Defense Communities 360 Headlines

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 …

The Navy’s plan to cancel much of its ship maintenance and construction in the last half of the year if it is forced to make up a multi-billion-dollar shortfall in operations and maintenance will strike at the heart of the ship repair workforce in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, reports the Virginian-Pilot. About 40,000 people work in the ship repair industry in Hampton Roads. The Navy recently said it would cancel 70 percent of all ship maintenance projects at private shipyards in the last six months of the fiscal year …

The last two states to join the Union would be the most vulnerable to sequestration as federal defense spending makes up a disproportionate share of the gross domestic product of Hawaii and Alaska, according to a new report by Wells Fargo Securities. In Hawaii, defense spending accounts for 14.6 percent of the state’s 2010 GDP; in Alaska it accounts for 10.5 percent of the state’s GDP …

Even as the likelihood that Congress fails to nullify deep spending reductions before they go into effect March 1 draws ever closer, defense officials will not start planning for the possibility that the cuts slated to be imposed next year could be realized as well. The Office of Management and Budget still is directing agencies not to plan for the portion of the sequester set to go into effect in fiscal 2014, Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale told reporters Wednesday …

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday awarded $2.6 million in defense support task force grants to 10 projects intended to preserve the state’s military installations and boost its reputation as a military friendly state. The 2012-13 grants were awarded to the Bay County Defense Alliance, National Simulation Center in Orlando, Highlands County EDC, city of Jacksonville, Tampa Bay Defense Alliance, Santa Rosa County, the Greater Pensacola Chamber, the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze and the Florida 8 (a) Alliance in Jacksonville …

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) was named chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee on Tuesday, giving the first-term senator responsibility for legislation dealing with BRAC and other issues related to installations. The announcement also means that lawmakers from New Hampshire will serve as the chairman and senior Republican on the Readiness subcommittee. Kelly Ayotte (R) is the subcommittee’s ranking member …

The Pentagon did not contribute to the fiscal crisis it currently is facing, DOD Press Secretary George Little said Monday, responding to criticism from two House Republicans that officials could have helped prevent $500 billion in defense cuts from going into effect by revealing earlier the department’s plans for addressing the potential shortfall in spending. “The onus is on the Congress of the United States,” Little told reporters. The department’s senior leaders “have been clear for nearly a year and a half” on the devastating impact of sequestration …