Pentagon base closing is Rumsfeld’s strategy to revamp the military

The Pentagon proposed Friday shutting about 180 military installations from Maine to Hawaii including 33 major bases, triggering the first round of base closures in a decade and an intense struggle by communities to save their facilities.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also recommended a list of scores of other domestic installations including 29 major bases that will remain open but with thousands fewer troops. Dozens of others will gain troops from other domestic or foreign bases.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced today that the department’s recommendations to close or realign military facilities in the United States will better position U.S. forces to confront this century’s threats.

The recommendation, if fully implemented, will generate an estimated net savings of nearly $50 billion over the next two decades. When combined with the anticipated savings from overseas basing realignments around the world, the projected net savings increases to $64. 2 billion.

“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.

Mike Wynne, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics said the process of actually closing the bases would cost about $24 billion.

Rumsfeld’s plan calls for a massive shift of U.S. forces that would result in a net loss of 29,005 military and civilian jobs at domestic installations. Overall, he proposes pulling 218,570 military and civilian positions out of some U.S. bases while adding 189,565 positions to others.

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.

Many National Guard and Reserve bases will close and their functions will be consolidated at active-duty installations or other reservist bases. Maintenance depots, research laboratories and hospitals now operated by each of the armed services will be merged. The U.S. Army’s Walter Reed Medical Center, for example, and the navy’s Bethesda Naval Hospital are expected to share some operations.

After more than two years of exhaustive study, this round of base closings, the first in a decade, are an integral part of Rumsfeld’s overarching strategy to revamp the military into a leaner, more agile force.

Rumsfeld sought to allay fears in many communities that closings could leave thousands of people out of work. He cited examples of closed bases that have been converted into commercial airports and economic centers. And he pledged that the Defense Department would provide retraining for workers and economic aid.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld forwarded the department’s recommendations to the nine-member BRAC Commission that will hold public hearings and visit bases through the summer.

The commission will then forward its report on the recommendations to the president by Sept. 8, 2005.

The president will have until Sept. 23, 2005, to accept or reject the recommendations in their entirety.

If accepted, Congress will have 45 legislative days to reject the recommendations in their entirety or they become binding on the department.