The $640.2 billion military budget passed by Congress this week delays an Air Force proposal to transfer Eielson Air Force Base's F-16 fighter squadron to Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage for at least a year, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
Alaska's congressional delegation strongly opposed the transfer and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced an amendment to postpone it. The deadline to complete a report analyzing the move is now Feb. 1, 2014.
"It came as something as a surprise to me that the Air Force would select Eielson as the only active-duty base for a back-door BRAC (base relocation)," Murkowski said in a speech on the Senate floor. "When I see the Air Force prepared to sacrifice a base with one of the longest runways in North America (and) geographic superiority with respect to missions in the Pacific . . . it really does cause me to wonder."
"If we are going to modernize and streamline our military, I continue to believe that we cannot undercut installations that are closest to the Asia-Pacific theater where we plan to focus our energies and resources."
Other plums in the measure for Alaska:
• A 1.7 percent pay raise for all members of the uniformed services;
• Some $900 million for missile defense at Fort Greely near Delta Junction;
• $92 million for radar upgrades at Clear Air Force Station;
• $18.3 million for new marksmanship training ranges at Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.