With barely a week passed since winning a reprieve from the 2005 BRAC hit list, New Mexico officials are already pursuing a new mission for Cannon Air Force Base, near Clovis, N.M. The base will lose the 27th Fighter Wing and its F-16s but, per the BRAC commission, has until 2009 to come up with a new mission. Both Gov. Bill Richardson and the state’s Congressional representatives have started talking with DOD. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Richardson sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Monday, reiterating the state’s support for the Pentagon’s efforts and requested a visit to Cannon by acting Deputy Secretary Gordon England. Rumsfeld might not be so eager to send an emissary, since the Pentagon proposed closing Cannon outright.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.

