[CPEO-MEF] LA Times series on base closure

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The Los Angeles Times has been running a major series about the 2005
round of base closures and its anticipated impact on California. Since
Times articles are available free of charge for one week, some of the
links below my expire soon.

LS

***


Least 100 Bases Said to Be in Line for Closure:
John Hendren. Los Angeles Times

October 14, 2003

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is planning to close at least 100
of the nation's 425 military bases -- more than in the four previous
rounds of base closures combined -- beginning in 2005, Pentagon insiders
said Monday.

Rumsfeld is expected to submit to the congressional Base Closure and
Realignment Commission a plan to shutter as many as one-third of Army
bases, one-quarter of Air Force bases and a smaller fraction of Marine
Corps and Navy bases, a senior defense official said on condition of
anonymity.

Such a proposal would guarantee a political firestorm on Capitol Hill,
where lawmakers jealously protect the bases in their home states or
districts.

...

See http://www.latimes.com/la-na-bases14oct14,1,4789345.story


***


Fight Looms Over Base Closing Plan

State officials from the congressional to local levels intend to oppose
shutdowns by Pentagon.

By Richard Simon and Tony Perry
Times Staff Writers

October 15, 2003

WASHINGTON — California's officials are gearing up to fight a fresh
round of base closings that could eliminate scores of military
installations across the country in 2005.

Although no list of the next bases to be closed has been put together,
members of the California delegation are working to limit the impact of
new base closures on the state.

"From California's perspective, God almighty, we gave at the bank more
than any other state," said Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Riverside).

Officials fear that several California bases scrutinized in the last
round of base closings will be vulnerable. Among them: China Lake Naval
Air Weapons Station, in the Mojave Desert, and Beale Air Force Base,
north of Sacramento. In San Diego, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, the
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Headquarters, and the submarine
fleet's squadron 11 at the Point Loma Naval Base were identified at risk
by a consultant to the city.

But California is not the only state preparing to fight back. Others,
too, are planning lobbying campaigns to save bases seen as important
sources of income and employment.

...

See http://www.latimes.com/la-me-bases15oct15,1,262765.story


***


EDITORIAL

Big Risk in Cutting Troops


October 16, 2003

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has experience at creating lean
organizations. When he became president of the pharmaceutical
conglomerate G.D. Searle & Co. in 1977, his first move was to sell off
20 of the company's businesses. 

He has wanted to apply the same concept to the federal government for
years, writing in a 1995 essay for the business-oriented Heartland
Institute, "Whatever Congress does to downsize the federal government,
the odds are that it should have done more, rather than less, and that
it should have done it sooner, rather than later." He noted admiringly
that Scott Paper Co. had "cut 71% of its headquarters staff, 50% of
management and 20% of hourly employees." 

Rumsfeld's expected proposal, reported by Times staffer John Hendren on
Tuesday, to close at least 100 of the remaining 425 military bases
beginning in 2005 is in that mold. Rumsfeld has made a leaner, more
technological military a focus of his Cabinet service.

But although some additional base closings are justified, a military
already unable to field sufficient forces in Iraq and Afghanistan may
not be helped by shuttering nearly 25% of its bases. The criteria for
base closings have not been revealed, but, to the anger of uniformed
officers, they are believed almost certain to include troop cuts. 

...

See
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-defense16oct16,1,7765741.story 


Closure of Marine Boot Camp in San Diego Seen as Unlikely

The chairman of a key House panel says the depot is cost-effective. But
L.A. Air Force Base in El Segundo is seen as vulnerable.

By Tony Perry and Richard Simon
Times Staff Writers

October 16, 2003

SAN DIEGO — The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said
Wednesday that it is highly unlikely that the Marine Corps Recruit Depot
here will be recommended for closure and that he would oppose such a
move if recommended.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) said the depot, which trains 21,000
recruits a year, has proved its cost-effectiveness and its sizable
contribution to military readiness.

Of several California military installations thought by consultants and
others to be at risk of closure in an upcoming round of military
cutbacks, the recruit depot is probably the best known. Opened in 1923,
it is one of two Marine boot camps nationwide.

Hunter said that the depot's proximity to Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps
Air Station Miramar and San Diego Navy bases made it "an invaluable
asset." With its 12 major bases and other facilities, San Diego County
has the greatest concentration of U.S. military troops of any region in
the country.

"San Diego is the complete military complex," Hunter said.
"Historically, those assets that are most vulnerable are those that are
limited or 'niche.' That's not San Diego."

...

See http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-depot16oct16,1,5022110.story 


***


Ventura County on Alert Over New Round of Base Closures

Members of Congress and local leaders hope recent changes at Point Mugu
will help keep it off the Pentagon's list.

By Amanda Covarrubias Times Staff Writer

October 18, 2003

In the years since federal officials decided to spare the Point Mugu
naval base in 1995, a coalition of economic and political leaders has
worked behind the scenes to ensure that Ventura County's military
installation stays open.

Those leaders will face another test in 2005, when base-closure
commissioners are scheduled to shutter more stations across the country
and the competition by states to keep theirs open grows tighter.

In the last decade, Ventura County officials introduced a number of
changes designed to make Naval Base Ventura County more valuable to West
Coast military efforts. They include combining the operations of the
Point Mugu Naval Air Station, a testing site for missiles fired by naval
aircraft, and the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center, one
of two Seabee bases in the United States.

But whether the new and improved Naval Base Ventura County can survive
next time around remains to be seen as states and counties across the
nation prepare to fight for their bases, which are seen as important
sources of income and employment.

Point Mugu had been on a list for closure in 1995 but was spared after
heavy lobbying by local officials, including U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly
(R-Simi Valley), who said he was willing to again fight local base
closures.

...

See
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-vcbase18oct18,1,1587741.story 


-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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