Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), speaking at a Montgomery Chamber of Commerce event on Feb. 16, said he does not believe Congress will go for another round of base closures since it is “still digesting the last BRAC,” reports the Maxwell-Gunter Dispatch. Others have taken an opposite view, at least they did almost two years ago before the economy took a nosedive. Some see a new BRAC as inevitable as the Pentagon strains under its budget and the services, certainly the Air Force, believe they still have excess infrastructure. In Shelby’s view, though, the focus should be on “challenges down the road” for our “over-stretched” military.
The Air Force has spent more than two years studying cancer risks to Airmen who work with the service's intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now lawmakers in Congress are placing fresh scrutiny on the issue and have prepared legislation that would direct the service to clean silos and launch facilities.