LOCATIONS
03 Jul 06. High-Tech Relocation To Transform APG
Fort Monmouth Communications Operations Coming To Harford Base
Maryland economic development officials are eagerly awaiting the transfer of two major military electronic communications programs from Fort Monmouth in New Jersey to Aberdeen Proving Ground during the next five years. The relocation, part of a national base consolidation, will transform the Maryland facility, replacing military uniforms with civilian attire and upgrading the average pay in the process. Overall, APG is slated to gain thousands of scientific and engineering jobs, while losing a smaller number of other slots related to the base’s Ordnance School and other facilities, which are moving out. (Source: Baltimore Sun)
05 Jul 06. The Department of Defense announced today that the United States
would cease operations at the Yumurtalik Sea Terminal, Turkey. Due to U.S. European Command force structure realignment and transformation, the Yumurtalik Sea Terminal’s jet fuel receipt point facility has been identified as excess to U.S. Air Forces Europe’s needs and will begin the process to be returned to the host nation.
05 Jul 06. Northrop Grumman has agreed to take 145,959 square feet of space in the Westfields Corporate Center, meaning that the Chantilly office building under construction is now 100 percent leased.
PERSONNEL
MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT
03 Jul 06. Special Ops Still Aim For 15% Expansion. The shortfall of Army special operations troops, Navy SEALs and Air Force combat controllers persists as the Pentagon seeks to expand the forces by 15 percent during the next four years to bolster the U.S. military’s anti-terrorism campaign. One reason for the shortage is the intense training. The Navy, for example, says only 35 of 166 candidates will qualify as SEALs. Retention also is a problem. Some veterans can make $780 a day as civilian security contractors in Iraq. Pentagon officials say they can overcome the current shortfall and achieve the planned additions, the largest expansion of the elite forces since the Vietnam War, with more trainers and more recruits. (Source: USA Today/Defense News)
03 Jul 06. Bush nominates McQueary to head DOD test, evaluation office. President Bush nominated Charles E. McQueary to be the Defense Department’s new director for Operational Test and Evaluation. McQueary, the former Homeland Security Department undersecretary for Science and Technology, will issue policies and procedures, review and analyze the results of the tests and evaluations conducted for each major Defense acquisition program. He will provide assessments to the secretary of Defense, other Defense officials and Congress while also making budget and financial recommendations regarding testing and evaluations. In his new role, McQueary also will ensure major DOD programs are effective and suitable for combat. (Source: GCN)
29 Jun 06. NMCI chief Godwin to retire. Rear Adm. James B. Godwin III has decided to retire, about two years after taking the helm of the multibillion-dollar Navy-Marine Corps Intranet program. Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the chief of naval operations, sent Godwin a memo yesterday telling him that his request to retire, effective Oct. 1, had been approved by the Navy secretary. (Source: GCN)
05 Jul 06. Rear Adm. (lower half)(selectee) Thomas P. Meek is being assigned as deputy director Client Relationships, Signals Intelligence Directorate, National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Md. Meek is currently serving as deputy chief of staff for Intelligence, N2, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
INDUSTRY
JOB LOSSES AND STRIKES
30 Jun 06. EADS Continues Talks With. EADS said June 30 it had extended a deadline for talks with possible buyers for its loss-making Sogerma maintenance company. A plan to close the Sogerma site in southwestern France, with the loss of 1,100 jobs, sparked a political storm that forced EADS to backtrack and guarantee tha