Quality of public schools can be a BRAC factor
Opinion While Congress balks at the Department of Defense’s request for a new round of base closings to sweep away excess installations, the military is quietly taking steps to size up the value of bases in preparation for potentially dramatic action at the local level. In an effort to influence the assessments, military communities are emphasizing their respective value — beyond military utility, as the armed forces factor in nontraditional qualities that to a large degree a
KC-46 should land at Travis Air Force Base
The U.S. Air Force is currently evaluating where to deploy the next generation refueling tanker, the KC-46 Pegasus. The Travis Community Consortium believes that there is no better base than Travis Air Force Base to take on the refueling mission of the future. Time and time again, Travis has proven its resiliency and capability to be an innovative and premier installation to fulfill the Air Force mission. StartFragment Travis Air Force Base is currently among five Air Force i
POLITICO Pro Q&A: Huntington Ingalls CEO Mike Petters
Mike Petters, president and CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries, the nation's largest military shipbuilder, is concerned about the Navy's new class of ballistic missile submarines. But not for the usual reasons. Petters, whose Newport News Shipbuilding arm has a role in constructing the Columbia-class submarine, is not worried about the workload or delivery schedules. Instead he fears the replacement for the aging Ohio class will be so costly it will "crowd out other shipbui
Dozens of lawmakers fight troop cuts
Members of the House National Guard and Reserve Caucus are calling on congressional defense leaders to halt the Pentagon's reduction in the size of the military as they negotiate a final National Defense Authorization Act. In a letter outlining the caucus's priorities, 43 lawmakers urged the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to adopt provisions from the House NDAA maintaining higher end strengths in both the active duty military an
Pentagon expected to OK production of Boeing KC-46 tanker
EVERETT, WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is expected to put its seal of approval on Boeing’s new KC-46 tanker later this month. That means the company can focus on ramping up production of the aerial refueling tanker as it races to deliver the first batch of 18 to the military. Boeing has already said it will not meet the August 2017 delivery deadline. Developing the KC-46 Pegasus, which is based on Boeing’s 767 and assembled in Everett, has been a bumpy road, dogged by design and
Travis C-5M delivers SBIRS GEO Flight 3 satellite
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A C-5M Super Galaxy assisted in the completion of a major milestone for the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared Systems program, successfully delivering a Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite Flight 3 to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, Aug. 2.
The 22nd Airlift Squadron, one of the only operational Air Force units tasked with transporting space-related cargo, completed the cross-country flight after uploading the satellite at Moff
U.S. Air Force laments that it’s short of pilots
WASHINGTON The U.S. Air Force faces a shortfall of 700 fighter pilots by the end of the year and as many as 1,000 pilots within a few years, Air Force officials said Wednesday. “It is a crisis,” said Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff. “Air superiority is not an American birthright. It’s actually something you have to fight for and maintain.” Aggressive hiring by commercial airlines has helped thin the ranks of Air Force pilots, and lengthy deployments overseas
Air Force Growth Should Continue beyond 2016, James Says
In her last six months in office, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said she would keep both the Pentagon and Congress focused on the need to boost the service’s end strength to as many as 325,000 airmen. The Air Force’s active-duty end strength is slated to increase from its current level of 311,000 to 317,000 by October, but to relieve an overworked force and to expand capabilities in cyber and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, additional personnel
Brevard County Voters to Decide Tax Lagoon Cleanup
Brevard County voters will get to decide in November whether to approve a special half-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax to help pay for cleanup of the Indian River Lagoon. After six hours of presentations, public comment and debate, county commissioners on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a $302.9 million, 10-year plan to restore the lagoon within Brevard County. They also unanimously voted in favor of asking voters to consider the sales tax as a way to pay for the lagoon pro
Mississippi to Close Four National Guard Armories
The state of Mississippi will close four Army National Guard readiness centers in response to force structure reductions and budget cuts, officials said Wednesday. The initiative, which will save the Mississippi National Guard $130,000 in annual maintenance and utility costs, will reduce the number of readiness centers across the state to 79. The armories will be returned to each of the four municipalities by Oct. 23, reported the Clarion-Ledger. Full-time workers at armories
