The Air Force is looking to accelerate its environmental clean-up activities in an effort to free up land for military or civilian use and to ease the burden on taxpayers for site clean-up. The plan calls for shifting focus from partial clean-up solutions, which sometimes take decades to complete, to clean-ups that are more “technically feasible” and “cost effective,” according to service officials. “Getting the remedies in place is an important event and a terrific indicator of progress, but it’s time to shift our focus to actually completing our clean-ups,” said Terry Yonkers, USAF’s assistant secretary for installations, environment, and logistics. He added, “The standard clean-up practices take too long to reach only interim results and often require decades of land-use restrictions or monitoring, or both.” Among the changes to accomplish these goals, officials intend to award more performance-based, fixed-price contracts. (SAF/PA report by Gary Strasburg)
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.