The Air Force and Sacramento County officials in California reached an historic agreement that will transfer the former McClellan Air Force Base to the county before its environmental cleanup and removal from the EPA’s Superfund site list. Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson called the agreement a “great success for the local community and Sacramento” because it will enable faster cleanup of the facility and speed economic development. The deal, which still must pass muster with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the EPA, transfers land, money, and authority to the county to perform the cleanup. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the agreement resulted from “years of hard work and negotiation between the Air Force, the county, and a number of federal and state environmental agencies.”
When Lt. Col. Dustin Johnson was ordered to deploy to the Middle East last year, he and his fellow F-22 Raptor pilots prepared for an unusual challenge. As America’s premier air superiority fighter, the F-22 was designed to take on advanced enemy aircraft, capable of maneuvering stealthily and cruising at supersonic…