His seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee has enabled Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to push for—and get—committee approval for $18.2 million in military construction appropriations for 2008 for Minot AFB, N.D. In a statement, Dorgan says the money will go toward a new 144-room enlisted dormitory. He says, “This is an important investment that shows the commitment the Air Force has to maintaining Minot Air Force Base as a dual-mission facility for decades to come.” Minot has B-52 bombers and Minuteman III ICBMs. The Air Force wants to trim back its B-52 force but has yet to secure Congressional approval; it does have approval to cut one Minuteman squadron, but that will happen at Malmstrom AFB, Mont.
It'll take up to 18 months for Lockheed Martin to deliver the 100 or so F-35s that went directly from production line to storage, awaiting the completion of Tech Refresh 3 testing. Customers haven't complained about the order in which the backlog is being delivered.