(The Center Square) – Pivotal eastern North Carolina military installations in America’s defense infrastructure will be getting significant fiscal support in the National Defense Authorization Act once signed by second-term Republican President Donald Trump.
Senators last week passed their $913.9 billion plan. It is 2.3% higher than the $893 billion approved by the House of Representatives in September.
“North Carolina has long stood at the forefront of America’s military strength, and I was proud to deliver key victories for our state and our nation in the FY 2026 NDAA that will further empower our servicemembers and strengthen our forces both at home and abroad,” said first-term Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C. “America’s strength rests on the unmatched lethality of its armed forces, and this year’s NDAA reaffirms that commitment by advancing our military’s readiness to confront any threat and its resolve to defend the cause of freedom against any adversary.”
With the government idle and congressional members on a work period in districts, negotiations are also idle to reconcile the two bills. The House work period runs through Sunday; the Senate is scheduled to return on Tuesday.
Overall, for all of the estimated 91,000 active service members in the Tarheel State, each version has a 3.8% pay raise. Policy matters and some specifics are approached differently, according to analysis by The Center Square.
For example, the Senate version has no affirmative action in admissions to service academies and cuts environmental regulations that stymie procurement of basic items. Senators want mobile nuclear microreactor systems for energy resilience to be developed, prototyped and deployed.
It also has a pilot program to improve the basic allowance for housing, specifically for North Carolina.
The House would codify 15 executive orders from Trump; fund work for border security operations alongside Homeland Security; and have appropriation to ensure the administration’s plans for the Golden Dome, F-47s, submarines, warships, and autonomous systems.
The U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base is generally known as the receiver of a president’s 911 call. Meaning, if there’s urgent defense or offense needed by the War Department, it’ll likely be the Green Berets of the Special Operations Forces and or the 82nd Airborne at the tip of the spear.
Both the Senate and House have $80 million for power generation and a microgrid at Fort Bragg. Also, both are $24 million to complete the construction of an aircraft maintenance hangar and $19 million for an automated infantry platoon battle course.
Senators appropriated $32 million and the House $6.5 million for the Special Ops Mission Command Center. Senators also have $80 million for the Special Ops operational ammunition supply point, and $5 million for the Pathfinder Airborne Program.
House members have $44.7 million for training facilities at Forward Operating Base Freedom, known also as Freedom Village; $7.5 million for advanced drone development; and $5.3 million for a Special Operations Forces Joint Intelligence Center.
At Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, both chambers put in $90 million for a Special Operations Forces Marine Raider Battalion Operations facility. Senators also have $48.28 million for amphibious combat vehicle shelters, and $34 million for expansion of the Special Operations Forces Combat Service support and motor transport.
At Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, senators came through with $40 million for an F-35 Aircraft Sustainment Center, for which House members have designated $200 million. The House plans for it to be the service hub another half century.
Senators also designated $15 million to design the next phase of the Flightline Utilities Modernization project.
At Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, senators have $54 million to improve a child development center and $41 million to boost the combat arms training and maintenance complex.
Senators also designated $69 million for the North Carolina National Guard’s aircraft maintenance hangar addition and alteration at the Salisbury training center.
Budd, in a release, also said the state’s manufacturers and projects are slated for more than $50 million.
There is $34 million to procure infantry squad vehicles manufactured in Concord; $8 million to procure Army load-carrying technology advancements built in Concord; $5 million to expand the Defense Innovation Unit OnRamp Hub; and $4 million to procure rare earth magnets manufactured in Durham.
Other major components to American defense in eastern North Carolina are Marine Corps Air Station New River; two U.S. Coast Guard bases along the northern coast at Elizabeth City; and the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point on the southern coast in Brunswick County.
More than 63,000 children are with the active service members. The ninth-largest state in the nation has about 620,000 veterans in its 11.1 million population.
