Posts Tagged ‘mission support/community partnerships’

Language included in the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill would prevent the Defense Department from bypassing statutory requirements to notify Congress when closing a mission outside of a BRAC round. The legislation approved Thursday by the Senate Armed Services Committee would establish a one-year moratorium on carrying out any action that reduces the number of civilian personnel at a base below 300 …

The Air Force would be barred from carrying out its far-reaching plan to trim the force structure of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, under the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill the Senate Armed Services Committee approved Thursday. The measure authorizes funding to maintain existing aircraft and personnel levels for the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, as well to implement proposals calling for new missions for the two reserve components …

As expected, the Senate Armed Services Committee ignored the Obama administration’s request to authorize new BRAC rounds in completing its work on the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill Thursday, but the potential for future downsizings may not be far off, based on several provisions in the legislation. The panel directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct two studies related to base closures and realignments, according to a summary of the bill provided by the committee …

The Fort Bragg Regional Alliance is partnering with two local economic development organizations in a year-long effort to attract defense-related companies to 11 central and eastern North Carolina counties. The alliance, an organization founded to ready communities surrounding Fort Bragg for BRAC-related growth, will contract through mid-2013 with North Carolina’s Southeast and the Research Triangle Regional Partnership to continue the development of the defense industry cluster in south central North Carolina …

Despite a reduction in the number of Marines relocating to Guam, the island still needs funding from the United States or Japan to pay for badly needed upgrades to its environmental infrastructure, Gov. Eddie Calvo told Japanese reporters during a visit to Okinawa. The original buildup plan between the United States and Japan earmarked $700 million for Guam’s water and wastewater systems, but the revised agreement leaves the issue murky …

The Department of Defense is considering improving and expanding the Defense Access Roads program, according to the committee report accompanying the fiscal 2013 military construction and veterans affairs spending bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. The changes are intended to address the strict eligibility requirements of the program, which is the only mechanism DOD has for upgrading roads outside of military installations. To be eligible for aid through the DAR program, an installation must demonstrate that traffic congestion for commuters has doubled, an extremely high hurdle for urban areas to satisfy …

Local officials on Tuesday celebrated the opening of a new headquarters for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington County, Va., one of the few bright spots for a county that lost almost 20,000 jobs in the last BRAC round. “It’s fair to say that nobody got hit harder by BRAC than Arlington County,” said Arlington County Board Chairwoman Mary Hynes …

Language added last week on the House floor to the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill would permit the Pentagon to remove all four Army brigade combat teams stationed in Europe and replace them with rotational units. The Defense Department already proposed to eliminate two of the units as part of its fiscal 2013 budget request; the amendment authorizes, without requiring, the president to withdraw the remaining two brigade combat teams …

The city of Spokane and Spokane County have agreed to carry out the recommendations of a joint land use study designed to protect Fairchild Air Force Base from development. “What this document provides is a perfect balance between protecting present property rights and limiting future development so we greatly reduce if not eliminate additional encroachment on Fairchild Air Force Base,” Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard told KXLY.com. Not all of the municipalities in the region have signed the agreement. One potential threat to the eastern Washington base is a nearby casino the Spokane Tribe is planning to build. The tribe, however, has said it is working with the Air Force to ensure its project is compatible with Fairchild.

The Army’s end strength could be slashed by 80,000 to 100,000, including both active and reserve forces, if the automatic spending cuts set to go into effect in January are not reversed, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters last week. “So what that would cause us to do is increase the pace of our end strength reductions. It would cause a hollowness — significant hollowness in the force,” Odierno said …