TO CONGRESSMAN RANDY FORBES

for his attempt to stonewall the closure of Joint Forces Command. The House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee chairman inserted into a budget bill a provision that blocks funding for the dismantling of JFCOM unless the Defense Department provides Congress more detailed information on the expected cost savings and consequences. It was a tactic aimed at keeping JFCOM on life support along with many of the private contractor jobs associated with the command, whose headquarters is located in the Virginia Republican’s district. JFCOM’s closure is expected to save around $400 million a year; as a separate command, it’s an organization that has fulfilled its purpose and which is no longer necessary to ensure jointness. Forbes’ maneuver is the classic “not-in-my-backyard” politicking: He voted against the appropriations budget bill, saying the cuts didn’t go deep enough, yet blocked a prudent cost-cutting measure because of the impact on jobs — and votes — in his district.