Defense Communities 360 Headlines

Defense spending would grow by $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years under the budget proposed by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney when compared to the Pentagon’s latest long-term spending plan. Romney has proposed spending 4 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product on the military, reported the Hill newspaper. That level of investment would allow DOD spending to rise by $100 billion in fiscal 2013, according to Travis Sharp, an analyst with the Center for a New American Security. Under either the administration’s request or the House Republican plan, defense spending would remain flat or drop slightly. Romney has called for adding 100,000 personnel and building more ships, according to the story.

The Air Force is moving closer to carrying out its reorganization of Air Force Materiel Command by Oct. 1, the Warner Robins Patriot reported. The command plans to scale down from 12 centers to 5, including converting the depots at Robins AFB, Ga., Tinker AFB, Okla., and Hill AFB, Utah, to air logistics complexes. The command is aiming to achieve “initial operational capability” by Oct. 1. Several congressionally mandated reports have been completed and Air Force headquarters is expected to approve the changeover in May …

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday urged Congress to reach a compromise to reverse the budget sequester, saying the plan passed by the House Thursday to shield the Pentagon from the automatic spending cuts coming next year will result in “a greater likelihood of sequester.” Even though the House Republicans’ strategy would inoculate DOD from $55 billion in additional spending reductions in fiscal 2013, because it targets domestic programs benefitting the poor and the middle class, the president will never accept it …

Amendments attached to the House version of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill would preserve key missions at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, and at Hanscom AFB, outside Boston. The amendment sponsored by Ohio Rep. Michael Turner calls for the core functions of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Pat as of Nov. 1, 2011, to be retained. The core functions could be modified only through a subsequent law authorizing base closures or through 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2687, a statute allowing base closures and realignments to be carried out when a BRAC round is not in effect …

The House Armed Services Committee voted to halt the Air Force’s far-reaching plan to pare the force structure of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve that pitted the nation’s governors and lawmakers against the Pentagon. The language to bar the Air Force in the coming fiscal year from transferring or retiring any aircraft in its fleet as of May 31, 2012, was included as an amendment to the FY 2013 defense authorization bill. The committee approved the bill Thursday morning …

The Port of Corpus Christi reached a sales agreement this week with Oxy Ingleside Property Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., for 816 acres at the former Naval Station Ingleside and an adjacent parcel for $82.1 million. Closing on the sale is expected to take place in August. The sale covers the entire naval station property — except for a 100-acre campus section — along with 435 acres next door …

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved three loans totaling $4.5 million this week to cover engineering and construction costs needed to start renovating the former Fort Monmouth. At the same time, the authority is looking for a broker to attract developers to the 1,200-acre site, reported the Star-Ledger. The authority on Tuesday also approved an agreement to sell land at the post to information management firm CommVault Systems. In March, the authority awarded the firm $8.6 million in incentives to create and retain new jobs at Monmouth. “What we want to do is recreate a community at the base — a community of people living and working at the base, which will bring back tax ratables and jobs to the three communities and the county,” said Caren Franzini, the authority’s CEO.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday rejected the House plan to replace the first year’s portion of the automatic spending cuts with a package of reductions in domestic programs, saying a “balanced approach” that includes tax revenue is needed to avert the budget sequester. The leverage provided by the threat of government-wide spending cuts is needed if the two parties are to reach a deal before the end of the year on taxes and deficit reduction, Reid said …

A survey released Wednesday by Blue Star Families found that 62 percent of military family members who believed their service member had exhibited signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, regardless of any official diagnosis, did not seek treatment due to doubts about the military’s support system. The finding demonstrates there is still much to be done to help service members and their families deal with the invisible wounds of war, concluded the nonprofit dedicated to supporting military families …

If it’s up to the House Armed Services Committee, not only will there not be a new base closure round in the immediate future, but the Pentagon will not be permitted to plan for one. The committee could have simply ignored DOD’s request for BRAC rounds in 2013 and 2015 — as the Readiness Subcommittee did when it marked up its portion of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill on April 27 — but instead it passed an amendment precluding the department from using FY 2013 appropriations “to propose, plan for or execute an additional BRAC round …