The Georgia National Guard will take control of the 107-acre NAS Atlanta property, which the Navy is vacating under BRAC 2005 and which is adjacent to Dobbins Air Reserve Base. A statement from Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) says that Georgia state officials and three other Georgia lawmakers worked over several months to arrange the transfer the property to the Guard, which expects to utilize Dobbins airfield operations and to house both the Army National Guard and Air National Guard headquarters in a new joint readiness center to be built on the Atlanta site. Officials expect the transition will take several years.
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.