The Air Force’s only forensic toxicology drug testing laboratory recently opened its doors at Lackland AFB, Tex., a part of Joint Base San Antonio. The new Headquarters Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory, a 22,000-square-foot building, is one of just six such labs in the Defense Department. Its mission is to deter illicit drug use in the service. Per BRAC 2005, the lab moved into the new facility at Lackland from Brooks City-Base, also in Texas. “The project is the closest thing I have ever experienced to building an airplane, in the air, with passengers on board, while flight attendants serve coffee,” said Lt. Col. Kabrena Rodda, the lab’s commander. The building came in $3.5 million under budget and went online on June 30, a month ahead of schedule. (Lackland report by Maj. Travis Herbelin)
The Chinese spy balloon may have popped, but funding to protect against similar threats is inflating, according to the Department of Defense. The high-attitude surveillance balloon that traversed the U.S. in late January and early February prompted last-minute additions to the Pentagon's budget of around $90 million for measures to…