{"id":13640,"date":"2019-09-04T21:29:39","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T21:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/04\/heres-everything-the-pentagon-is-putting-on-hold-to-concentrate-on-building-the-border-wall\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:43:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:43:49","slug":"heres-everything-the-pentagon-is-putting-on-hold-to-concentrate-on-building-the-border-wall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2019\/09\/04\/heres-everything-the-pentagon-is-putting-on-hold-to-concentrate-on-building-the-border-wall\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s everything the Pentagon is putting on hold to concentrate on building the border wall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Several schools and weapons ranges, as well as hazardous waste treatment, special operations and a host of other facilities are on the chopping block<\/a> following Defense Secretary Mark Esper<\/a>\u2019s Wednesday decision to reallocate $3.6 billion in defense spending away from military construction projects in favor of helping build barriers along the US-Mexico border<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delayed programs were chosen largely either because they were upgrades or replacements to existing facilities, a senior defense official told reporters in a Pentagon briefing Wednesday, or because their contract award dates are not scheduled for a year or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we have on the list are [recapitalization] projects, projects for which we have an existing capability that can last in a temporary way until we can get the backfill we\u2019ve requested from Congress to complete them,\u201d the official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, the list included 43 projects in 23 states \u2015 two of which had been slated for cancellation \u2015 along with 21 in three U.S. territories and another 63 in 20 partner nations abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, they are all delayed in favor of 11 new projects that will make up 175 miles of new or reinforced border barriers, officials announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been given a lawful order by the president to respond to this crisis on the border, and we\u2019re doing that,\u201d the senior official said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The projects are evenly divided into $1.8 billion each of US (including territories)<\/a> and overseas<\/a> projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over a dozen of those delayed projects were slated for hurricane-ravaged areas like Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Tyndall\u2019s case, the senior defense official said, replacing a fire\/crash rescue station was lower on the list of priorities versus the multi–<\/b>billion dollar rebuild of the base following last year\u2019s Hurricane Michael.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTiming-wise it doesn\u2019t make sense for us to build a fire rescue station immediately when we\u2019ve got the whole infrastructure plan to build,\u201d the official said. \u201cWhen we discussed this project, we hadn\u2019t had that hurricane yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the case of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, their combined 13 projects are in support of Hurricane Maria relief, the official said, but are more long-term projects that wouldn\u2019t have gotten underway until past fiscal year 2020, when the Defense Department intends to get its new border wall push off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fully committed to the recovery effort for Maria, and the projects on the list, we think, are not going to be delayed because of how far out in the future they are,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big-ticket items include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n