Base CLOSINGs

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Base Closings in the Midst of a War

AMERICAN BORDERS TO BE DISMANTLED

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PDF Reports at End of This Page

$24 billion to be used...in order to Close Military Bases.

ATTEMPTED GOAL of Cut: TEN PERCENT OF Remaining MAJOR US DOMESTIC BASES

New Buzzterm used to eliminate bases = "jointness"

Pentagon Plans Massive Overhaul of Bases

WASHINGTON - AP - May 13/05 - The Pentagon is proposing the most sweeping changes to its network of military bases in modern history, a plan that would close 33 major facilities in 22 states and reconfigure hundreds of others to achieve savings and promote cooperation among the armed services.

More than two years in the making, Friday's recommendations by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld represented his attempt to balance a whirl of competing forces. They include the changing threats facing the nation, massive federal deficits, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economies of local communities and political pressures.

While state officials, community leaders, lobbyists and members of Congress combed through a thicket of data the Pentagon presented, the overarching theme of Rumsfeld's plan was surprisingly simple: To be more combat ready and affordable, the individual services must become leaner and more unified.

Out would go the crown jewel of the Army hospital system: the venerable Walter Reed hospital in Washington. The hospital would move staff and services to the National Naval Medical Center in nearby Bethesda, Md., to create a new, expanded facility carrying the Walter Reed name.

The military calls this "jointness" — the services combining their strengths rather than working separately.

"Because jointness is key to creating military value — that was our goal," said Michael Wynne, the Pentagon's technology and weapons-buying chief who oversaw the base review project.

Rumsfeld had said before releasing his report that closures would be fewer than once anticipated, in part because surplus space will be used to accommodate tens of thousands of troops scheduled to be brought home from Cold War-era bases in Europe and Asia.

And while the number of bases he has asked to be shuttered is only slightly higher than in previous base-closing rounds dating to 1988, he put forth an extraordinary number of other changes and consolidations — 775 "minor closures and realignments" compared with 235 in the four previous rounds combined.

The proposal submitted to Congress and an independent base closing commission evoked immediate howls of protest from members of Congress whose states stand to lose jobs — civilian and military — and the Pentagon pledged to lend a helping hand to the hardest hit communities.

"It is wrong. It is shortsighted," Sen. Joseph Lieberman , D-Conn., said when he learned the closures would include the submarine base at Groton. He called it "cruel and unusual punishment" of his state, which would suffer a net loss of 7,133 military and 1,041 civilian jobs.

Disappointment was also felt far from the corridors of power.

The commission has until Sept. 8 to present its recommendations to President Bush, who can accept or reject it whole, but not part. Congress likewise can accept or reject it in whole.

Among other highlights of Rumsfeld's plan:

In addition to the 33 major bases that would be closed, another 29 would shrink in size and lose 400 or more jobs. Four of the latter are Navy facilities in California, including Naval Base Coronado. Fort Knox, Ky., would not close but would lose 4,867 military jobs while gaining 1,739 civilian slots.

The Air Force would consolidate its bomber fleet at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, resulting in the closure of Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. The aerospace medicine program at Brooks City-Base, in San Antonio, Texas, would move to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Wright-Patterson also would obtain the Navy's aero-medical research laboratory now located at Pensacola, Fla.

The Army would close Fort Monroe, Va., built in the early 1800s on the site of various fortifications that dated back to 1609, when the British erected defenses to protect the approaches to the Jamestown colony. Its main tenant, the Training and Doctrine Command, would be moved to Fort Eustis, Va.

On the Net:

Pentagon's base closing plan at http://www.defenselink.mil/brac/

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050514/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/base_closings

Pentagon urges closing 33 major U.S. military bases

By Will Dunham
1 hour, 26 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Friday recommended the closure of 33 major domestic U.S. military bases and the realignment of 29 more, threatening a hard economic blow to many communities across the United States.

"Our current arrangements, designed for the Cold War, must give way to the new demands of the war against extremism and other evolving 21st century challenges," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a statement.

Numerous other smaller facilities also were recommended for closing as Rumsfeld gave a nine-member Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission his recommendations to shut about one in 10 of the 318 major bases in the United States and its territories.

Prominent bases recommended for closure on the list included: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine; Fort McPherson in Georgia; Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota; Naval Station Pascagoula in Mississippi; and Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. Others included Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, and Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.

Wynne said the process of actually closing the bases would cost about $24 billion.

Coinciding with the domestic base-closing process, the Pentagon is working on plans to shift roughly 70,000 troops stationed abroad, primarily in Europe but also from South Korea, back to domestic U.S. bases.

At the same time, the United States has a major commitment of combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of the 33 major bases to be closed, the Army would have the largest number at 14, followed by 10 for the Air Force and nine for the Navy. But facilities for the Army's foot soldiers would grow at 18 of its bases compared to growth at 14 each for the Air Force and Navy.

The commission will evaluate Rumsfeld's plan and make possible additions or subtractions. Their list, in turn, will be sent to Bush by Sept. 8. If he accepts that plan, he would forward the list to Congress, which can approve or reject it entirely but not make changes.

The previous four rounds of domestic base closings, in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995, resulted in the closure of 97 major facilities and many more closures and consolidations of smaller bases. None of the prior rounds involved closing more than 28 major bases.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush's focus was on the affected communities. "We want to make sure that they have the assistance they need to transition once these decisions become final," McClellan said.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050513/us_nm/arms_usa_bases_closing_dc_14

Base Plan Would Alter Military Landscape

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - May 05 - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is proposing to close and shrink hundreds of bases to create a leaner, more cost-effective force. If accepted, the plan would alter the domestic military landscape and greatly affect the four services branches and communities that are home to the installations.

The plan promises to shift troops and jobs from the Northeast to the Sunbelt and the West, and it would consoldiate scores of Reserve and Guard sites across the map. Mergers throughout the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps would create super-sized multipurpose bases.

Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are to testify Monday before a congressionally chartered commission that will review the base closing proposal before sending it to President Bush this fall.

The plan recommends closing or reducing forces at 62 major bases and reconfiguring hundreds of others — 775 "minor closures and realignments" to be exact — to save billions of dollars a year.

Seeking to free up money to improve warfighting capabilities, the Pentagon wants to eliminate inefficient bases, streamline services and promote "jointness" among the military branches. At the same time, the military is trying to reposition troops — in the United States and abroad — to face current threats.

"The president charged the secretary with moving our military into the 21st century and moving us beyond the Cold War. This is a significant part of that," said Powell Moore, an assistant defense secretary during Bush's first term.

On the chopping block are two major New England bases — the submarine base at Groton, Conn., and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine — that supporters say are economic engines of the Northeast. Analysts say the bases were essential decades ago to defend against threats, mainly from the Soviets, that no longer are prevalent.

The Pentagon projects that closing the two major bases and several smaller military sites in Connecticut and Maine would mean the loss of nearly 30,000 jobs — on and off the bases. Work would shift to facilities in Norfolk, Va. and Kings Bay, Ga., defense officials say, which already provide enough fleet coverage for the Eastern seaboard.

Under the plan, bases in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama would add thousands of troops, with affected communities gaining at least 35,000 total new jobs — and an economic shot in the arm. The Pentagon estimates job creation or loss on bases by changes in the number of uniformed, civilian and contractor jobs. For jobs off base, the calculation is made on the basis of changes in the military presence.

Bases in Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas — where land is cheaper and plentiful — would see increases, too.

Both regions would absorb troops from other domestic bases set to be closed or reduced, and from Europe and Asia, where about 170,000 U.S. troops and their families are stationed. They will be returning home as the Pentagon adjusts its worldwide presence.

In the United States, "the military is moving south, it's moving west," said Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute, a think tank in Arlington, Va.

Also, military missions spread throughout the United States to defend against a Soviet nuclear attack would merge, sometimes at super-sized installations, according to Rumsfeld's plan.

For example, the F-16 fighter planes at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, N.M., would be used to bolster F-16 bases elsewhere and the B-1 strategic bombers at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, S.D., would move to the other B-1 base, Dyess, near Abilene, Texas.

The Pentagon estimates the closures would save $48 billion over 20 years.

___

On the Net:

Pentagon's base closing plan at http://www.defenselink.mil/brac/

List of Proposed Military Base Closings -

of the most recent Base Closing Commission

Fri May 13/05

WASHINGTON - A list of military facilities the Defense Department recommended for closure Friday:

Alabama:

Abbott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Tuskegee

Anderson U.S. Army Reserve Center, Troy

Armed Forces Reserve Center, Mobile

BG William P. Screws U.S. Army Reserve Center, Montgomery

Fort Ganey Army National Guard Reserve Center, Mobile

Fort Hanna Army National Guard Reserve Center, Birmingham

Gary U.S. Army Reserve Center, Enterprise

Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Montgomery

Navy Reserve Center, Tuscaloosa

The Adjutant General Building, AL Army National Guard, Montgomery

Wright U.S. Army Reserve Center

Alaska:

Kulis Air Guard Station

Arizona:

Air Force Research Lab, Mesa

Allen Hall Armed Forces Reserve Center, Tucson

Arkansas:

El Dorado Armed Forces Reserve Center

Stone U.S. Army Reserve Center, Pine Bluff

California:

Armed Forces Reserve Center Bell

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Oakland

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Bernardino

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Diego

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Seaside

Naval Support Activity Corona

Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Detachment Concord

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Encino

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Los Angeles

Onizuka Air Force Station

Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant

Connecticut:

Sgt. Libby U.S. Army Reserve Center, New Haven

Submarine Base New London

Turner U.S. Army Reserve Center, Fairfield

U.S. Army Reserve Center Maintenance Support Facility, Middletown

Delaware:

Kirkwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Newark

Florida:

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Orlando

Navy Reserve Center, St. Petersburg

Georgia:

Fort Gillem

Fort McPherson

Inspector/Instructor, Rome

Naval Air Station Atlanta

Naval Supply Corps School, Athens

U.S. Army Reserve Center, Columbus

Hawaii:

Army Reserve Center, Hilo

Idaho:

Navy Reserve Center, Pocatello

Illinois:

Armed Forces Reserve Center, Carbondale

Navy Reserve Center, Forest Park

Indiana:

Navy Marine Corps Reserve Center, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Bunker Hill

Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Indianapolis

Navy Reserve Center, Evansville

Newport Chemical Depot

U.S. Army Reserve Center, Lafayette

U.S. Army Reserve Center, Seston

Iowa:

Navy Reserve Center, Cedar Rapids

Navy Reserve Center, Sioux City

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Dubuque

>

Kansas:

Kansas Army Ammunition Plant

>

Kentucky:

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Paducah

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Lexington

Navy Reserve Center, Lexington

U.S. Army Reserve Center, Louisville

U.S. Army Reserve Center, Maysville

>

Louisiana:

Baton Rouge Army National Guard Reserve Center

Naval Support Activity, New Orleans

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Baton Rouge

Roberts U.S. Army Reserve Center, Baton Rouge

Maine:

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Limestone

Naval Reserve Center, Bangor

Naval Shipyard Portsmouth, Kittery

Maryland:

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Patuxent River

Navy Reserve Center, Adelphi

Pfc. Flair U.S. Army Reserve Center, Frederick

Massachusetts:

Malony U.S. Army Reserve Center

Otis Air Guard Base

Westover U.S. Army Reserve Center, Citopee

Michigan:

Navy Reserve Center Marquette

Parisian U.S. Army Reserve Center, Lansing

Selfridge Army Activity

W.K. Kellogg Airport Air Guard Station

Minnesota:

Navy Reserve Center Duluth

Mississippi:

Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant

Naval Station, Pascagoula

U.S. Army Reserve Center, Vicksburg

Missouri:

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Jefferson Barracks

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Kansas City

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, St. Louis

Marine Corps Support Center, Kansas City

Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Kansas City

Navy Reserve Center, Cape Girardeau

Montana:

Galt Hall U.S. Army Reserve Center, Great Falls

Nebraska:

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Columbus

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Grand Island

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Kearny

Naval Recruiting District Headquarters, Omaha

Navy Reserve Center, Lincoln

Nevada:

Hawthorne Army Depot

New Hampshire:

Doble U.S. Army Reserve Center, Portsmouth

New Jersey:

Fort Monmouth

Inspector/Instructor Center, West Trenton

Kilmer U.S. Army Reserve Center, Edison

SFC Nelson V. Brittin U.S. Army Reserve Center

New Mexico:

Cannon Air Force Base

Jenkins Armed Forces Reserve Center, Albuquerque

New York:

Armed Forces Reserve Center, Amityville

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Niagara Falls

Carpenter U.S. Army Reserve Center, Poughkeepsie

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Rome

Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Buffalo

Navy Reserve Center Glenn Falls

Navy Reserve Center Horsehead

Navy Reserve Center Watertown

Niagara Falls International Airport Air Guard Station

North Carolina:

Navy Reserve Center, Asheville

Niven U.S. Army Reserve Center, Albemarle

Ohio:

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Mansfield

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Westerville

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Dayton

Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport Air Guard Station

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Akron

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Cleveland

Parrott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Kenton

U.S. Army Reserve Center, Whitehall

Oklahoma:

Armed Forces Reserve Center Broken Arrow

Armed Forces Reserve Center Muskogee

Army National Guard Reserve Center Tishomingo

Krowse U.S. Army Reserve Center, Oklahoma City

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Tulsa

Oklahoma City (95th)

Oregon:

Navy Reserve Center Central Point

Umatilla Army Depot

Pennsylvania:

Bristol

Engineering Field Activity Northeast

Kelly Support Center

Naval Air Station Willow Grove

Navy Crane Center Lester

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Reading

North Penn U.S. Army Reserve Center, Norristown

Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station

Serrenti U.S. Army Reserve Center, Scranton

U.S. Army Reserve Center Bloomsburg

U.S. Army Reserve Center Lewisburg

U.S. Army Reserve Center Williamsport

W. Reese U.S. Army Reserve Center/OMS, Chester

Puerto Rico:

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Humacao

Lavergne U.S. Army Reserve Center, Bayamon

Rhode Island:

Harwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Providence

USARC Bristol

South Carolina:

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Charleston

South Naval Facilities Engineering Command

South Dakota:

Ellsworth Air Force Base

Tennessee:

U.S. Army Reserve Area Maintenance Support Facility, Kingsport

Texas:

Army National Guard Reserve Center No. 2, Dallas

Army National Guard Reserve Center (Hondo Pass), El Paso

Army National Guard Reserve Center, California Crossing

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Ellington

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Lufkin

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Marshall

Army National Guard Reserve Center, New Braunfels

Brooks City Base

Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Antonio

Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant

Naval Station, Ingleside

Navy Reserve Center, Lubbock

Navy Reserve Center, Orange

Red River Army Depot

U.S. Army Reserve Center No. 2, Houston

Utah:

Deseret Chemical Depot

Virginia:

Fort Monroe

Washington:

1LT Richard H. Walker U.S. Army Reserve Center

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Everett

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Tacoma

U.S. Army Reserve Center, Fort Lawton

Vancouver Barracks

West Virginia:

Bias U.S. Army Reserve Center, Huntington

Fairmont U.S. Army Reserve Center

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Moundsville

Wisconsin:

Gen. Mitchell International Airport ARS

Navy Reserve Center, La Crosse

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Madison

Olson U.S. Army Reserve Center, Madison

U.S. Army Reserve Center, O'Connell

Wyoming:

Army Aviation Support Facility, Cheyenne

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Thermopolis

Note:

The Supposed savings are 48 billion over Two Decades...for a grand savings of 2.4 Billion per year...which is small change for the U.S. government.

On the other hand, the Base Closings and the Lost Jobs, - THAT will be felt As soon as the cuts go into Effect, and that will take place SOON, not 20 years from now.

[GAO-05-785 ] PDF GAO REPORT: Military Bases Analysis of DOD's 2005 Selection Process and Recommendations for Base Closures and Realignments (You will note that within the first 3 pages, GAO states that the cost of the base closings will be more than Twenty Billion, and FURTHER, that the projected savings from the base closings...will actually come from JOB Elimination...over Twenty Years...)

In other words, the Cost to close the Bases is felt right away, but the theoretical benefits would acrue only over several decades. But Certain Forces seem to have a different agenda, regardless of the Cost or the National Defense.

1. [GAO-05-785 ] PDF GAO REPORT: Military Bases Analysis of DOD's 2005 Selection Process and Recommendations for Base Closures and Realignments

(Around 1.6 MB)

Read the Earlier 1995 GAO Report on Previous Base Closings (1988 to 1991): You Will Notice the Same Pattern, EVEN AFTER the Bases were closed:

The Economic Effects were Negative and Immediate, but the Benefits were THEORETICAL and Long Term. To add insult to Injury, the Property of the actual Bases was often handed to Realtors when the Government declared the Base properties to be "Surplus".

2. Military Bases - Case Studies on Selected Bases Closed in 1988 and 1991 -1995

(585 kb)

GAO Report on Bases (Brac) - Case Studies on Selected Bases Closed in 1988 and 1991 -1995