By Debbie Gregory.

The contract for two refrigerator units that were destined for Air Force One has been canceled.

The $24 million contract would have provided two new “chiller” units that would have been installed in 2020. The current Air Force One planes have been in use since 1990, and are scheduled for replacement in 2024. Boeing reached a deal this year to build replacements for those two presidential airplanes for $3.9 billion.

That would have meant that the $24 million dollar chiller units were only going to be in use for four years.

The Air Force and White House Military Office decided to cancel the purchase until the new Boeing Air Force One planes are delivered, according to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson. Wilson stressed that if the delivery of those planes is delayed, they will have to reconsider the possibility of replacement.

Technically speaking, any U.S. Air Force plane carrying the president becomes Air Force One, but the moniker usually refers to the two identical planes that have been specifically modified to meet the security and logistical needs of the commander-in-chief and his flying staff.

The refrigerators on Air Force One are required to carry 3,000 meals in order to feed passengers and crew for four weeks in case of an emergency that prevents the plane from landing.

The Air Force has said the refrigerators currently on board Air Force One are based on old technology and were designed for short-term food storage, and are increasingly failing in hot and humid environments.

Rep. Joe Courtney, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services subcommittee on sea power and projection forces, who had inquired about the refrigerator contract, praised the Air Force for terminating it, saying it “didn’t pass the smell test.”

By Debbie Gregory.

Fielding a replacement for the Bradley fighting vehicle is the Army’s top priority for its Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCVs) program.

The Army named NGCV as one of its top-six modernization priorities that will be supported under the service’s new Futures Command expected to reach an initial operational capability this summer. The NGCV will replace Cold War era fighting vehicles with a new, modern design meant to kit out tank and mechanized infantry units.

Army Secretary Mark Esper revealed that the service will focus first on the “new infantry fighting vehicle, which is what the first Next Generation Combat Vehicle will be.” It will feature driver-assisted, 360-degree situational awareness assisted by artificial intelligence, as well as computer-assisted targeting and acquisition capabilities allowing quicker decision making in combat.

“We can’t wait 15 years. We’ve got to pull that forward because I’m looking at the National Defense Strategy, I’m looking at those countries and I know I have to get there sooner,” Esper said.

Manned and unmanned NGCVs will work together on the battlefield, with the larger manned vehicles carrying a tank gun or squad of infantry troops. The unmanned vehicle will be considerably smaller, but still carry a considerable punch. The unmanned vehicle could be used as a scouting vehicle, traveling ahead of a mixed armored task force.

The Army has budgeted $38 million for advanced prototyping efforts across the six modernization priorities in FY19.

By late FY19, the Army will introduce one manned and two unmanned combat vehicles for testing by the service’s Test and Evaluation Command. The 2019 deadline for a manned vehicle means the first generation NGCV will likely be something relatively new but already in production.

NGCV is the Army’s third attempt to replace the Abrams tank and the Bradley IFV. During the 2000s, the cancelled Future Combat Systems program spent $18.1 billion without fielding a single vehicle.

By Debbie Gregory.

Every year, the federal government spends approximately $500 billion on goods and services. In order to keep a level playing field, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has worked with federal agencies to ensure that at least 23 percent of all prime government contracts are awarded to small businesses. These are called “set-asides.”

In addition to the 23 percent for small businesses, statutory goals established by Congress for federal executive agencies are:

• 5 percent for women-owned small businesses
• 5 percent for Small Disadvantaged Businesses
• 3 percent for HUBZone small businesses
• 3 percent for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses

There are two kinds of set-aside contracts: competitive set-asides and sole-source set-asides.

According to the SBA, in competitive set-asides, when at least two small businesses could perform the work or provide the products being purchased, the government sets aside the contract exclusively for small businesses. With few exceptions, this happens automatically for all government contracts under $150,000.

Sole-source contracts are a kind of contract that can be issued without a competitive bidding process. This usually happens in situations where only a single business can fulfill the requirements of a contract.

Veterans are uniquely qualified to secure government contracts due to the skills and experience inherit from their career in the military. The federal government tries to award at least three percent of annual federal contracting dollars to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

Working with veteran owned businesses have additional advantages: many of their owners already have the necessary security clearances often required for government contracts. They also have knowledge of the inner workings of government.

The certification process varies depending on the SBA contracting program. For some, you can self-certify just by updating your business profile in the System for Award Management (SAM) at http:www.sam.gov.

For other programs, you have to apply for certification. As part of the application, you’ll answer questions about your business and its ownership, and upload supporting documents.

By Debbie Gregory.

It turns out that Clayton Pressley III, a former sailor who was serving a 50 month prison sentence for stealing the identities of his subordinates, was also ripping off the Navy through an elaborate procurement fraud scheme.

Pressley, who was kicked out of the Navy after nearly 20 years, will now serve an additional two years in federal prison in connection with the $2.3 million scam, which netted him more than $644,000.

Court documents show that Pressley conspired with two others to form a sham government contracting firm in May 2014. The company was ostensibly formed to provide “inert training aids” to Navy units.

The conspirators manipulated the government procurement process to contract with themselves and signed fraudulent documentation indicating the company had delivered product when it had not.

The Navy would pay the company through intermediaries and ultimately the conspirators would distribute the proceeds among themselves.

According to court documents, an unnamed Navy officer who had purchasing authority ordered the aids from two vendors, identified as Firm D and Firm V. It is unclear whether the sales representatives knew the scope of the fraud.

Pressley used the money for travel and home goods.

“The steps taken by Mr. Pressley and others to perpetrate their scheme demonstrated remarkable cunning and deceitfulness,” Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David Layne said in court documents, asking for a sentence of at least three years and 10 months.

Pressley’s attorney, Bruce Sams, said his client was struggling with unspecified mental health issues at the time of his crimes and asked for leniency.

“Mr. Pressley does not really know what reasons led him to engage in his criminal conduct but has expressed his remorsefulness and repentance for having done so,” Sams said in court documents.

Pressley, who was awarded a Bronze Star “for exceptionally meritorious service during Operation Iraqi Freedom” has been ordered to pay full restitution.

By Debbie Gregory.

On May 17^th, the Department of Veterans Affairs inked a 10-year, $10 billion contract with Kansas City, Missouri-based Cerner Corp. to adopt the same commercial electronic health records system as the Pentagon.

“President Trump has made very clear to me that he wants this contract to do right by both Veterans and taxpayers, and I can say now without a doubt that it does,” said Veterans Affairs Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie. He continued, “Signing this contract today is an enormous win for our nation’s veterans. It puts in place a modern IT system that will support the best possible health care for decades to come. That’s exactly what our nation’s heroes deserve.”

The department received nearly $800 million in funding from Congress for fiscal 2018 to begin the contract.

“For too long, service members transitioning from the Department of Defense to VA healthcare have been unable to take their medical records with them,” said Rep. Tim Walz, ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Cerner President Zane Burke said in a statement that the company is honored to have the opportunity to improve the health care experience for our nation’s veterans.

“The VA has a long history of pioneering health care technology innovation, and we look forward to helping deliver high-quality outcomes across the continuum of care,” said Burke. “We expect this program to be a positive catalyst for interoperability across the public and private health care sectors, and we look forward to moving quickly with organizations across the industry to deliver on the promise of this mission.”