Doing Battle in the Volunteer State: The last we heard the Tennessee Air National Guard’s 118th Airlift Wing would lose its C-130s but keep its people, per BRAC 2005. It seems, though, the state is slugging away, trying to keep everything. The Nashville City Paper reports that Gov. Phil Bredesen and the Justice Department on behalf of DOD are battling in the jurisprudence system, filing competing motions. The latest, filed by the governor just last week, requests the US District Court to sidestep a trial and simply rule the federal government’s plan for the 118th is illegal.
The new defense reconciliation bill includes $7.2 billion for Air Force and Navy aviation accounts, almost half of which will buy more F-15EXs. While electronic warfare, drones, connectivity and airlift all get attention, the F-35 was conspicuously absent from the package, with no explanation given.