Defense Communities 360 Headlines

DOD will be required to issue guidance for selecting the financing approach for renewable energy projects, under a provision in the conference report for the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill approved this week. The guidance, which is due six months after the measure is enacted, “should describe the requirements and restrictions applicable to the underlying authorities and any Department of Defense-specific guidelines for using appropriated funds and alternative-financing approaches for renewable energy projects …

The Pentagon’s year-old defense strategy is threatened by two principal dangers, stress on the force and a political system that forces the military to operate with little certainty about available resources, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said this week at a National Press Club luncheon. The department’s effort to ensure the health of the force by investing in its readiness, though, is hamstrung by political considerations that prevent officials from directing funding to the military’s highest priorities …

With the prospect of a bipartisan deal to avert the fiscal cliff — including $52 billion in fiscal 2013 defense cuts — in doubt, lawmakers are trying to figure out how much of a spending reduction the Pentagon’s budget can absorb before core strategy is jeopardized. President Obama’s most recent deficit reduction proposal, for instance, called for $200 billion in discretionary spending cuts over the coming decade, including $100 billion from defense …

If the next Congress authorizes a new BRAC round, the impetus likely would begin in the Senate. One provision in the conference report for the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill, one notable omission and a request in the committee report that accompanied the Senate Armed Services version of the measure potentially could lay the ground work for a future base closure round …

Automatic defense cuts slated to be imposed starting on Jan. 2 may not require DOD to impose immediate reductions in spending, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday in a memo outlining the potential consequences of sequestration. “I do not expect our day-to-day operations to change dramatically on or immediately after January 2, 2013, should sequestration occur. This means that we will not be executing any immediate civilian personnel actions, such as furloughs, on that date …

The Defense Department would be required to issue guidance for financing renewable energy projects under a provision on the conference report for the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill approved Tuesday. A separate provision requires energy security to be included as a component of DOD energy savings contracts for buildings, facilities, installations, vehicles, and equipment …

In an effort to boost the number of students seeking high-tech careers, eight major tenant organizations at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., last week agreed to expand educational outreach efforts in science, technology, engineering and math with Harford County Public Schools. The partnership is intended to increase participation and improve students’ performance in STEM. “We are committed to tomorrow,” said Maj. Gen. Robert Ferrell, commanding general of Army Communications-Electronics Command and senior installation commander. “We are providing an opportunity to ensure that we have the right resources with the right intellect and energy …

U.S. Africa Command, a coveted mission that some lawmakers hoped to bring to their home districts, will remain in Germany for now, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday. “We think for operational reasons, unless there is a huge [cost] disparity, operational reasons should dominate” the debate about location, Dempsey told a town hall meeting at the command’s headquarters in Stuttgart …

Picerne Military Housing on Tuesday announced today that it had closed on a $72 million public-private partnership deal to provide more than 1,400 junior enlisted, single soldiers garden-style apartments at Fort Meade, Md. The project is the Army’s first-ever privately-developed, on-post apartment community for unaccompanied junior enlisted soldiers …

A bid to extend liability protections afforded BRAC sites to installations closed outside of the base closure process when unknown contamination is discovered fell short, as negotiators this week omitted language that had been in the House version of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill from the conference report. The provision would have extended the indemnity now provided by Section 330 of the 1993 defense authorization bill to all bases closed after Oct. 24, 1988 …