Posts Tagged ‘mission support/community partnerships’

The Defense Department would be required 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, under an amendment to the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill adopted by the House Friday. The amendment was sponsored by lawmakers from Alaska and southwestern Pennsylvania upset over force structure changes proposed by the Air Force as part of its FY 2013 budget request. The provision expands requirements Congress included in last year’s authorization bill to increase its oversight over major realignments proposed outside of BRAC …

Automatic defense cuts approaching $500 billion set to take effect in January could trigger a recession throughout Virginia, Stephen Fuller, a public policy professor at George Mason University, told more than 500 people gathered in Hampton Roads this week. The meeting was the first of four listening sessions organized by Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes and other Armed Services Committee members. The meetings are intended to raise awareness about the cuts which threaten defense and domestic programs over the coming decade. Three more “Defending our Defenders” sessions are scheduled around the country …

The Army’s plans to trim its end strength will not be hampered if a round of base closures is not held in 2013, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters Wednesday. Reductions in personnel most likely would occur at major installations, so the Army will be OK, he said, implying that officials were not planning on closing larger posts in the next BRAC round. “And I feel pretty comfortable with that …

The White House has said it “strongly objects” to language in the House version of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill limiting the Army to reducing its end strength by 15,000 per year and the Marine Corps to 5,000 per year in FYs 2014 to 2017. The Pentagon proposed cutting the Army by 72,000 and the Marine Corps by 20,000 over that time period. “The timing and pace of the planned reductions to the Army and Marine Corps are tied to anticipated changes in operational demand based on the nation’s current commitments as well as the new defense strategy, which emphasizes a smaller and leaner force …

A bipartisan coalition of 13 senators is asking the Senate Armed Services Committee to require DOD to report on the impact of proposed force structure adjustments before launching such actions. The request follows the dispute triggered by the far-reaching set of force reductions the Air Force included in its fiscal 2013 budget request affecting more than 60 installations. “We have not been provided clear and objective metrics by which the reductions and restructuring proposed at specific installations have been selected …

The South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority is moving ahead with two projects to preserve Ellsworth Air Force Base and its tremendous economic impact in the western portion of the state. Since the base narrowly averted closure in the last BRAC round, the authority has been purchasing properties surrounding the installation’s airfield to reduce encroachment, reported the Rapid City Journal. A low-income housing project now under construction will offer a new housing option for some of those residents …

The stated $8.6 billion cost for the revamped realignment of 5,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam is still a preliminary estimate and most likely will shift after more detailed planning is completed. The cost of moving thousands of Marines to Hawaii, for instance, was not included in the estimate, reported Stars and Stripes …

The White House objected Tuesday to restrictions in the House version of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill precluding the Pentagon from planning for a new base closure round and realigning key missions at three particular Air Force bases. The base closure provision bars the department from proposing, planning for or carrying out an additional BRAC round. The other provisions prohibit the department from shuffling elements of the Air Armament Center at Eglin AFB, Fla., Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom, AFB, Mass. …

The Air Force plans to announce in December candidate locations for the formal training unit and first main operating base for the KC-46A, the next-generation tanker being built by Boeing Co. Officials then would launch the environmental impact analysis process, officials announced Monday. The formal training unit and first main operating base will be led by active duty units …

When the Defense Health Headquarters — which will bring all DOD military medical health care operations to one campus — opens in July, about 3,000 employees are expected to exacerbate existing traffic congestion in Fairfax County, Va. Because the facility is located in leased space that already existed, however, the site was not required to meet many rules designed to lessen traffic impacts, reports wtop.com …