruption caused by COVID-19 and to restore jobs lost due to the pandemic.

Weber Inc. is headquartered in Paramount, CA, which is the principal place of performance.

DoD announces $55 million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement to strengthen Domestic Aviation Defense Industrial Base

As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense entered a $55 million agreement with GE Aviation to sustain essential aircraft engine component manufacturing capabilities. The purpose of this investment is for the remanufacture of selected critical engine components used on the F110-100/-129 turbofan jet engine and the F118-101 turbofan jet engine.  These engines power the F-16 and the U-2 aircraft respectfully.

Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will enable GE and their sub-tier suppliers, including small business, minority owned, women owned and veteran owned businesses to retain/reinstate more than 225 American jobs.  It is critical to national defense that GE and their affiliated companies remain viable and working.

Additionally, both the F-16 and the U-2 propulsion systems have future forecasted readiness challenges and the injection of these Title III funds will enable the USAF to avoid that projected shortfall. 

GE is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components, and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft.  GE Aviation has a global service network to support the aviation industry with extensive repair capabilities and experienced technicians, which provides the highest level of customer service and world-class performance.

Besides GE some of the affected sub-tier companies and vendors are located in: Grand Prairie, TX;  East Granby, CT;  Rochester, NY;  Cincinnati OH;  Bloomfield, CT;  Brazil, IN;  Asheville, NC; and Ithaca, MI, to name a few locations.

The Department is confident that this effort not only sustains the viability and readiness of current propulsion systems but will also continue to advance leading edge propulsion technologies.

DoD Announces $2 Million Defense Production Act Title III Agreement to Sustain U.S. Domestic Production of Fabric for Army Dress Uniforms

As part of the national response to COVID-19, the Department of Defense entered a $2 million agreement with American Woolen Company to sustain domestic production of poly/wool blend fabric for U.S. Army dress uniforms.

Using funds authorized and appropriated under the CARES Act, this DPA Title III investment will sustain the domestic production capability and capacity of poly/wool blend fabric for Army dress uniforms. The sustainment of this production capability will ensure the U.S. Government gets dedicated long term industrial capacity to meet the needs of the nation.

This investment will leverage American Woolen Company’s manufacturing capabilities to commercialize the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) fabrics, enabling the government to diversify the supply chain and add a second source of innovation to the market.

American Woolen Company is a small, women-owned manufacturer of wool and wool/blend fabrics based in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, which is the principal place of performance.

Website resources:

DoD Coronavirus update: https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus/    

DoD Industrial Policy: https://www.businessdefense.gov/coronavirus/

Joint Acquisition Task Force: https://www.acq.osd.mil/jatf.html  

Defense Production Act Title III: https://www.businessdefense.gov/Programs/DPA-Title-III/