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.
DOD’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative has recorded numerous successes stabilizing or elimination encroachment threats at dozens of locations, according to the 2012 REPI Report to Congress. Through fiscal 2011, the program has protected more than 215,000 acres for 60 locations in 24 states. Sites that have reached goals to secure test and training capabilities include Fort Carson, Colo.; Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev.; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; Townsend Bombing Range, Ga.; and Fort Custer, Mich. …
Alaska’s congressional delegation criticized the Air Force’s assessment of the savings associated with moving an F-16 squadron from Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, stating that it left many questions unanswered. “The bottom line is we have yet to see a comprehensive five-year analysis detailing the total budgetary ramifications of the relocation and long-term plan for Eielson …
With the possibility of a new BRAC round looming, the competition to host the next-generation KC-46A tanker is expected to be particularly intense, reports Air Force Times. The service plans to establish up to 10 main operating bases for the refueling tankers which are being built by Boeing Co. …
A fire aboard a nuclear-powered submarine at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard last week has some in the region surrounding Kittery, Maine, concerned that the accident could tarnish the facility’s reputation. While jobs may be in jeopardy over the short term if the Navy abandons the overhaul of the USS Miami, the larger issue is whether the shipyard’s competence and efficiency is brought into question, stated an editorial in the Union Leader. In that case, “its entire future becomes uncertain …
The Pentagon is considering marking off a vast zone in California’s Mojave Desert and surrounding areas that would be off limits to the development of wind energy projects. The military has delineated an “adverse impact zone” but a final decision is not expected until this summer, reported the Press-Enterprise. Limiting wind development in such a large area would deliver a significant blow to developers of wind energy in California …
The freeze on spending funds to prepare Guam for an influx of Marines from Okinawa would continue under the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill approved last week by the Senate Armed Services Committee. DOD would need to provide Congress three reports before the prohibition is lifted: a master plan detailing construction costs and a schedule of all projects needed to implement U.S. Pacific Command’s strategy; a plan describing necessary repairs and restorations to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma …