Posts Tagged ‘mission support/community partnerships’

Following two days of visits with senior officials at the Pentagon last week, representatives from Craven County say local efforts to strengthen Eastern North Carolina’s Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and Fleet Readiness Center East are paying off. “Senior civilians in the Pentagon do notice what we have done for Cherry Point, regarding encroachment and in terms of infrastructure improvements and planning and positioning ourselves for future growth …

Three measures intended to improve quality of life for service members, their families and veterans appear headed for passage in the South Carolina Legislature, the latest effort by Palmetto State lawmakers to support the military. The state has paid close attention to a list of 10 military-friendly policies the Pentagon is encouraging states to adopt. The policies cover issues such as the portability of professional licenses for military spouses, easing the way for personnel to receive licensing and academic credit for military training and experience, and increasing access to child care …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Navy will not be forced to ground four of its 10 air wings, as it had earlier warned, but instead it will drastically reduce flying hours. Flight hours are being slashed to the lowest level needed to maintain baseline safety standards and efficient aircraft maintenance, Rear Adm. Ted Branch said Monday. The cuts are expected to save the Navy $2 million per month per air wing, said Branch, who is responsible for six East Coast-based aircraft carriers and associated air wings …

A measure passed by the North Carolina House last week is designed to prevent wind energy projects from proceeding until the state and local governments have an opportunity to determine whether they would interfere with military training. HB 484 would require the developer to obtain a $3,500 state permit and to address the potential that the project encroaches on flight training or other military operations …

Lawmakers representing Texas districts with military installations have indicated they are opposed to holding a BRAC round in 2015, but one community in the state says it supports a new round, mostly because it’s easier to prepare for a transparent base closure process than a “free-for-all.” “We are generally supportive of a future BRAC,” Phil Neighbors, president of the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, told the Times Record News. “The DOD has to take serious action to save money, and we’d rather have an organized BRAC process than a political free-for-all …

Mississippi communities have continued to invest in projects to benefit their local installations following the last round of base closures. After education was identified as a major concern during the 2005 round, the Golden Triangle communities neighboring Columbus Air Force Base have worked on several initiatives. To improve public schools, they built a new middle school and encouraged military children to attend the schools of a highly rated school district in the area …