The Air Force recently selected Balfour Beatty Communities of Newtown Square, Pa., to privatize housing at six of its installations. They are: Cannon AFB, N.M.; Cavalier AFS, N.D.; Ellsworth AFB, S.D.; Grand Forks AFB, N.D.; Minot AFB, N.D.; and Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. “We are thrilled to expand our relationship with the Air Force and bring quality housing and world-class customer service to the military members and their families residing at these bases,” said Chris Williams, BBC president, in the company’s Aug. 1 release. The six-year initial development period is valued at approximately $442 million, states the release. It covers the design, construction, and/or renovation of 4,546 housing units with various amenities. “Privatization saves taxpayer money, and living in a privatized community offers the benefits of a military community while, at the same time, providing better quality, well-maintained, and professionally managed homes,” said Jeffery Murray, Air Force Space Command’s housing privatization acquisition program manager, in the command’s Aug. 6 release discussing the privatization at Cavalier. This is BBC’s sixth Air Force housing privatization project, according to the company. (Peterson report by Michael Golembesky)
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…