Bases Could Be Added to Closure List

[Eugene]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/07/19/national/w103753D73.DTL

Bases Could Be Added to Closure List

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

(07-19) 10:47 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

Military bases in 11 states and the nation's capital could be added
to the Pentagon's list of proposed closures and downsizings but any
such changes would be preliminary, the chairman of the commission
reviewing the plan said Tuesday.

Before voting on additions, Chairman Anthony Principi cautioned that
adding a base to the list "does not necessarily mean that the base
will be realigned or closed."

<snip>

The commission was slated to vote on whether to add to list for
possible closure: the Naval Shipyard at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; the
Marine Corps Recruit Depot and the Navy Broadway Complex, both in
San Diego; Moody Air Force Base in Georgia; the Naval Master Jet Base
Oceana in Virginia; and the Galena Airport Forward Operating Location
in Alaska.

They also were voting on whether to consider shutting down, rather
than simply scaling back forces as the Pentagon proposed, at the
Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine, Pope Air Force Base in North
Carolina, and Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota.

more...

[AndyTiedye]

1. Just In Time for the Vote on the Supreme Court Nominee

[phantom power]

2. I can feel our national security growing, day by day....

[slackmaster]

12. Navy Broadway Complex, San Diego contributes nothing to security

Looks to me like a move to hand the property over to developers so they can build more hotels and shops.

Marine Corps Recruit Depot - Duncan Hunter will finagle a way to save it.

[Robert Oak]

3. theory

I have a paranoid theory that the white house is shutting down bases
and making certain states vulnerable to attack in retaliation for the congress/governors of that particular state to not do things like..

pass CAFTA. Any correlation to red/blue or better yet (since the house is mostly Republican and still not wanting to pass CAFTA) correlation to their votes?

[Ian David]

4. Agreed! Hypothesis: The GOP thinks cities and urban centers are expendable

Hypothesis: The GOP thinks cities and urban centers are expendable
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1931548

[wli]

6. prepping for a nuclear 9/11 part 2?

These murderers will stop at nothing.

[Robert Oak]

10. be an interesting study

Although I don't think so much a "plan" to "wipe out those blue people"
but I can believe "political favors and threats" to get his latest
multinational corporate agenda passed.

It would be great if some graduate student in public policy ran the vote tallies and "flips" to what the administration gives the state as well as interviewed congress reps/senators.

[StrafingMoose]

7. Agreed...

Bush opens the door by abolishing borders patrols, immigration laws, lots of his people want no borders at all in North America and he closes military bases which would be used to prevent China from thrusting too deep in the Pacific if a war ever breaks between USA & them.

Definitively, they want USA to be hit hard for political gain.

[atreides1]

8. Well Speaking for myself

I will know whose fault it is and will act accordingly.

[pelagius]

17. I work for a government contractor...

...and the day they announced base closures I was in a conference room with serveral mid-level military officers. We were speculating about whether our base would be hit.

"The state went blue last election," I said jokingly, "so we're doomed, aren't we?"

Instead of laughing, one of the officers said, "It might be OK, the county went for Bush." He had a rather worried look on his face.

Later, we learned that our base has was going to lose about 5,000 jobs, but would not shut down.

My point being, you may be paranoid, but you're in good company.

[Thor_MN]

19. Ding Ding Ding, give that man a Kewpie doll....

Sorry about the formatting...

Net Gain/Loss of Military jobs, from original proposed list, Grouped by Blue State, Red State. Dem states lose 24K jobs, Repug states gain almost 12K.

-2018 California
-8586 Connecticut
91 Delaware
-6496 Distict of Columbia
-298 Hawaii
-2698 Illinois
-6938 Maine
9293 Maryland
491 Massachusetts
125 Michigan
-262 Minnesota
4 New Hampshire
-3760 New Jersey
-1071 New York
-1083 Oregon
-1878 Pennsylvania
531 Rhode Island
56 Vermont
760 Washington
-552 Wisconsin
-24289

2664 Alabama
-4619 Alaska
-550 Arizona
3585 Arkansas
4917 Colorado
2757 Florida
7423 Georgia
-659 Idaho
2197 Indiana
-6 Iowa
3582 Kansas
-3658 Kentucky
-1297 Louisiana
-1678 Mississippi
-3679 Missouri
-124 Montana
-213 Nebraska
1059 Nevada
-2849 New Mexico
-422 North Carolina
-2645 North Dakota
241 Ohio
3919 Oklahoma
709 South Carolina
-3797 South Dakota
1088 Tennessee
6150 Texas
-446 Utah
-1574 Virginia
-251 West Virginia
37 Wyoming
11861

[mbperrin]

5. Oh, boy!

and then they'll lead us in Kumbaya, right?

Wonder why they think they can stir up a worldwide shitstorm and then reduce bases?

[StrafingMoose]

9. By developing new high tech tactical nukes like they're doing?

:eyes:

[bikeboy]

11. What they really are doing

is talking the boys and girls from those bases and sending them over to Iraq because you know we aren't down sizing we're just moving things around...

criminals...

[StrafingMoose]

20. I find this quite a "red herring"...

They close bases to have people sway their attention toward "Oh Lord! They sending all these people down death row in Iraq" and think that the most awful thing this adminstration could do.

Given, it is awful. I don't think any soldier likes counter-insurgency wars.

But they didn't sign NPT in Nov 2004, and they ARE developing new tactical level nukes (nukes that a field commander can use at his will if he has them).

[peacefreak]

13. good smackdown for the "girls from Maine"

for not toeing the party line 100% of the time.

[Eugene]

14. Not entirely. Portsmouth may stay open.

The Pearl Harbor and Portsmouth shipyards
are in competition. BRAC may reconsider
closing Portsmouth and now Pearl Harbor
is in play.

[KamaAina]

15. Nope. Pearl's out of play -- barely.

http://starbulletin.com/breaking/breaking.php?id=3623

The vote was actually 5-4 against Pearl, but they needed 7 to add it to the list. A narrow escape for our last 5,000 industrial jobs.

Meanwhile the New England smackdown intensifies as Brunswick is now slated for full closure. Ye gods.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050719/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/base_closings;_ylt=AlnkYpYOxU3zzIz6cWbj2qes0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-

[peacefreak]

16. But they're reconsidering the stance on Brunswick

from half capacity to complete closure.

[newblewtoo]

18. Still touch and go for Portsmouth

Commissioners said today that they were not yet convinced the Maine shipyard should be closed.

“The issue on Portsmouth is whether we need the capacity, and we will study that,” said Skinner.



Willard said Portsmouth's record for efficiency and cost savings in repairing nuclear submarines is indisputable. However, he pointed out that aircraft carriers are able to dock at Pearl Harbor, giving it another strategic advantage since Pearl Harbor, unlike Portsmouth, can repair ships as small as tugs all the way up to aircraft carriers.


So if they determine there is excess capacity Portsmouth is gone.
:-(