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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...-home-headlines
Pentagon Seeks Closure of Scores of Bases Nationwide
By Tony Perry
Times Staff Writer
7:15 AM PDT, May 13, 2005
The Los Angeles Air Force Base, the language facility at Monterey, and major Navy and Marine Corps bases in San Diego were spared in the Pentagon's list unveiled today of bases proposed for closure.
"California has done very well in this round" of closures, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said today.
Defense Secy. Donald Rumsfeld was scheduled to unveil the complete list of 150 closures this morning.
California's biggest job loss appears to be the Naval Surface Center in Corona, which employs 900 workers, and is listed for closure.
Several smaller installations in California, however, were today slated for closure or realignment.
The weapons station at Seal Beach and a Naval support facility in Corona should be closed, and Beale Air Force Base near Yuba City will be realigned. Also, the Naval Base Ventura is slated for realignment, with a possible loss of 1600 jobs.
Military finance and accounting offices in Concord, San Bernardino, San Diego and Seaside would be closed. Also the Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Centers in Los Angeles and Encinio and the Onizuka Air Force Station.
Numerous California bases will receive additional personnel, including Edwards Air Force Base, Fort Hunter-Liggett, the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Pasadena, Naval Air Station in Lemoore, and Vandenburg Air Force Base.
An estimated 1600 personnel at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego's Balboa Park will be shifted to other facilities.
For months the acronym BRAC (pronounced "brack") has struck fear into officials in communities near military bases coast to coast.
Nowhere has that apprehension been higher than in California, which has more military facilities than any other state. The Golden State also led the nation in bases closed and jobs lost in four previous post-Cold War rounds of the Base Realignment and Closure process.
In an effort to save as many bases as possible, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November formed the California Council on Base Support and Retention, whose co-chairman was longtime Washington insider Leon Panetta, a former member of Congress.
In the cutbacks of 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995, local officials complained of a lack of support from Sacramento. The council was meant to provide a "united front" for the state.
California has 30 major bases and dozens of smaller installations, spread from the Sierra Army Depot in Lassen County to the massive Navy and Marine Corps installations in San Diego.
The state has nearly 200,000 military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense. Defense spending tops $40 billion a year in California.
For months, civic officials, politicians, and lobbyists have prowled the corridors of Washington to plead the case to save California's bases.
Boosters attempting to save the Los Angeles Air Force Base spent more than $1 million on consultants and lobbyists. In San Diego, the figure was $800,000.
"This is a significant development for national security and great news for California's economic health and well-being," said Redondo Beach Councilman John Parsons, co-chairman of a group that fought to convince the Pentagon to leave the Los Angeles Air Force Base untouched.
The base employs 4500 civilian and military workers and pumps $8 billion a year into the regional economy. Officials in Colorado had tried to convince the Pentagon to move the base to their state where the base's parent command is located.
Only one community, Concord, east of San Francisco, took the opposite approach: Advocating that its base, the semi-closed Concord Naval Weapons Station be closed entirely so that the property can be used for residential and commercial development and a greenbelt.
Although the Pentagon's list is meant to be only the beginning of the process, 85% of bases targeted by the Pentagon in the past have been closed
The nine-member Base Realignment and Closure commission plans hearings across the country on the Pentagon list.
Headed by former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, the commission has until Sept. 8 to forward a list to President Bush. Bush must either accept or reject the list in its entirety by Sept. 23.
If Bush accepts the list, the issue goes to Congress which must act within 45 legislative days. If Congress disagrees with Bush, both houses must enact a joint resolution of disapproval, if not the list becomes law.
If Bush rejects the commission's list, the commission can submit a revised list.
Previous cutbacks have emphasized cost savings. But for this round, issues of military value top the list of priorities being used by the Pentagon to develop its list.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said that he wants a leaner, faster military, although officials have sometimes found his comments hard to interpret.
"You know how the secretary loves a good surprise," said John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org, a think-tank devoted to assessing military trends.
Pentagon Seeks Closure of Scores of Bases Nationwide
By Tony Perry
Times Staff Writer
7:15 AM PDT, May 13, 2005
The Los Angeles Air Force Base, the language facility at Monterey, and major Navy and Marine Corps bases in San Diego were spared in the Pentagon's list unveiled today of bases proposed for closure.
"California has done very well in this round" of closures, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said today.
Defense Secy. Donald Rumsfeld was scheduled to unveil the complete list of 150 closures this morning.
California's biggest job loss appears to be the Naval Surface Center in Corona, which employs 900 workers, and is listed for closure.
Several smaller installations in California, however, were today slated for closure or realignment.
The weapons station at Seal Beach and a Naval support facility in Corona should be closed, and Beale Air Force Base near Yuba City will be realigned. Also, the Naval Base Ventura is slated for realignment, with a possible loss of 1600 jobs.
Military finance and accounting offices in Concord, San Bernardino, San Diego and Seaside would be closed. Also the Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Centers in Los Angeles and Encinio and the Onizuka Air Force Station.
Numerous California bases will receive additional personnel, including Edwards Air Force Base, Fort Hunter-Liggett, the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Pasadena, Naval Air Station in Lemoore, and Vandenburg Air Force Base.
An estimated 1600 personnel at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego's Balboa Park will be shifted to other facilities.
For months the acronym BRAC (pronounced "brack") has struck fear into officials in communities near military bases coast to coast.
Nowhere has that apprehension been higher than in California, which has more military facilities than any other state. The Golden State also led the nation in bases closed and jobs lost in four previous post-Cold War rounds of the Base Realignment and Closure process.
In an effort to save as many bases as possible, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November formed the California Council on Base Support and Retention, whose co-chairman was longtime Washington insider Leon Panetta, a former member of Congress.
In the cutbacks of 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995, local officials complained of a lack of support from Sacramento. The council was meant to provide a "united front" for the state.
California has 30 major bases and dozens of smaller installations, spread from the Sierra Army Depot in Lassen County to the massive Navy and Marine Corps installations in San Diego.
The state has nearly 200,000 military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense. Defense spending tops $40 billion a year in California.
For months, civic officials, politicians, and lobbyists have prowled the corridors of Washington to plead the case to save California's bases.
Boosters attempting to save the Los Angeles Air Force Base spent more than $1 million on consultants and lobbyists. In San Diego, the figure was $800,000.
"This is a significant development for national security and great news for California's economic health and well-being," said Redondo Beach Councilman John Parsons, co-chairman of a group that fought to convince the Pentagon to leave the Los Angeles Air Force Base untouched.
The base employs 4500 civilian and military workers and pumps $8 billion a year into the regional economy. Officials in Colorado had tried to convince the Pentagon to move the base to their state where the base's parent command is located.
Only one community, Concord, east of San Francisco, took the opposite approach: Advocating that its base, the semi-closed Concord Naval Weapons Station be closed entirely so that the property can be used for residential and commercial development and a greenbelt.
Although the Pentagon's list is meant to be only the beginning of the process, 85% of bases targeted by the Pentagon in the past have been closed
The nine-member Base Realignment and Closure commission plans hearings across the country on the Pentagon list.
Headed by former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, the commission has until Sept. 8 to forward a list to President Bush. Bush must either accept or reject the list in its entirety by Sept. 23.
If Bush accepts the list, the issue goes to Congress which must act within 45 legislative days. If Congress disagrees with Bush, both houses must enact a joint resolution of disapproval, if not the list becomes law.
If Bush rejects the commission's list, the commission can submit a revised list.
Previous cutbacks have emphasized cost savings. But for this round, issues of military value top the list of priorities being used by the Pentagon to develop its list.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said that he wants a leaner, faster military, although officials have sometimes found his comments hard to interpret.
"You know how the secretary loves a good surprise," said John Pike, director of globalsecurity.org, a think-tank devoted to assessing military trends.
