If Congress goes along with another BRAC round, the Air Force anticipates that the service “would actually close bases,” said Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. After BRAC 2005, the Air Force “had excess infrastructure in the neighborhood of 20 percent,” Schwartz told reporters during a Pentagon briefing on Jan. 27. After eliminating about 500 aircraft since then, the “presumption is that there is more excess infrastructure,” he explained. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta disclosed on the previous day that President Obama would seek Congress’ authorization for another round of base closures to shed excess infrastructure. Panetta said Obama is proposing this as one of the many moves the Defense Department intends to make to adjust its force structure to the nation’s new defense strategic guidance. “We cannot afford to sustain infrastructure that is excess to our needs in this budget environment,” said Panetta. (Schwartz transcript)
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
