New Jersey’s Ocean County government and local municipalities will receive more than $320,000 from the Air Force to compensate for fire damages caused by a flare during an F-16 training mission last May. Asbury Park Press reports that the money will be dispersed to county road, transportation, and vehicle services departments to cover costs such as vehicle fuel, police overtime, and the expense of temporary shelter for residents at local schools. A flare ejected from a New Jersey Air National Guard F-16 during low-level training ignited the 17,000-acre blaze last spring. An estimated 6,000 residents were displaced in the southern New Jersey communities during the fires, the newspaper states. Some towns in the area are not included in the settlement since they have filed their own claims. Others have already received compensation.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
