Good News from VA?: Veterans Affairs plans to open 25 new community-based clinics in 17 states and American Samoa. The 25 will join the VA’s 700 other clinics and 156 hospitals. (Click here to see list of states and locales.) The VA is in the midst of a 20-year plan known as Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services to modernize its facilities. (Read our 2004 article on CARES plan here.) VA officials have not yet released a schedule for opening the 25 new clinics but plan to start sometime this year.
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…