Posts Tagged ‘mission support/community partnerships’

The Defense Department recently awarded $60 million to upgrade and replace schools at two military installations, the first two grants under a $500 million federal appropriation intended to construct, renovate or expand facilities at 161 public schools located on military installations. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the awards Tuesday at a seminar sponsored by the Military Child Education Coalition to demonstrate the department’s effort to invest in the education of military children …

The Naval Facilities Engineering Command activity responsible for coordinating construction of the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., was disestablished during a ceremony last week. The Officer-In-Charge of Construction Bethesda supported and executed the design and construction of more than 650,000 square feet of military medical patient facilities, 415,000 square feet of administrative facilities and 285,000 square feet of barracks space for wounded warriors and their families …

The state of Maryland has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to complete construction of a new station on a commuter rail line serving Aberdeen Proving Ground. About 8,200 new positions came to the proving ground as a result of BRAC 2005, bringing the installation’s workforce to 22,000. The grant will pay for converting the Edgewood, Md., station from a platform to a fully functioning MARC station …

A member of the Guam legislature plans to recommend the Defense Department turn to its family housing privatization initiative to provide housing needed to accommodate up to 5,000 Marines slated to move there from Japan. “The MHPI [Military Housing Privatization Initiative] is a workable alternative to what was previously announced by the DOD, which saw the government of Japan taking advantage of constructing military housing and reaping the benefits of the repayment by the DOD …

At a press briefing during a visit to Fort Hood on Friday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno said the Pentagon’s plan to eliminate up to 80,000 soldiers from the Army over the next five years would have a “relatively small” impact on the Central Texas post. “There will probably be some small decrement, but I expect that there will be small decrements across the entire Army at many installations …

In response to declining defense budgets and the possibility of new base closure rounds, the 21st Century Partnership, the community partner for Robins Air Force Base in Middle Georgia, voted last Thursday to shift to a president-CEO organizational structure. “Organizationally, we were missing opportunities to grow,” said Rick Goddard, the partnership’s senior advisor, reported the Warner Robins Patriot. “We needed a full-time leader to manage the efforts and needs of the organization on a day-to-day basis … and not on an advisory or part-time basis …

Two aviation units will relocate to Joint Base Lewis-McChord by Oct. 15, adding more than 500 soldiers to the installation located outside of Tacoma, Wash., the Army announced Thursday. Lewis-McChord will pick up an air cavalry squadron, which will convert to an attack/reconnaissance battalion, from Fort Hood, Texas; and an aviation regiment from Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Fort Hood will lose about 400 soldiers; Fort Wainwright will lose a little more than 100 soldiers. The force structure actions represent the final phase of the activation of the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade at Lewis-McChord to meet the Army’s broader strategic and operational requirements. The actions incorporate the Army force generation model and the service’s transformation initiatives, and will help to rebalance the force, the Army said in a written statement.

As DOD enters an extended period of belt-tightening, business leaders and local officials in the Quad Cities are fully aware that many of the commands at Rock Island Arsenal could be easily relocated to another installation. The arsenal lost what had been called the Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command to Detroit Arsenal due to BRAC 2005, and supporters know it could happen again, reported the Quad-City Times. “I think that all the government arsenals and depots are in for significant cuts that will impact both their workloads and workforces …

Officials in Northwest Florida remain suspicious that the reorganization of Air Force Materiel Command threatens the longevity of the R&D mission at Eglin AFB. Earlier this week, AFMC announced that its plan to place Eglin’s 46th Test Wing under the command of a two-star general at Edwards AFB, Calif., will go ahead next month. Local officials are concerned the move is a precursor to shifting the installation’s research, development, testing and evaluation function to Edwards …

The reorganization of Air Force Materiel Command from 12 centers to five is scheduled to take place in the coming weeks, now that Air Force headquarters has formally approved the transition. The changes will affect 10 installations, including the three air logistics centers — Robins AFB, Ga., Tinker AFB, Okla., and Hill AFB, Utah — which will become air logistics complexes. Starting in July, the three depots will report to the newly created Air Force Sustainment Center at Tinker …