Communications node relocation

USAF Fully Funded for Tyndall, Offutt Rebuilds

The Air Force says it has all the money it needs to rebuild bases struck by natural disasters in the past two years, after lobbying Congress for billions of dollars to backfill its coffers depleted by recovery efforts. Congress allocated $5.3 billion for disaster relief through a patchwork of supplemental spending, reprogramming decisions, and the regular budget process in fiscal 2019 and 2020. It’s enough that the Air Force didn’t need to ask for more in fiscal 2021. “They gave it to us earlier than I would have anticipated,” Maj. Gen. John Pletcher, the Air Force’s deputy assistant budget secretary, told reporters Feb. 10. “So that takes that requirement off of the table for FY '21 for the Air Force."
DOD Housing Support to HHS

DOD to House Novel Coronavirus Evacuees Longer

The Pentagon is extending the amount of time that four bases will house people under quarantine for possible exposure to the novel coronavirus until mid-March, as two Air Force bases opened their doors to more arrivals. The Defense Department is making Travis Air Force Base, California; JBSA-Lackland, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; and Marine Corps Air Station-Miramar, California, available to house affected Americans through March 15. Travis and Lackland are already housing hundreds of evacuees, and received additional people Feb. 16 and 17 who were removed from the cruise ship Diamond Princess in Japan.
02182020 Rifle

Airmen Receive New Survival Kit Rifles

The Air Force recently finished delivering 2,700 new, lightweight rifles designed to be carried in an Airman's ejection seat. The Air Force Gunsmith Shop, part of the Armament Center at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, designed the 7-pound, 5.56 mm rifle, which is based on the M4 carbine. The new rifle is stripped of its optics gear and built to disconnect at the upper receiver so it can fit inside the ACES 2 ejection seat, according to an AFLCMC release. An aircrew member can put the weapon together in about 30 seconds.
UNOCHA Middle Juba Jilib Somalia map

U.S. Airstrike Targets Al-Shabab Compound in Somalia

A Feb. 17 U.S. airstrike took out an al-Shabab compound near Jilib, Somalia, U.S. Africa Command said the same day. The command didn't report whether any members of the terror organization were injured or killed in the attack. This was the fifth American airstrike that targeted al-Shabab in Somalia so far in February, and the second that placed a compound in its crosshairs.

Radar Sweep

U.S. Military Did Not Properly Store or Account for Nearly $715 Million in Weapons for Syrian Partners Fighting the Islamic State Group

Military Times

A recent Defense Department Inspector General report said officials with Special Operations Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve and 1st Theater Sustainment Command did not maintain a central list of gear and equipment for Syrian partner forces complicating efforts to track or inventory the weapons. The report also detailed that nearly 4,100 weapons that include grenade launchers and machine guns were improperly stored outside in metal shipping containers exposing the gear to harsh environments and potentially rust.

Colorado Springs Chamber Launches National Campaign to Keep Space Command

The Gazette

The business group plans to spend $350,000 on a public relations campaign managed by a Washington PR firm, a New York economic development consultant, and a Washington political advisory firm. The goal: to convince President Donald Trump and his advisers that Colorado is the ideal location for the permanent home of the newly relaunched command.

Noise Concerns Top List of More Than 6,400 Comments on F-35 Study; Air Force to Release Final Version This Month

Wisconsin State Journal

U.S. military officials have received more than 6,400 public comments, most of them focused on noise, in response to its draft study of the environmental impacts of basing a squadron of F-35 fighter jets at Madison, Wis.,’s Truax Field. The National Guard Bureau says it is incorporating “as appropriate” all relevant comments into a final Environmental Impact Study that will guide the Air Force’s decision on whether to select the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing for the F-35 program.

Economic Impact of Hill Air Force Base Valued at $3.7 Billion

Deseret News

The Beehive State’s biggest military installation and largest single-site employer is responsible for generating $3.7 billion in annual economic impact, according to the 2019 Economic Impact Statement. The report found the main base operates using 27,650 total personnel, including 5,705 military, 5,292 military dependents and 16,653 civilians, with an annual federal payroll of $1.43 billion and yearly expenditures of $811 million.

AFBA Names Larry O. Spencer as Its President

Citybizlist

The Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA) board of directors has named retired Air Force Gen. Larry Spencer as its new president (effective March 9) and member of the board (effective Feb. 26). Also, AFBA’s affiliate 5Star Life Insurance Company (5Star Life) board of directors has appointed Spencer as a member of its board (effective Feb. 26).