Acquisition Directorate News

Not every vessel in the U.S. Navy is built for major combat operations on the high seas. There are large numbers of boats and service craft that provide essential services to the sea services, the nation and its partners.The U.S. Navy procures about 100 small boats per year. Some of these boats are based on commercial designs, procured to a Navy developed specification that tailors the requirements to the end user needs. They are procured and managed by two Naval Sea Systems Command program offices—PMS 300 and PMS 325.Compared to warships and auxiliaries…

Manama, Bahrain -- Advancing maritime domain awareness in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) is a challenging task. Yet keeping the sea lanes open is critical for the region, for the U.S. and the world.U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) are all headquartered here in Bahrain, under the command of Vice Admiral Brad Cooper. U.S. Fifth Fleet oversees the operations for all U.S. naval forces in the Middle East.

For the average person, tracking down a spare part is often merely an annoyance. But for the crew of a Coast Guard cutter, the availability of spare parts can be important to mission completion or greatly affect their work environment. The Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, Conn., is currently studying how the use of 3-D printing technology might improve mission readiness through logistical support. Now in the evaluation phase, 3-D printers are available…

Researchers tackle the tough problems despite a lack of funding and official incentives to move forward. Progress, in particular for Arctic spill response equipment and techniques, is being made. Even in the messy but now seemingly distant wake of such environmental disasters such as the Exxon Valdez grounding and the Deepwater Horizon accident, domestic oil spill response requirements still provide little or no incentive for responders in the U.S. to develop and deploy new equipment. Elsewhere, other countries (especially Norway) have better options for testing and approving systems using an intentional spill. Here at home, this approach has been recommended especially for the Arctic by many stakeholders, to no apparent avail.

Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, the 25th commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has a full plate. Driving sexual assault out of the Coast Guard; Preparing the fleet for operations through the year 2061; Coordinating intel and assets to stem the flow of illegal drugs ... they are all on the short list. From his Washington, DC, HQ he shares his vision and mission with Maritime Reporter. You are almost a year in this position as the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. Looking back, critique year one.

The numerous cutters and craft of the U.S. Coast Guard —from the sail training ship Eagle to the large oceangoing patrol ships; from polar icebrakers to small utility boats — form a formidable fleet to meet the many challenging assignments undertaken by the service. In 2014 the Coast Guard continues its recapitalization program with its National Security Cutter (NSC), Fast Response Cutter (FPC) and Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC). The service plans to procure 91 cutters (8 NSCs, 25 OPCs and 58 FRCs) to replace are 90 aging cutters and patrol boats. According to a Feb.

Building programs continue, spanning the full range of missions, despite budget concerns. Amidst all the talk of Beltway budget cutbacks and sequestration, the U.S. Coast Guard is quietly investing approximately $30 billion in major acquisition projects to modernize its physical assets. The process of recapitalizing these older and difficult-to-maintain assets has never been an easy task, and the Coast Guard has seen its share of bumps along the way. For example, the initially messy Deepwater debacle initially kicked off what has evolved into today’s more successful recapitalization process, now run by the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate, which stood up in July 2007.

BMT Designers & Planners (BMT), an operating company of BMT Group Ltd, has announced the promotion of Richard (Rich) Celotto who will take the role of Vice President, Engineering. With almost 40 years’ experience of maritime engineering, Richard has been with BMT for 17 years. Having worked extensively with the US Coast Guard’s (USCG) Ship Acquisition Directorate over the last 12 years, he will use his extensive knowledge of ship design, acquisition, repair and programme management to lead BMT’s growing Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering team.

Most people who encounter the Coast Guard near shore will get a good look at a Response Boat-Small (RB-S). With more than 400 boats in operation, the RB-S is the largest vessel class in the Coast Guard’s fleet. The boats are in constant use, from life-saving to law enforcement and homeland security missions. But the redoubtable RB-S is approaching the end of its service life and the the Coast Guard’s Acquisition Directorate has launched an ambitious project to replace this important asset. The RB-S II will be one of the largest boat buys of its kind.

Uncertainty over budget talks leaves Coast Guard leadership to hedge their bets on future fleet mix, total numbers of hulls and operational capabilities. On Wednesday, members of the media were invited to join Coast Guard senior leadership for a discussion about recent acquisition efforts and the status of recapitalizing the service’s aging fleet. The briefing, which took place at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, revealed little in terms of new developments but at the same time, underscored the increasing concerns amongst Coast Guard senior leaders that budget woes may soon force a scaling back of one or more aspects of their ambitious, multi-billion dollar recapitalization plans. The briefing coincided conspicuously with ongoing U.S.

The U.S. Coast Guard awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a contract action valued at approximately $482 million for the production of the fifth National Security Cutter.Construction of the ship to be named James, is scheduled to begin this spring at the Huntington Ingalls Industries’ shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. following prefabrication.“The contract award for production and delivery of the fifth NSC is an important step forward in the Coast Guard’s efforts to recapitalize its aging surface fleet,” said Rear Adm. Bruce Baffer, the Coast Guard Acquisition Directorate’s program executive officer. “The NSC is desperately needed to replace the service’s 40-year-old high endurance cutters and to be able to perform today’s challenging homeland security missions.” Captain Joshua James…

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that its third National Security Cutter, Stratton, successfully completed several days of rigorous acceptance trials Friday to ensure the cutter meets its contractual requirements and is ready for delivery to the Coast Guard. Stratton’s acceptance trials were conducted in Pascagoula, Miss., and at sea in the Gulf of Mexico by the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. Acceptance trials resulted in two starred cards for Stratton…

According to an August 19 report from the Federal Times, the first contracts for the Coast Guard's next cutter program are still a year away, and the winner in the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) competition isn't expected to be announced for another four or five years, but the Coast Guard already is talking with shipbuilders about different ways to approach the acquisition and award strategy, and how to build the new ships. The meetings started Aug. 10 in Washington. At least eight shipbuilders were taking part separately in discussions with Coast Guard budget managers and staff members from the Acquisition Directorate. (Source: Federal Times)

Captain Richard Murphy, United States Coast Guard (USCG), recently assumed command of the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Md. He is the 40th Commanding Officer in the 111-year history of the shipyard, the only shipbuilding and ship repair facility of the United States Coast Guard. Captain Murphy took charge of the Coast Guard Yard from Captain John Kaplan who served as the shipyard’s Commanding Officer from May 2008 to May 2010. Captain Kaplan retired from the U.S. Coast Guard with 28 years active duty service.

The Interagency Alternative Technology Assessment Program workgroup, newly established by the National Incident Commander for the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, announced a new effort to collect and review oil spill response solutions from scientists and vendors. The Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center, in collaboration with interagency partners, issued a Broad Agency Announcement on www.FedBizOpps.gov, calling for the submission of white papers that cover: oil sensing improvements to response and detection; oil wellhead control and submerged oil response; traditional oil spill response technologies; alternative oil spill response technologies; and oil spill damage assessment and restoration.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that Mission the Effectiveness Project (MEP) is significantly improving the mission capability and lowering the operating costs of in-service medium endurance cutters and patrol boats, thus bridging the gap between the aging fleet and the delivery of new assets. Since MEP began in 2005, the project has consistently achieved its goals on time and on budget. As project approaches its midpoint, the Coast Guard reviewed some of the lessons learned and performance improvements achieved.

On July 29, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, joined his colleagues in unanimously passing H.R. 1665, the Coast Guard Acquisition Reform Act of 2009—legislation that Congressman Cummings introduced to build on the Coast Guard’s acquisition reform efforts and ensure accountability in the use of taxpayer dollars. “As families across our nation continue to lose their jobs, their homes, their savings, and their dreams, it is more critical than ever to ensure that their tax dollars are being used in the most effective and efficient way possible,” Congressman Cummings said.

The U.S. Coast Guard named its new Assistant Commandant for Acquisition and its Chief Acquisition Officer June 15 and promoted that flag officer to rear admiral upper half. The Coast Guard's newest two-star admiral is Rear Adm. Ronald J. Rábago, a 1978 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy. Rábago previously served as the Coast Guard Program Executive Officer and Director of Acquisition Programs since the establishment of the Acquisition Directorate July 13, 2007. Rábago's new duties include direction of all Coast Guard acquisition programs and related procurement management…

The U.S. Coast Guard took final acceptance of the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, the first of the Legend class National Security Cutter fleet, at the cutter's homeport of Alameda, Calif., Friday, May 8. Bertholf's final acceptance is part of the Coast Guard's deliberative acquisition process and represents the moment when the Coast Guard acknowledges that the cutter is ready to transition from an acquisition project to the operations and sustainment phases of the cutter's service life.

On March 24, Congressman Elijah E. “The first hearing I convened during my tenure as the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation two years ago examined the mismanagement of the Coast Guard’s $24 billion Deepwater program intended to modernize the service’s surface and air assets. As confirmed at this morning’s hearing, the Coast Guard has taken significant steps since 2007 to improve the oversight and management of its acquisition programs and to position itself to effectively manage contractors and protect taxpayers’ investments in Coast Guard assets. “I was very pleased to learn of the agreement…

Today, March 24, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, convened the Subcommittee to examine steps the Coast Guard has taken to reform and strengthen the policies and procedures it utilizes to manage acquisition processes. Specifically, the hearing examined the extent to which the Coast Guard will be positioned to exercise effective oversight of acquisition efforts as a result of new reforms implemented in response to extensive criticism of its management of the $24b Deepwater program. Over the past two years, the Coast Guard has moved to restructure its acquisition management systems…

The U.S. Coast Guard's Acquisition Directorate announced the award of a contract to Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corp. to deliver the core Nationwide Automatic Identification System data exchange capability. Under the contract, valued at about $12m, Northrop Grumman will provide the necessary shore-side communications, network and processing capability to ensure the effective exchange of Automatic Identification System information between AIS-equipped vessels, aircraft, aids to navigation and shore stations within all major U.S. ports, waterways and coastal zones as well as from AIS-equipped vessels bound for the U.S. The core data exchange capability consists of all the system components and functionality…

Rear Adm. Ronald J. Rábago relieved Rear Adm. Gary T. Blore today as the program executive officer of the U.S. Coast Guard’s largest recapitalization and modernization initiative, the $24 billion, 25-year Deepwater program. Blore is slated to become the next assistant commandant for acquisition and chief acquisition officer of the Coast Guard. The shift in leadership at the acquisition directorate and Deepwater is the result of organizational changes ordered last year by Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard. “We are making significant and necessary changes to the entire Deepwater program,” said Rábago. The Deepwater program will soon combine with all other elements of the Coast Guard acquisition enterprise, to form a new acquisition directorate.