The Department of Defense has given the green light for $348 million in construction work at New Jersey’s Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base, as part of a consolidation of three area bases into one. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the consolidated bases (ordered by the 2005 BRAC decision, along with Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station) will get 2,083 new or renovated houses over six years and many older structures will be demolished. The new installation, now called Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is the largest Air Force family housing project in history and the first joint Army-Air Force housing project, according to Saxton.
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…