Defense Communities 360 Headlines

Montana became the 46th state to adopt an interstate agreement designed to smooth the transition for military children transferring to a new school district after Gov. Steve Bullock signed Senate Bill 203 last week. “We thank Governor Bullock for signing the interstate compact and the supporters in Montana for helping to resolve education transition issues for military children. We look forward to having all 50 states on board …

Workers last week demolished an abandoned building opposite the main gate to Naval Submarine Base New London, the first step in a project designed to increase base security, and improve traffic flow and public safety. The razing of an abandoned drycleaners produced the effort’s first benefit, eliminating an eyesore that had turned into a physical and environmental hazard for the Connecticut base and the town of Groton, reported the Dolphin. “The building was a huge environmental and security liability,” said Robert Ross …

The beat goes on at Devens, with three major projects underway at the former Fort Devens, located 35 miles west of downtown Boston, following two major setbacks since 2011. Evergreen Solar’s decision to shut down its facility for manufacturing solar panels two years ago was partially offset after French conglomerate Saint-Gobain leased more than half of the plant last July, reported the Boston Business Journal. Also last year, two of the reuse project’s three host towns scuttled plans to convert Vicksburg Square, a former Army housing complex, into affordable housing for seniors and veterans …

Forecasts that $500 billion in defense cuts will have a grave effect on the economy and jobs are “grossly overblown,” according to a new study published by George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. The study’s authors, Harvard University economist Robert Barro and Mercatus senior research fellow Veronique de Rugy, argue that a drop in federal spending on defense will result in greater economic growth due to a rise in private spending. They estimate that over five years each dollar in defense cuts will increase private spending by roughly $1.30 …

A change in its preferred contracting method along with a shift in its goals for remediation projects at active and BRAC installations has proved a real boon for the Air Force, helping it complete cleanups quicker and rack up taxpayer savings. In early 2011, then-Assistant Secretary Terry Yonkers implemented a new policy calling for the service to shift its objective from achieving remedy-in-place to closing sites …

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed two bills this week intended to make it easier for veterans to re-enter the civilian job market by granting them credit for experience gained in the military. One bill permits the state to waive the skill test requirement for obtaining a commercial driver’s license for veterans who have experience operating commercial vehicles in the military. The waiver would not apply to applicants seeking a license to drive a school bus or a commercial bus that transports more than 16 passengers …

The military services are rapidly becoming change agents as falling budgets and uncertain funding force them to find new ways to provide installation support with fewer resources. On Day Two of next month’s Defense Communities National Summit, each of the three services’ assistant secretaries for installations will update conference attendees on their latest thinking as they deal with drastic spending cuts due to sequestration and declines in force structure …

Civilian workers at the Navy’s shipyards should be exempt from furloughs because their jobs are critical to the service’s mission, Sean Stackley, assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition, said Wednesday. Forcing shipyard workers to take unpaid days off would disrupt the maintenance and modernization schedule for ships, Stackley told the Senate Armed Services’ Seapower Subcommittee. “I think everyone understands that shipyards are a special case in terms of direct impact on readiness,” he said. “The math states there is going to be more than a one-for-one impact if you furlough …

As a decision approaches by the federal government on the Spokane Tribe’s plan to build a casino and resort under the path of training flights from Fairchild Air Force Base in Eastern Washington, local leaders are taking a stronger stand against the project. In a letter sent last week to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said the project should not be approved because of the potential for it to interfere with the installation’s mission. “I believe that in order to not be vulnerable to closure in another [BRAC] round, Fairchild must be able to continue to modernize and prevent local development that could be viewed as an encroachment …

During a Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing Wednesday on the Air Force’s budget request, Chairman Dick Durbin (Ill.) acknowledged that he remains skeptical about the BRAC process after witnessing the previous five rounds. “Base closure commissions are supposed to take the politicians out of the process. I think they’ve replaced the politicians with other politicians,” said Durbin, the Senate’s number two Democrat. Durbin said he shared the concern of Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, that base closures do not produce sufficient savings …