Wednesday, February 20, 2008

MILITARY CONTRACTS February 20, 2008

ARMY

River City Construction, L.L.C., East Peoria, Ill., was awarded on Feb. 15, 2008, a $74,210,000 firm-fixed-price contract for changes to the U.S. Transportation Command and its Joint Intelligence Operations Center. Work will be performed at Scott
Air Force Base, Ill., and is expected to be completed by Feb. 9, 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This web solicitation was announced on Nov. 1, 2007, and one bid was received. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity W912QR-08-C-0007.

Arviso Construction Co. Inc., Fort Wingate, N.M., was awarded on Feb. 19, 2008, a $66,475,280 firm-fixed-price contract for replacement of Wingate High School and Dormitory. Work will be performed in Fort Wingate, N.M., and is expected to be completed by May 2, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were 10 bids solicited on Sep. 18, 2007, and three bids were received. The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque, N.M., is the contracting activity W912PP-08-C-0002.

Oshkosh Truck Corp. Oshkosh, Wis., was awarded on Feb. 19, 2008, a $48,906,410 firm-fixed-price award ceiling price modification for family of heavy
Tactical Vehicle systems. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wis., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. One bid was solicited on Oct. 23, 2006, and one bid was received. The Tank Automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity W56HZV-07-C-0248.

Combat Support Associates,
Orange, Calif., was awarded on Feb. 16, 2008, a $30,926,621 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for contract modifications for expansion of postal operations support. Work will be performed in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, and is expected to be completed by Sep. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This web solicitation was posted on Oct. 30, 1998, and four bids were received. The U.S. Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity DASA02-99-C-1234.

General Dynamics Ordnance and
Tactical Systems, Inc., St. Petersburg, Fla., was awarded on Feb. 15, 2008, a $20,552,074 firm-fixed-price contract for small caliber ammunition. Work will be performed in St. Petersburg, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Aug. 23, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This web solicitation was posted on Jan. 18, 2005, and two bids were received. The U.S. Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity W52P1J-05-G-0002.

Alliant Techsystems, Inc.,
Mesa, Ariz., was awarded on Feb. 15, 2008, a $6,972,000 firm-fixed-price contract for 30mm ammunition. Work will be performed in Radford, Va., and is expected to be completed by Sep. 30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were two bids solicited on Jan. 16, 2008, and two bids were received. The U.S. Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity W52P1J-07-C-0035.

Woodward Governor Co., Rockford, Ill., was awarded on Feb. 15, 2008, a delivery order amount of $6,427,580 as part of a $28,879,222 firm-fixed-price contract for fuel control equipment for the Black Hawk helicopter. Work will be performed in Rockford, Ill., and is expected to be completed by Apr. 30, 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were two bids solicited on Jan. 8, 2007, and one bid was received. The U.S.
Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity W58RGZ-07-D-0174.

Purcell Construction, Watertown, N.Y., was awarded on Feb. 15, 2008, a delivery order amount of $66,100,000 as part of a $150,532,382 firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of three 624-person barracks. Work will be performed in Fort Lee, Va., and is expected to be completed by Sep 30, 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were three bids solicited on Dec. 7, 2007, and three bids were received. The U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity W91236-08-D-0014.

NAVY

Global
Security and Engineering Solutions, a Division of L-3 Services, Inc., Chantilly, Va., is being awarded a ceiling value $326,318,075 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity requirements contract to design, fabricate, install, and test the Tactical Video Capture System (TVCS) for various Marine Corps bases worldwide. The Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command (MAGTFTC) staff and personnel will use the TVCS for Real-Time Visualization (RTV) and Situational Awareness (SA) while Marine Units are conducting Military Operation in TVCS to conduct After Action Reviews (AAR) of the just completed training exercise. The contractor will perform system design, development, integration, installation, logistics, engineering, and training of the TVCS. Work will be performed at government sites worldwide, and the work is expected to be completed Feb. 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This effort was competitively procured as a full and open competition procurement, with one offer to the solicitation received. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity (M67854-07-D-8000).

BAE Systems, Land and Armaments Group, Ground Systems,
Santa Clara, Calif., is being awarded a $33,938,132 cost-plus-incentive fee contract to provide engineering support services. This contract contains options which, if exercised, would bring the total cumulative value of this contract to $109,497,949. Work will be performed in Santa Clara, Calif., (24 percent); Brea, Calif., (23 percent); Plymouth, Minn., (18 percent); Aberdeen, S.D., (14 percent); Minneapolis, Minn., (10 percent); Nashua, N.H., (9 percent); Austin, Texas, (2 percent), and work is expected to be completed Jul. 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Arlington, Va., is the contracting activity (N00030-08-C-0025).

Allied Pacific Builders, Inc.,
Honolulu, Hawaii, and David's Custom Roofing & Painting, Inc.*, Pearl City, Hawaii, are being awarded a not to exceed $20,000,000 (base period and four option years) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for roof repairs and maintenance for Navy, Marine Corps, and miscellaneous Federal and other facilities at various locations in Oahu, Hawaii. Work will be performed in Oahu, Hawaii, and work is expected to be completed Feb. 2009 (Feb 2013 with options). Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with 11 proposals solicited and eight offers received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62478-08-D-4014 and N62478-08-D-4015).

AIR FORCE

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics of Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a contract modification for $182,615,911. This action provides for sustainment of the F-22 Weapon System during Calendar Year's 2008 and 2009. At this time $258,763,747 has been obligated. ASC/YFK, Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8611-08-C-2897).

The United Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney, of East
Hartford, Conn., is being awarded an undefinitized contract modification for $101,168,373. This contract will provide CY08 sustainment for the F-22 Raptor F119 Engine. At this time $129,834,373 has been obligated. ASC/YFK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8611-08-C-2896).

TAC Industries of
Springfield Ohio is being awarded a contract for $34,450,420.50. This action provides for quantity of 68,750 each for top cargo tiedown nets; 137,600 each side cargo tie-down nets. At this time all funds have been obligated. 642nd CBSSS/GBZO-PKAC, Robins Air Force Base Ga., is the contracting activity (FA8533-05-D-0001-0010).

General Atomics of San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a cost plus incentive fee contract for $6,094,533. This effort is for the change to enhance the Maintenance Level Technical Orders, which are a part of the system development and demonstration of the MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Air Vehicles. At this time no funds have been obligated. 658th AESS/PK, Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33657-02-G-4035, Order 002316).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Seagoing Uniforms, Marshville, N.C.,* is being awarded a maximum $7,536,579.00 firm fixed price, total set aside, indefinite quantity contract for
Navy utility uniform items. Other locations of performance are N. C., S. C., and Ga. Using service is Navy. This proposal was originally Web solicited with two responses. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract is exercising option year three (except for Item 0005 – Utility Trousers). Date of performance completion is Mar.31, 2009. The contracting activity is Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa. (SP0100-04-D-0457).

Gates Departs on Nine-Day World Trip

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 20, 2008 - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates left today on a nine-day trip around the world aimed at reinforcing relationships with some countries he has yet to visit as defense secretary. Gates will visit U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, participate in annual bilateral talks with Australia, and discuss
security matters with his counterparts in Indonesia, India and Turkey.

The Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations are the principal forum for bilateral talks between the two allies. It brings the U.S. secretaries of state and defense together with their Australian counterparts, along with other senior officials from both countries.

The trip also coincides with the day the
Navy plans to try to shoot down a dead U.S. intelligence satellite. The window for the shoot-down opened this morning after the landing of the space shuttle Atlantis.

Defense officials said yesterday that they are evaluating the situation and will advise the secretary when they have a shot to take. President Bush has empowered Gates to order the shoot-down, and based upon the advice he gets, he is prepared to do so during this trip, officials said yesterday.

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America Supports You: States Honor Wounded With Silver Star Banner

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 20, 2008 - More than 60 years after the custom was last observed, five states have endorsed the Silver Star banner as their official symbol for honoring war-wounded veterans. The practice began in 1918, and the Silver Star banner was granted semi-official status by the
Army adjutant general, said Steve Newton, founder of Silver Star Families of America. Sometime between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II, he said, the practice was lost.

Silver Star Families of America has been working to get the banner granted official status since 2005, Newton said. "When Congress approved the Blue Star and the Gold Star (as official service banners), it did not designate a Silver Star banner," Newton said.

Blue Star banners designate families with a member serving in the
military, while a Gold Star banner honors a family member who was killed in action.

The efforts of Newton's group to work with Congress to get the Silver Star banner designated nationally as an official service banner led to some stalling points, however. Congress wanted the Silver Star Families of America to narrow its definition of wounded, Newton said.

"We decided to ... go state by state, because we didn't want to leave out post-traumatic stress (disorder) or Agent Orange or Gulf War Syndrome or accidents that occur in the war zone that will affect somebody for the rest of their lives," Newton said. "We thought that they needed to be honored also."

In 2007, the group presented each state with a proclamation to endorse the Silver Star banner as its official service banner to honor war wounded. To date, five states --
Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana and Missouri -- have done so.

"To me it's a sign of honor," Newton said. "When a state takes an action like this, it means that they want to remember the sacrifices of the wounded."

Janie Orman, the group's president, said that while the five states agreed quickly and others are on the brink of declaring the Silver Star banner their official service banner for the wounded, some declined.

"A couple of them said, 'No, thank you,'" she said. "A couple of them felt like they had their own programs, I believe."

In 2007, 44 states honored their war wounded by proclaiming May 1 as "Silver Star Day for the Wounded," with at least two of those states working to make the proclamation permanent, Orman said. Silver Star Families of America hopes at least that many states will endorse the Silver Star banner, she added.

The
Missouri-based group is a supporter of America Support You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

Pentagon Opens Window of Time to Shoot Down Satellite

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

Feb. 20, 2008 - The Pentagon has opened the window of time in which it will shoot down a malfunctioning U.S. reconnaissance satellite, a senior U.S.
military officer said here today. Today's return of the space shuttle Atlantis to Earth prompted the start of the optimal time period for shooting down the satellite, which extends until about the end of the month, the senior officer told Pentagon reporters.

Only "tens of seconds" will be available each day for a favorable launch of a ship-based SM-3 interceptor missile, the senior officer said. "The window is small, ... but we're looking for the best orientation of the satellite" before launching the missile, the officer explained.

The 5,000-pound satellite malfunctioned soon after it was launched in 2006, making it unresponsive to ground control. It is carrying a tank full of hydrazine, a toxic rocket fuel. The satellite, orbiting every 90 minutes or so, was expected to fall to Earth in February or March with its tank of hydrazine intact, possibly endangering human populations.

President Bush directed the Defense Department to engage the satellite just before it enters the atmosphere at about 150 miles above the Earth. The goal is for the missile to hit and rupture the tank of rocket fuel, causing the hydrazine to burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere, along with debris from the stricken satellite.

About 50 percent of debris produced by the missile strike is expected to burn up during the stricken satellite's first two orbits after being hit, the senior
military officer said, with the rest burning up shortly after. The strike is designed to leave no space debris.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is to give the order to launch, based upon commanders' recommendations, the senior officer said. Gates will be advised as to the optimal time to launch by the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, based at Offutt
Air Force Base, in Omaha, Neb.

All space sensor and missile-tracking activity related to the missile launch is being coordinated by the Joint Space Operations Center, at Vandenberg
Air Force Base, Calif. Sensors, such as large radars and telescopes, are being coordinated by the Joint Integrated Missile Defense Team in Colorado Springs, Colo., under the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command.

Three U.S.
Navy ships -- the cruiser USS Lake Erie and the destroyers USS Decatur and USS Russell -- are posted in the Pacific Ocean waiting for an optimal time to launch, the senior officer said. The Erie is slated to shoot at the satellite, and it is fitted with two SM-3 missiles. The Decatur has one, and the Russell has none. The missiles were modified to carry additional sensor equipment for the mission, the senior officer said.

The launch will be conducted during daytime over the Pacific, the senior officer explained, so that all sensors involved can better track the results of the missile launch. Necessary criteria for launch include satisfactory alignment of all pre-launch sensor-supplied data, as well as favorable weather conditions, he said.

Currently, the wave height about the ships is unfavorable to launch, the officer said. However, this and other conditions are subject to change, he added.