Maryland BRAC News
October 22nd, 2009

MARYLAND

Fort Meade to be cyber defense home
Officials hint that U.S. Cyber Command also may locate there
The Navy plans to establish its new cyber security division at Fort George G. Meade, a move that could be a precursor to a larger, more critical command post at the west county Army post.

NSA Director Tapped For Cyber Command
Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander will be in charge of cyberwarfare and the security of military networks.
President Obama has, as expected, nominated National Security Agency director Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander to be promoted to the rank of general and assigned as commander of the new United States Cyber Command.

Mixed-use center targeted for Route 3
Commercial property owners along a 40-acre swath of land on Route 3 just west of Annapolis Road in Gambrills are positioning themselves for another mixed-use center.

New 'Women In Defense' Group Based In Harford County Sells Out First Event
Over 100 people attended the inaugural luncheon Thursday, 8 October, 2009, of the newly-formed Mid-Atlantic chapter of the national organization Women In Defense.

Andrews AFB becomes Joint Base AndrewsTop of Form
Joint Base Andrews, Md., earlier this month became the second joint installation in the country, as part of an ongoing consolidation process that began with the military's 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process.

Andrews Air Force Base gets new name, logo
Andrews Air Force Base will now be called Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington, thanks to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act.

Andrews adopts new name, logo
Air Force officials unveiled the new name and logo for Andrews Air Force Base - now called Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington - at an Oct. 1 ceremony that marks one of many transitions the base is undergoing as part of the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure process.

Federal funding key to BRAC road projects
A pedestrian underpass between the National Institutes of Health and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda is "highly unlikely" in the near future without a federal grant, according to Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett.

Detrick Helps Economy
Fort Detrick officials broke ground on a US. Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic a week ago.

Military Intelligence - Cancer Institute secures funding for new labs
The National Cancer Institute can start construction on its new lab and office building at Riverside Research Park, after funding for the new location came through last week.

Md. housing industry recuperating; continued growth in doubt
Maryland's housing industry has seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Probably.

In search for job source, place bets on gambling
... As far as job growth due to Base Realignment and Closure, Delaware will see very little of these opportunities, other than residents living in the state and commuting to Maryland...

Anthony Brown: Easing the BRAC transition in Bethesda
The Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure action of 2005 has impacted families and facilities across the nation, including the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.

Preparing For BRAC In D.C.
The military's Base Realignment and Closure plan will mean thousands of workers in the region will lose their jobs in the next two years.

Manekin LLC's Gregory Masi dies after battle with lung cancer
... A senior real estate adviser with Manekin, Masi was one of the region's foremost experts on the real estate demands of the Pentagon's base realignment plan, known by its BRAC acronym...

BRAC may bring more commuters than movers
Fort George G. Meade is shaping up to be more of a commuter town than a bedroom community as the post quadruples its operations over the next two years.

Developers sought for Georgia Avenue site
D.C Mayor Adrian Fenty's economic development team is seeking developers for a vacant lot across the street from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Md. transportation meeting in Towson today
... BRAC, the nationwide military base expansion coming to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County, has already spurred economic and residential development in eastern Baltimore County, making planned infrastructure improvements to the Route 40 corridor imperative, officials said...

Cushman & Wakefield: Office, industrial vacancy rates on the rise in 3Q
While the Baltimore region's economy is faring better than much of the rest of the country, the third quarter was a challenging one for the region's real estate industry, according to a new report by Cushman & Wakefield.

Government Careers
Applying for Federal and Security-Related Jobs
Federal careers expert Derrick Dortch was online Wednesday, October 14, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss government job searching and military transition.

UNLIKE GODOT, the new employees brought to the Fort Meade area by the base realignment and closure process will actually get here - starting next year.

ELSEWHERE

Army's largest dining facility opens at Fort Lee
The largest Army-owned dining facility is officially open for business. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Oct. 14, to celebrate the completion and opening of the 75,000-square-foot facility located on the new Ordnance Campus.

Havelock supports additional Marines
A Marine Corps anti-terrorism regiment would be welcome at Cherry Point and the civilian communities around it, residents told a Naval facilities team at a meeting Tuesday night in Havelock.

Bulova, Favola talk I-95/395 HOT lanes
Chairman of the Arlington County Board Barbara Favola met with Sharon Bulova, chairman of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors yesterday to discuss both counties' concerns over the Interstate 95/395 high-occupancy toll lanes.

Maneuver Center of Excellence opens at Ft Benning
The Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence is scheduled to open with a ceremony at Fort Benning.

ARRA expands Homeowners Assistance Program
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Homeowners Assistance Program has been expanded to financially compensate a larger number of eligible military and civilian federal employee homeowners. 

San Antonio BRAC-related construction contracts exceeds $700 million in FY09
Overall military construction in San Antonio has hit record levels for the second straight year with a big boost from the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) construction programs now under way at Fort Sam Houston and elsewhere.

Fort Lee hotel plan galvanizes Tri-Cities business community
When members of the Tri-Cities hospitality industry learned about Fort Lee's plan to build a mega-hotel, they reached out to one another.

PRTC to offer new bus service to Tysons
A new bus service bound for Tysons Corner will launch next month, complete with wireless Internet access, in an effort to get cars off of the Capital Beltway.

KBE Ventures to Build Armed Forces Reserve Center in Middletown, CT
The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) awarded a $51.5 million firm-fixed-price contract to KBE Ventures, a Farmington, CT-based joint venture of KBE Building Corporation and Derita Construction, to build an Armed Forces Reserve Center at Cucia Park in Middletown, CT.

Developers have big plans for Spring Lake
The $1 million purchase of a business park from the town appears to be just the beginning for Rocky Keim and Bob Stafford in Spring Lake.

BRAC impact already being felt
The thousands of military jobs coming to the Fredericksburg area could create "a change of the business dynamic," Joe Grzeika told an audience of area business leaders Thursday night.

New Fort Knox troops arrive
Fort Knox welcomed the first wave of troops from the Duke Brigade - the Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division - at an activation ceremony Friday, marking the largest influx of soldiers under a national base realignment program.

Battelle lands additional Air Force contracts
Battelle, the research and development organization, is working with the Air Force under three contracts to support preparedness at its medical centers, emergency response preparation and studies intended to help protect Air Force and Defense Department personnel against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards.

One stop processing center on Belvoir
According to officials at Fort Belvoir's Directorate of Human Resources, soldiers will soon be able to visit a one-stop facility to complete their in- and out-processing on post to make the transition between duty stations easier.

Agreement signed to make Elmendorf, Richardson a joint installation
Elmendorf Air Force Base and the connected Army installation, Fort Richardson, are due to become a single installation next year as the military strives to become more efficient.

Fort Richardson and Elmendorf to merge into 1 base next year
Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base will merge into a single installation next year in an effort to consolidate services and make the military more efficient, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday.

Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce Foundation presented workforce development grant from Boeing
More than 100 seniors from five universities will be introduced to the Huntsville area and career opportunities here next week - thanks to a $28,443 grant from the Boeing Charitable Trust to the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Lockheed Martin Team to Beef Up US Military Network Security
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded a $31 million contract to a team lead by Lockheed Martin to develop a network protocol to improve the confidentiality, integrity, and security of US military networks.

Partnership hears air show, 'Joint Basing' plan update
Randolph Air Force Base is about to become a busy place, with an air show in November and a Joint Base San Antonio effort occurring over the next year, spokesman Mike Briggs said.

The Future of the Defense Industry: Economic Impacts & Opportunities / From Defense to Development: The Opportunities of Military Base Redevelopment
... Base closures and realignments are occurring nationwide, and former military bases from coast to coast are being transformed into a variety of new developments. ...

Historic WWII-era camp shutters doors
As the bugler played "call to assembly," the local community and the Soldiers of the 78th "Lightning" Division said goodbye Oct. 5, to the Sgt. Joyce Kilmer Army Reserve Center and Camp Kilmer.

Agility to move its base here
Agility Defense & Government Services, a worldwide provider of logistics and support services, is joining the list of companies making Huntsville their headquarters.

Port will take over Navy base property five months early
The Port of Corpus Christi will assume control of Naval Station Ingleside in April, which means it will have to budget five extra months of costs associated with maintaining the base. But officials said the opportunities outweigh the additional cost.

Fort Bliss says good-bye to historical missiles
If you see eight giant missiles traveling down the highway this weekend, don't worry. At least not if they are the missiles leaving Fort Bliss Friday and headed to Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Col. Gina Grosso kicked off first Commanders Call at new Joint Base
The 87th Air Base Wing commander kicked off her first Commander's Call as she assumed the role of Commander, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, to celebrate the inauguration of the nation's only tri-base military installation here on October 1.

Broken Arrow hosts Armed Forces Reserve Center groundbreaking
Officials broke ground Wednesday morning on what will be the largest armory in the state.

Good day for home shopping
People strolled in the sunshine, enjoyed the nice weather, and were upbeat about buying a new home Sunday at the Huntsville/Madison County Builders Association 2009 Parade of Homes.

Guard to receive newer planes
It will be the passing of an era Tuesday when the 139th Airlift Wing sends the first of its original, factory-fresh Hercules planes - which it has had since 1987 - to Arkansas.

Ex-Army site to be new police headquarters
After struggling through more than four years of governmental red tape, the Army Corps of Engineers has deeded the former Richard F. Walton Army Reserve Center to the city of Fairfield.

GROWING MILITARY SERVICE
Since Hurricane Katrina, Naval Station Pascagoula closed, but Keesler Air Force Base, Gulfport's Naval Construction Battalion Center and Stennis Space Center have more military manpower.

Newsmaker: Col. James Johnson
As part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure law, the Army will take over property at Pope.

Joint medical training to begin next summer
A move by the services to combine their enlisted medical training will bring more than 24,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen here every year, starting next June.

Ordnance school prepares for move
Moving is a way of life for any Army family. But these days, moving from one post to another has taken on a whole new dimension for Col. Lee Merritt and his command staff at the 59th Ordnance Brigade/Ordnance Munitions and Electronics Maintenance School.

Dangerous road improvements one step closer
20 million dollars from the state is going toward a major project that removes a deadly stretch of road along Research Park Boulevard and puts an overpass, over Highway 53.

Bulova Makes Plea for 95/395 HOT Lanes Project
Fairfax County Chairman Sharon Bulova (D-At-large) wrote a strongly-worded letter to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) last month, asking the commonwealth to continue work on the high occupancy toll [HOT] lanes project for interstates 95 and 395.

Associate Missions Must Continue, Says Wyatt
The Air National Guard's associate missions with the active duty and Air Force Reserve need to continue beyond the new missions formed after Base Realignment and Closure in 2005, the director of the Air Guard said here, Oct. 7.

Hospital lobbies for growth money
The day after CarolinaEast Medical Center officially opened a new 37-bed expansion, members of its administration, staff and hospital board started looking for money to enlarge its emergency room and maternity facilities.

Griffith talks roads, economy
Congressman Parker Griffith said Monday that some of North Alabama's problems are from being too successful.

CSA says Army will balance mission, troops for Afghanistan
Base realignment and closure, as a result of the 2005 BRAC, is also bringing the Army into balance, the chief said. He said some 380,000 Soldiers and civilians will be affected.

BRAC growth seen clearly on Fort Benning
Take a look around Fort Benning and you'll see sprouting from almost every grassy range, dusty hill and wooded lot tangible evidence of an installation in flux.

ASU offers new majors to support BRAC
Three new business programs designed to support the Tennessee Valley's BRAC initiative will be launched by Athens State University beginning with the spring semester in January 2010.

Unemployment only indicator that matters
While many leading indicators show the economy has stopped its years long slide of recession, the only number that matters to working families has not: unemployment.

College gets $500,000 grant for training
Richmond Community College is one of 29 community colleges and universities nationwide to receive a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant from the Department of Education in the area of "Innovative Strategies in Community Colleges for Working Adults and Displaced Workers."

Cecil Field: What if we had Navy base today?
The saying, "Two wrongs don't make a right" could apply to the former Cecil Field Navy base.

Developers have big plans for Spring Lake
The $1 million purchase of a business park from the town appears to be just the beginning for Rocky Keim and Bob Stafford in Spring Lake.

After more than 10 years, Fort Knox again has a combat unit
The cold, blustery Friday morning left hands shivering on Brooks Parade Field, but those in uniform were unwavering in their gait.

BRAC impact already being felt
The thousands of military jobs coming to the Fredericksburg area could create "a change of the business dynamic," Joe Grzeika told an audience of area business leaders Thursday night.

Fort Bliss Museum relocated to Fort Sill
Workers from Southwestern Crane & Rigging lowered a Nike Ajax air defense missile onto its base in front of the Fort Bliss Museum Wednesday.

DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY (DISA)

GSA Enhances IT Support To Combat Drug Trafficking
The General Services Administration recently awarded Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc. an order to provide technical services for the Defense Information Systems Agency's Anti-Drug Network Plus program, which coordinates anti-trafficking efforts among law enforcement organizations.

Stanley gets DOD task order worth $23 million
Stanley Inc., which provides information-technology services, said Wednesday that it received a five-year, firm-fixed-price task order from the Defense Department under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity prime contract.

FORT MONMOUTH / C4ISR

Civilian takes charge at Fort Monmouth, ending an era
Two men stood in front of a monument dedicated to fallen soldiers, one in Army fatigues, one in a dark suit. As the National Anthem begins, one snaps a salute, the other places a hand over his heart.

Army covers its bases on supporting house prices
HERE'S a government deal I know you'd love to get in on. More than four years ago the US Army announced that it was closing its Fort Monmouth base in New Jersey and moving all the jobs to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

Retired admiral irked by report on Ft. Monmouth
The retired Navy vice admiral who headed a 2005 state panel to protect New Jersey's military bases said he is disturbed by a recent report that demonstrates the decision to close Fort Monmouth was based on inaccurate data and critical information withheld from federal decision-makers.

Navy puts satellite broadband platform to the test
A series of rigorous tests at an event in which all branches of the military participated earlier this year validated certain pivotal technologies designed to deliver and enhance broadband satellite communications.

Keep fighting for the fort
Two weeks ago, Fort Monmouth employees learned that a classified Defense Department report confirmed that the decision to transfer their mission to Maryland, which will result in uprooting their families and endangering U.S. troops fighting terrorists overseas, was based on flawed and intentionally skewed information.

Burry: Misconduct charges will not stop fort closure
Pallone and Holt: Reports show critical data withheld from BRAC
County and local officials are skeptical that a pair of classified reports that found the decision to close Fort Monmouth was preordained and based on flawed information will alter the course of the fort's closure.

CERDEC sets innovative satellite communications workshop for 17-18 Nov. at Fort Monmouth
The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) at Fort Monmouth will host a briefing to industry on innovative military satellite communications (SATCOM) technologies on 17 to 18 Nov. at Gibbs Hall at Fort Monmouth, N.J.

Army researchers turn their attention to unmanned vehicle control, teaming, and autonomy
U.S. Army researchers are looking for defense companies able to suggest advanced approaches to control autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) formations that are working as teams in and around cities and other complex operating environments.

Top military commander: US must prepare for all threats
Military commanders of the future should be proficient at managing high-tech communications networks and also should know how to wage conventional, irregular and hybrid warfare, according to Gerry Gilmore of the American Forces Press Service.

Leadership plays key role in C4ISR success
Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, U.S. Joint Forces Command deputy commander, spoke about leader-centric, network-enabled command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance during the keynote address at the 9th Annual C4ISR Journal Integration Conference, focusing on leaders who know how to work with and without an array of C4ISR platforms and concepts of operations for those platforms.

Army fuses airborne sensor lab with ground networks
At the Army's C4ISR On-the-Move Event 2009 in September, Lockheed Martin Corp. demonstrated its new Airborne Multi-Intelligence Laboratory.

DEFENSE CONTRACTS

ARMY

• Mes Inc., Rockville, Md., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2009 a $101,641,367 Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract. The contractor shall provide the Army continuing education system all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and non-personal services necessary to perform services at various Army locations. Work is to be performed in various CONUS and OCONUS locations with an estimated completion date of Sept. 27, 2013. Bids were solicited via FedBizOpps with 10 bids received. U.S. Army Contracting Center of Excellence, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (W91WAW-09-D-0021).
  
  
• Cosmopolitan -EMTA JV, Columbia, Md., was awarded on Sept. 30, 2009 a $52,659,113 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a close air support apron which includes construction of aircraft parking ramps and fuel storage facilities along the flight line Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Work is to be performed at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, with an estimated completion date of June 6, 2011. Thirty four bids were solicited with 13 bids received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic Programs Center, CETAC-CT-M, Winchester, Va., is the contracting activity (W912ER-09-C-0062).

NAVY

• Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $16,972,005 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0004) to exercise an option for the VH-3D/VH060N executive helicopter special progressive aircraft rework. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be completed in September 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $16,972,005 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the contracting activity.
  
  
• Lockheed Martin Services, Inc., Greenville, S.C., is being awarded a $6,770,916 cost-plus fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity multiple award contract (N00019-05-D-0013) for the procurement of lower wing Zone 5 material structures replacement for two P-3C aircraft. Work will be performed in Greenville, S.C., and is expected to be completed in June 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.
  
  
• Raytheon Co., Space and Airborne Systems, El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a $5,650,089 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) to perform engineering change proposal 6279, which will enhance the AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array radar on 14 F/A-18E, 9 F/A-18F, 22 EA-18G Lot 33 aircraft. Work will be performed in Forest, Miss., (42 percent); El Segundo, Calif., (36.8 percent); and St. Louis, Mo., (21.2 percent), and is expected to be completed in September 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.
  
  
• Northrop Grumman Corp., Electronic Systems, Linthicum Heights, Md., is being awarded a $14,000,000 modification under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-C-2072) to increase the estimated cost ceiling for the Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system development and demonstration to reflect the anticipated cost overrun for $14,000,000. Work will be preformed in Linthicum Heights, Md., (75 percent) and Syracuse, N.Y., (25 percent), and work is expected to be completed September 2011. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract modification was not competitively procured, as the cost overrun is within scope of the current contract and is entered into pursuant to the changes clause. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va. is the contracting activity.
  
  
• Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., is being awarded a $13,430,000 ceiling-priced, undefinitized contract action to provide non-recurring engineering for the qualification of the VH-3D executive transport composite main rotor blades under the lift improvement program. The effort will include engineering, test, evaluation, support equipment, logistics and program management required to support the VH-3D operational capability. Work will be performed in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be completed in February 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $10,830,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0060).

* Small Business

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