A report assembled by the U.S. Air Force revealed that President Trump’s plan to siphon funds from more than four dozen Air Force military construction projects to finance his proposed border wall constitutes a threat to national security.
NBC News acquired the report, which outlines the significance of all 51 military projects that are scheduled to lose their investments by the Trump administration. Projects at risk of security breaches include the construction of a more advanced gate at an overseas U.S. military base due to increased security concerns, the building of a facility to stockpile more than $1 billion in munitions overseas, and the replacement of a boiler that faces “imminent” failure at a base in Alaska.
The report details how the entry-control checkpoint at the main gate at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey is “degrading and not properly configured to provide proper protection for pedestrian and vehicle passage.” The report notes that there has been a “higher threat environment” in the region since the U.S. became involved in Syria. The base has been at an increased threat protection level since July 2015.
“Security breaches have increased since the base began Operation Inherent Resolve Support,” the report says. “If not funded, the main gate remains vulnerable to hostile penetration in the midst of contingency operations and an increased terrorist threat.”
The plan to build facilities to safeguard more than $1 billion in munitions at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam was delayed after funds were redirected to border wall construction, jeopardizing the biggest collection of munitions in the Pacific region.
Pacific Air Forces depend on the stockpile at Andersen Air Force Base for both exercises and wartime action. If the materials are not properly kept, they may not operate correctly, which could affect fighter aircraft and bomber performances.
The report also noted that a boiler failure at a facility at Eielsen Air Force Base in Alaska is “imminent.” The boiler supplies all electrical power and steam heat for the base, and if temperatures dip as far down as 65 degrees below zero, the base would have to be evacuated within hours and result in millions of dollars of damage due to the freeze.
Trump declared a national emergency earlier this year in an attempt to bypass Congress and provide funding for the border wall along the U.S. southern border, which had been part of his campaign promise.
But it is unclear if the money will be immediately back-filled, a congressional official told NBC News. The projects may be delayed by as much as a year or more.
The Air Force discovered which projects would lose funding just last week when a list of un-obligated funds was released to Congress despite presenting the list to the Office of the Secretary of Defense months ago.
“We had no advanced notice of what projects they chose,” the U.S. Air Force official said.
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Approximately $1.8 billion was taken from projects within the continental U.S. and another $1.8 billion from overseas plans. Taken together, the $3.6 billion will allegedly fund 175 miles of the southern border wall.
