BRAC is finally upon us. Rumsfeld is to deliver his recommendations to the 9-member BRAC commission next week, probably Friday.
The chairman of the independent commission that will review the Pentagon's list of recommended military base closings warned Tuesday that the impending decisions would be "tsunamis in the communities they hit."
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is to deliver his recommendations to the commission next week, probably Friday, in the first round of base closings in a decade and one that Mr. Rumsfeld seeks to make a cornerstone of his plan to remake the military into a leaner, more agile force.
While the Pentagon has said it has nearly 25 percent more capacity than what the armed services need and that all 425 domestic bases are under scrutiny, Mr. Rumsfeld said recently that the 70,000 troops returning home from Europe over the next several years would soften the blow for scores of communities nationwide.
A top Pentagon official . . . said that there were working lists of proposed base closings and realignments circulating at senior levels but that Mr. Rumsfeld had not yet been briefed on a final set of recommendations.
The military value of a base, particularly its impact on fighting wars, training and combat readiness, as well as the potential cost savings, are among the major criteria that Pentagon analysts have used in their calculations. The panel members and their 90 staff members will use that criteria in their review.
A final roster of cuts and other changes, prepared by the commission, is due Sept. 8. Mr. Bush and Congress must then accept or reject the list by Nov. 7.
In four previous base-closing rounds, 85 percent of the Pentagon's findings were endorsed.
(5-4-05, The New York Times.)
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is to deliver his recommendations to the commission next week, probably Friday, in the first round of base closings in a decade and one that Mr. Rumsfeld seeks to make a cornerstone of his plan to remake the military into a leaner, more agile force.
While the Pentagon has said it has nearly 25 percent more capacity than what the armed services need and that all 425 domestic bases are under scrutiny, Mr. Rumsfeld said recently that the 70,000 troops returning home from Europe over the next several years would soften the blow for scores of communities nationwide.
A top Pentagon official . . . said that there were working lists of proposed base closings and realignments circulating at senior levels but that Mr. Rumsfeld had not yet been briefed on a final set of recommendations.
The military value of a base, particularly its impact on fighting wars, training and combat readiness, as well as the potential cost savings, are among the major criteria that Pentagon analysts have used in their calculations. The panel members and their 90 staff members will use that criteria in their review.
A final roster of cuts and other changes, prepared by the commission, is due Sept. 8. Mr. Bush and Congress must then accept or reject the list by Nov. 7.
In four previous base-closing rounds, 85 percent of the Pentagon's findings were endorsed.
(5-4-05, The New York Times.)
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