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.
Earlier this spring, the 388th Fighter Wing proved just 12 Airmen can operate an F-35 contingency location, refueling and rearming the fighters at spots across Georgia and South Carolina. The demonstration, part of exercise Agile Flag 23-1, marks yet another proof of concept for the Air Force’s plan to send…