JFCOM job losses may be blunted

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and members of the state’s congressional delegation said Tuesday that the state’s potential job losses from proposed Pentagon cost-cutting measures may not be as bad as originally feared. Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposed in August to shutter the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Norfolk, sparking a bipartisan outcry from Virginia officials, who finally met with Gates Tuesday morning to discuss the proposal that could affect up to 3,900 civilian and military workers.

“What we got today was a keen acknowledgment that there are certain functions that would have to remain, no matter what the final picture looked like,” McDonnell said after the meeting.