Spec Ops a winner in Hagel budget

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's nearly half-trillion dollar defense budget proposes strengthening Special Operations and cyberwarfare capabilities, both key activities in South Mississippi. The Special Ops force would increase nearly 6 percent at a time when Hagel proposes to shrink the size of the Army overall. In South Mississippi, Navy Special Warfare personnel, including SEALS, train at Stennis Space Center. To the east, Mississippi's Keesler Air Force Base is the Air Force's cyber training center. The proposal also gives a nod to the Northrop Grumman-built Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft over the U-2 spyplane. Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss. The budget has the endorsement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but is subject to Congressional approval. (Sources: compiled from multiple reports, including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, 02/24/14)