Defense Communities 360 Headlines

The House Appropriations Committee is expected shortly to unveil its plan to fund the federal government beyond March 27 through a combination of a new continuing resolution along with appropriations bills for defense and military construction-veterans affairs. The stopgap measure for the second half of fiscal 2013 would not offer additional spending for the Pentagon but possibly would provide officials flexibility to allocate funds where they are needed and make other changes that normally would be restricted under a continuing resolution …

Full-time members of the Army and Air National Guard who work as military technicians are not exempt from sequestration and could be placed on unpaid furloughs along with DOD’s 800,000 civilian workers, Guard officials said last week. More than half of the National Guard’s full-time members may be furloughed, resulting in maintenance backlogs for all states and curtailment of critical training, especially aviation crew training …

While President Obama continues his campaign to pressure Republican leaders to accept some tax increases to offset the sequester, the Senate this week will take up competing plans to deal with the $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts scheduled to go into effect Friday. Under the plan introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), defense spending would be reduced by $27.5 billion over a seven-year period starting in fiscal 2015, rather than by $43 billion this year, as it would if sequestration goes forward …

Legislation proposed in Maryland to give veterans credit for military training and experience would help them find jobs more quickly after they leave the Armed Forces, a DOD official told a state panel in Annapolis this week. “From our perspective, this is one of the most comprehensive [bills] that we’ve seen,” said Frank DiGiovanni, DOD’s director of training readiness and strategy for the deputy assistant secretary for readiness …

As the likelihood that the Pentagon will be forced to absorb deep spending cuts edges closer, the anxiety level of the 4,200 employees at Letterkenny Army Depot, located 50 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pa., has ramped up. The depot may have to cope with $442 million in cuts this year, jeopardizing the jobs of the civilian contractors employed there and likely resulting in furloughs for its 1,743 full-time civilian workers …

The Army and its partner Picerne Military Housing held a groundbreaking Wednesday at Fort Meade, Md., for the service’s first privately built, garden-style apartment complex designed for unaccompanied junior enlisted personnel. The $72 million project is intended to relieve the shortage of barracks on-base for junior enlisted personnel and save some of the 1,300 single service members at Fort Meade who live off post from commuting …

While the Army is struggling to deal with an urgent funding crisis affecting its operations budget, it needs to tackle a fundamental imbalance between its long-term spending plan and force structure, according to an analysis in National Defense magazine. The Army benefitted the most of any service from the escalation in spending following 9/11 and, as a result, will have to shrink far more dramatically than the Air Force or Navy. The administration’s plan to eliminate 100,000 troops by 2017 will not be “nearly enough to get the Army’s fiscal house in order …

The combined impact of sequestration and operating under a full-year continuing resolution would affect an estimated 302,626 jobs in fiscal 2013 and result in an economic loss of $15.4 billion throughout the nation, according to a new analysis by the Army. Texas would suffer the largest estimated economic impact, with a loss of $2.4 billion through Sept. 30, according to a state-by-state estimate released this week by the Army. The rest of the top five states are Alabama ($1.9 billion), Pennsylvania ($1.1 billion), Virginia ($1.0 billion) and Georgia ($931 million) …

When it comes to the cleanup of the former Chanute Air Force Base, located about 120 miles southwest of Chicago, the village of Rantoul soon will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Air Force still is cleaning up the base 20 years after it closed, but several parcels should be ready for transfer this year, reports the Rantoul Press. The first transfer of 53 acres, part of the village’s airport property, should be completed this spring. The next transfer will include 180 acres near the Rantoul Business Center and a sports complex. The Air Force plans to transfer the remainder of the property to the village next year, according to the story. First, though, officials from the Air Force and Rantoul need to sign an economic development conveyance.

Legislation approved Tuesday by the Alabama Senate is designed to offer Huntsville a new tactic for supporting Redstone Arsenal and, ultimately, lure new missions there in a future BRAC round. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, would allow city and county governments to spend public funds on federal property, but it is aimed at giving a boost to Redstone Arsenal …