Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson joined other officials to break ground in Puerto Rico Oct. 2 for a new six-story tower at the southern tip of the San Juan VA Medical Center, according to a VA news release. The tower will hold 314 beds and feature emergency power capability, energy efficient heating and air conditioning. VA expects to complete construction in 2009.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III chaired a China-focused military briefing Oct. 27, part of a biweekly series of briefings with senior military commanders about China’s growing threat in the wake of an orbital hypersonic weapon test that elicited public worries from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “What we…