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.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.