Maine’s senate delegation wants the Pentagon to donate to Maine the military facilities in the state that are marked for closure under BRAC 2005. To see that this happens, the senators want to tack an amendment onto the Fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill. It may be a worthy idea, giving something back to the losing communities. Considering the crunch to just get a Senate authorization bill out the door and into conference with the House, chances of passage seem slim. Read here about the measure.
F-35As from the Vermont Air National Guard have deployed to Puerto Rico in recent days, continuing a major buildup of U.S. Air Force assets in Latin America aimed at combating drug trafficking and pressuring the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

