The $581 Million Test Wing

July 21, 2006

USAF evidently believes that relocation of its 46th Test Wing from Eglin AFB, Fla., to Edwards AFB, Calif., would cut net spending by more than half a billion dollars. According to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), he was given that explanation by Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, overseer of the wing. “He wanted to alert me as to a proposed Air Force effort to cut the test and evaluation budget by $581 million,” said Nelson at a July 18 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “He was given a $1.5 billion cut to make. Roughly one-third of it would come from deactivating the 46th Test Wing and closing a number of sophisticated testing facilities.” The 46th Test Wing employs 3,400 in Florida. Word of its possible demise has roiled local Florida politics, but the Air Force has announced no firm decision.

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