Posts Tagged ‘BRAC’

While the Pentagon is reviewing its force posture in Europe and Asia with the intent to consolidate the overseas footprint of the military services, officials should not overlook the “significant numbers” of facilities and personnel of the major defense agencies, the Senate Armed Services Committee notes in its report accompanying the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill the panel approved last month. To ensure those agencies are not ignored, the committee directs the deputy defense secretary to evaluate the feasibility and cost savings associated with closing overseas facilities and consolidating operations of the 16 defense agencies to existing facilities within the U.S. …

Online retail giant Amazon.com announced last month it will open a 950,000-square-foot fulfillment center at the former Norton Air Force Base in Southern California, creating 1,000 jobs in a region that badly needs them. The facility is being developed by Hillwood — the master developer for the base — and Clarion Partners as a joint venture. The center, one of two Amazon is building in California, could be completed as early as this fall …

Citing conflicting statements from senior Pentagon officials characterizing the extent to which the military has excess infrastructure, the Senate Armed Services Committee is requesting the Government Accountability Office to review the processes DOD uses to make such determinations, according to the panel’s report accompanying the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill it approved last month. “Senior Army officials have been quoted as stating that the Army has no interest in another BRAC round. Yet, recent briefings to the committee suggest that the Army does have excess capacity …

In the face of certain budget cuts and possible base closures, officials in Upstate New York are engaged in a full-on assault to protect the missions at the Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Lab, Rome, located at the former Griffiss Air Force Base. In April 2011, area universities and other organizations established the Central New York Defense Alliance to promote the region’s cyber industry cluster. The need to foster the industry cluster became particularly acute after DOD created the U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Md. …

Turning portions of closed Army posts into National Park Service sites seems to be a popular theme lately. Last week, the Army transferred the Vancouver Barracks, a 33-acre site in Washington, just over the Columbia River from Portland, Ore., to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Fort Vancouver was built to support the Hudson Bay’s Company’s fur trading operations and later became a U.S. Army post …

Virginia Beach residents bordering NAS Oceana have not rushed to sell their homes to the city in the two months since an F/A-18 based at the installation crashed into a nearby apartment complex, reports the Virginian-Pilot. Residents may still be considering the option, though, said Elizabeth Chupik, associate city attorney. Since the 2005 round of BRAC, Virginia Beach has spent more than $63 million to purchase …

Following meetings with the state’s congressional delegation and key Pentagon leaders in Washington, D.C., last month, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue and other officials left feeling confident about the future of North Carolina’s bases, reports the Jacksonville Daily News. The state received high marks for its efforts to preserve airspace and ensure sustainability. “They said we are absolutely the leader in the country on the work we’ve done on encroachment …

Regional officials in Middle Georgia believe they have enough funding to complete the purchase of about 250 properties abutting Robins Air Force Base that potentially could interfere with flight operations at the installation. The Central Georgia Joint Development Authority has bought 74 properties over the past four years, including 46 this year, reported the Telegraph. The development authority is working with the base to apply for a $3 million grant that could allow it to finish its effort to combat encroachment at Robins. “The end is in sight,” said Chan Layson of the development authority. Three counties, the state and the federal government have contributed to the initiative.

House lawmakers last week approved an amendment to the fiscal 2013 military construction spending bill prohibiting the use of funds to modify structures at an installation outside of an authorized BRAC round. The amendment’s author, Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.), said the provision would stop DOD from “any efforts to impose a back-door BRAC through informal channels.” “This amendment is yet another victory in our fight to protect the jobs and mission of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst,” Runyan said. The House and Senate versions of the FY 2013 defense authorization bill include more far-reaching language intended to stop DOD from realigning missions outside of a base closure round.

House lawmakers passed an appropriations bill Thursday evening that would provide $10.6 billion for all military construction programs in fiscal 2013, a $2.4 billion drop from current year spending. Some of the reduction in the military construction and veterans affairs spending bill reflects a deliberate pause in milcon proposed by the Air Force, accounting for $839 million of the decline. A reduction in requirements for BRAC 2005 explains a small part of the decrease as well …