The Air Force has distributed nearly $90 million in repair funds for the Katrina-ravaged infrastructure of Keesler AFB, Miss., near Biloxi, the service said Sept. 22. Estimates of damage at the base put the total damage bill near $1 billion. The base suffered extensive damage to its industrial and housing areas, according to Keesler officials. Another $33 million will go towards rebuilding damage to the base’s military family housing.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.

