Representative Cory Mills (R-FL) joined in a recent letter urging the United States Army to continue maintaining Central Florida as an acquisition headquarters.
The letter comes as the Army considers restructuring its program offices, including the Orlando-based Program Executive Office Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI).
PEO STRI is a world leader in modeling, simulations, and training programs used by the Army, and the group generates $11.6 billion in annual impact while employing 30,000 high-wage earners.
As a result, PEO STRI's potential divestment from Central Florida would have serious unintended consequences, even if Rep. Mills supports the Army's efforts to improve bureaucratic efficiency.
"Central Florida plays a critical role in advancing America's defense innovation," Rep. Mills said in a statement. "Our modeling and simulation ecosystem is second to none, and any move to divest from this area would weaken our national security and disrupt decades of proven success."
The letter marks the third time the Florida Congressman has acted in regard to military tech since February, when he introduced the Department of State Domestic Protection Mission Act, which includes provisions for when the State Department encounters an unmanned aerial system or aircraft (like drones) presenting a credible threat to facilities or assets and allowing appropriate personnel would be authorized to warn the drone's operator to back off upon identification. If the threat persists, they would be allowed to capture, disable, or destroy the drone.
Later in June, Mills introduced the Collision Limiting Operational Upgrade for DOD (CLOUD) Aircraft Act, which requires the Secretary of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a study on the feasibility of implementing collision detection systems in all rotary and fixed-wing aircraft operating in highly trafficked domestic airspaces, compatible with civilian commercial craft after a series of tragedies involving military aircraft claimed multiple lives.
