Next month’s Installation Innovation Forum will provide attendees a firsthand opportunity to learn how the military services and industry approach energy development projects. A workshop on public-private partnerships will focus on the critical factors needed to make energy projects turn out successfully, highlighting what the military and industry look for when embarking on new projects …
A bipartisan group of 22 lawmakers is calling on congressional leaders to include “substantial defense savings” in any deal that is reached to avoid the fiscal cliff. The letter — from 11 Republicans, many of whom are closely associated the tea party, and 11 Democrats — cites multiple studies from Washington policy organizations that have illustrated how the Pentagon can absorb more than $500 billion in further cuts over the coming decade without harming national security …
The Pentagon last week received guidance last week from the Office of Management and Budget to begin planning for automatic spending cuts slated to take effect in January, but comments from top military service leaders raise questions regarding the extent to which officials are crafting detailed plans. Top officials remain wary that planning is needed at this time, reported Government Executive. “Plans have a way of creating their own reality …
The Oakland Film Center and seven other major tenants, along with dozens of smaller firms and contractors, will be forced to vacate the former Oakland Army Base next spring to make way for the site’s redevelopment into a shipping and distribution facility. The city will lose $242 million in state funds if redevelopment does not begin by December 2013, reported the Oakland Local blog. Turning the site into a distribution facility will increase the capacity of the Port of Oakland and improve its ability to move cargo. The first phase of redevelopment, approved in June, is projected to cost $484 million.
In a joint press conference on Thursday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki unveiled a revamped Transition Assistance Program that will integrate what once were disconnected activities designed to prepare service members for civilian life into one cohesive initiative. One of the biggest changes to the program, now called Transition Goals Planning Success or Transition GPS, is that participation no longer will be voluntary …
The Air Force hosted an industry day at Tyndall AFB, Fla., last month for its energy savings performance contract program, allowing the service’s energy leaders to exchange ideas with more than 20 energy service and utility companies about the role of the energy-efficiency initiative and ways to improve its acquisition process. Attendees discussed ideas such as establishing a centralized contracting mechanism at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, educating base energy managers on how to engage with energy service companies and educating wing leadership about ESPCs …
An amendment added to the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill on the Senate floor would require DOD to provide Congress 90 days’ notice, along with a detailed justification, before reducing by more than 1,000 the number of military personnel assigned to an installation. The provision was introduced by Alaska Sen. Mark Begich in response to the Air Force’s far-reaching force structure proposal included in its FY 2013 budget request …
The past five base closure rounds offer a wide array of lessons to community and installation officials grappling with the challenges of ever-tightening budgets and the likelihood that the Pentagon will be forced to pare down its infrastructure in the coming years, according to a new report issued by ADC. Using BRAC Lessons Learned to Address the Resource Challenges of Today is the product of a workshop held at the ADC 2012 Annual Conference which offered members of the association and the military a unique opportunity to consider how experiences from previous BRAC rounds can be adapted for future rounds and to deal with issues now confronting DOD …
With the spotlight on the tug of war between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner over raising taxes, less attention in coverage of the fiscal cliff negotiations has been paid to the lack of consensus over how to replace the $109 billion in automatic spending cuts slated to go into effect in January. The White House plan seemingly would replace the sequester with new revenue, while many Republicans prefer to identify alternative cuts to take its place. “The $1.2 trillion in sequester cuts would be eliminated …
Connecticut officials are pointing to the new submarine bridge training simulator at Naval Submarine Base New London as an important investment in ensuring the future of an installation which has been targeted in past BRAC rounds. The Navy paid for the interactive simulator that will be used to train officers and submariners in navigation, but the state gave the Navy $2.5 million to build the facility housing the trainer …