Millions in Veterans and Military Construction Funding for Michigan

Article continues below...

Senate Appropriations Bill Would Direct Nearly $87 Million to Seven Projects

November 17, 2009 --
WASHINGTON — Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., today hailed the Senate’s passage of a bill including $87 million for seven projects in Michigan and funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Senate and House of Representatives must now reconcile their versions of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2010 before moving to final passage in both chambers.

“The projects funded in this bill bring greatly needed investment to the state of Michigan while providing excellent military facilities for our troops and their families,” said Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Our troops will benefit from the state-of-the-art facilities at installations such as the Detroit Arsenal, Battle Creek Air National Guard Base and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.”

“This bill funds critical resources for Michigan’s men and women in uniform and for Michigan military installations that support so many jobs in our communities,” said Stabenow. For the first time ever, it addresses a priority of mine to fund VA medical services over a two year period instead of one year at a time, giving more peace of mind to veterans and their families. It also gives priority to problems facing our returning veterans by providing funding to treat traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorders, to fund prosthetic research, to provide mental health treatment and to address the problem of homeless veterans.” The bill funds the following military construction projects in Michigan.

$8.9 million to replace troop quarters at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center. This project will build a facility that will house 155 personnel. The current temporary block-framed structures were built in the early 1950s and provide inadequate sleeping accommodations and processing facilities for deploying personnel.

$18.5 million for construction of an Armed Forces Reserve Center at Ft. Custer in Augusta. These BRAC funds will pay for the construction of training, storage, maintenance, and administrative facilities to support eight Army Reserve units that will be utilizing Ft. Custer as a result of the 2005 BRAC decisions.

$14.0 million for facilities to support the Component Numbered Air Force mission at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base. The 110th Fighter Wing requires properly-sized and adequately-configured facilities for the new Component Numbered Air Force (CNAF) Warfighting Headquarters mission. The CNAF Warfighting Headquarters mission at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base includes a Command Support Element, Air Operations Squadron, Air Intelligence Squadron, Air Communications Squadron, Air Operations Center, and an Air Mobility Squadron.

$8.5 million for munitions maintenance, repair, and administration facilities at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. These BRAC funds will pay for the construction of facilities to support the 127th Fighter Wing’s conversion from F-16 aircraft to A-10 aircraft. These new facilities will improve safety at the base and provide adequate workspace for munitions maintenance and repair functions.

$8.3 million to construct a weapons system support and training facility at the Detroit Arsenal. These BRAC funds will pay for the construction of facilities to house training and support functions for a variety of military equipment managed by the TACOM Life Cycle Management Command. These functions were transferred to the Detroit Arsenal under the BRAC 2005 decision.

$7.1 million for an A-10 squad operations facility at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. This project would create a more efficient and properly configured workspace for the 127th Wing A-10 Squadron Operations Command and associated combat weather, survival equipment, and flight simulator training functions.

$21.4 million to continue the construction of new office buildings at the Detroit Arsenal. These Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) funds will provide the office space and parking necessary to support the influx of more than 1,000 personnel transferring from other military installations to the Detroit Arsenal as a result of the 2005 BRAC actions. The first phase of this project was initiated last year.

Source: Senator Carl Levin