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We’re Updating 360!0
- News from ADC
- September 30, 2016
Starting Monday, Defense Communities 360 will be getting a makeover. The static five-stories-a-day format will be replaced with a more flexible one that will be easier to scroll through on mobile devices. If you only have two minutes a day to catch up on the news from the Pentagon, Capitol Hill and defense communities, the new format, with its emphasis on streamlined teasers of news articles, will allow you to do that. And if an article piques your interest, you can click on a link to the original story for more details …
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Stopgap Spending Bill to Avert Shutdown Passes House, Senate 0
- Congress/DoD
- September 29, 2016
After a month of negotiations on a stopgap measure to keep the government running at the start of fiscal 2017, the House and Senate on Wednesday approved a short-term spending package that will now go to President Obama for his signature. The continuing resolution (CR) will provide lawmakers 10 weeks to complete work on FY 2017 appropriations and hash out a handful of unresolved policy issues …
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House Leadership’s Support for Sage Grouse Provision Frustrates Policy Bill Negotiations 0
- Congress/DoD
- September 29, 2016
The greater sage grouse, a black and brown grassland bird whose habitat encompasses parts of 11 western states, has taken on an oversized role in House-Senate negotiations over a conference agreement for the fiscal 2017 defense authorization bill. The House’s Republican leadership is insisting the compromise bill retain language from the House version barring the sage grouse from being placed on the endangered species list through 2025 even though the issue is only loosely connected to the use of military training grounds. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has said he would not allow the final version of the annual defense policy to be considered on the chamber floor without that provision, in a bid to protect energy, mining and ranching interests, reports Defense News …
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More Marines Would Be Optimal, Review Finds 0
- Mission Support/Community Partnerships
- September 29, 2016
A new force structure assessment has concluded that the Marine Corps ideally could grow by 8,000 troops, but the service still plans on operating with an end strength of 182,000 Marines. “The path we’re on is to go to 182,000 Marines,” Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, commander of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, told Military.com. “That’s what we’re going to be funded for; that’s what we’re allowed to do by Congress. But in a perfect world … we came up with about 190,000; that is the optimized force,” Walsh said. The increase would help the service keep up with a high pace of operations, and the need to expand its cyber and technological capabilities …
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Radiation Concerns to Slow Property Transfer at Hunters Point 0
- Base Redevelopment/ Environmental Cleanup
- September 29, 2016
The Navy has agreed to suspend any further transfers of property at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco due to several investigations into the falsification of data by its cleanup contractor. In 2014, Tetra Tech admitted to submitting false samples in an apparent effort to show the soil was not radioactive. Last week, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisor Malia Cohen told U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy that the city “will not accept the transfer of any land until federal and state regulators are satisfied that the land is clean and safe” and the city’s health department validates the decision …
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County, Scott AFB Renew Airport’s Joint-Use Agreement 0
- Mission Support/Community Partnerships
- September 29, 2016
The St. Clair County Board this week approved a new 25-year joint-use agreement for the airport at Scott Air Force Base in southwestern Illinois. One change from the existing agreement is the threshold for when the Air Force needs to reimburse the county for using MidAmerica Airport’s runway. The previous agreement defined substantial use as 100 daily landings for three consecutive days. The new agreement changes the definition of substantial use to 300 landings or a gross cumulative weight of 5 million pounds of government aircraft landings in one month. If the Air Force reaches the threshold for substantial use of MidAmerica’s runway, the two parties can discuss appropriate compensation, said Airport Director Tim Cantwell …
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