To address growth occurring outside Marine Corps Base Quantico, three Northern Virginia counties will conduct a joint land use study to ensure noise, traffic and other issues related to development do not hamper the installation’s mission. The need for the study stems from the work of a local planning group attempting to cope with growth at Quantico resulting from the 2005 round of base closures …
The Subase Coalition, the group that led efforts to save Naval Submarine Base New London from closure in the last BRAC round, believes it needs to restart a campaign to protect the installation despite indications from Washington lawmakers that they will rebuff the Pentagon’s request for new rounds in 2013 and 2015. “We should assume nothing is safe …
With the Federal City project — the redevelopment of the former Naval Support Activity New Orleans — as a backdrop, the Treasury Department announced Thursday the selection of 70 organizations nationwide to receive $3.6 billion under a federal tax credit program designed to spur growth in low-income and distressed communities. The Treasury Department used the Federal City project to announce the New Markets Tax Credit awards to highlight the 155-acre development’s reliance on the federal program …
Facing a budget crunch of its own, Des Moines County was forced to turn down the Army Reserve’s offer of the Middletown, Iowa, center it is closing as a result of BRAC 2005. The county sheriff’s office was hoping to use the building as a regional training location, but the Board of Supervisors decided the county could not pay for its operation and maintenance …
Officials in coastal North Carolina were pleased to learn that MCAS Cherry Point generated a $2 billion economic impact on the surrounding region in 2011, a $300 million increase over the previous year. “It just reiterates what we have said all along and that’s the irreplaceable asset that we have at Cherry Point …
Military spouses would be eligible to collect unemployment benefits if they are forced to quit their jobs following a military transfer, under legislation approved by the Tennessee Senate last week. Currently, individuals who leave a job voluntarily in Tennessee are not eligible to collect unemployment benefits …
A partnership between Eglin Air Force Base and Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties in Northwest Florida is evaluating potential growth conflicts that could interfere with training and other missions at the installation. The Air Force is mainly concerned with development in flight paths and cruise missile corridors. Specific concerns include light that interferes with night training, tall structures and noise complaints …
After crafting a long-term spending plan that largely spared the National Guard and Army Reserve from personnel cuts, the Army would have to impose significant reductions on reservists in the event DOD is forced to identify an additional $500 billion in budget savings through 2021, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno told reporters this week. The fiscal 2013 budget request unveiled last week calls for the number of active-duty soldiers to drop from 570,000 to 490,000 by 2017 …
Following BRAC-led construction booms in San Antonio and El Paso, the Texas economy will have to get used to a smaller injection of military spending. The White House’s fiscal 2013 budget request includes $450 million for military construction projects in Texas, compared to about $640 million in the current year and $1.1 billion in FY 2011 …
For the past year, DOD officials have been leading an interagency effort to make it easier for service members entering the civilian workforce to earn the job credentials states require for a host of occupations. The initiative is intended to help state licensing boards recognize service members’ training, education and experience for a broad range of jobs — such as commercial vehicle operators, IT workers and medical technicians — that require either a state license or certificate …