Pentagon urges closing 33 major US military bases

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Friday recommended the closure of 33 major domestic US military bases and the realignment of 29 more, threatening a hard economic blow to many communities across the United States.

"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," Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a statement.

Numerous other smaller facilities also were recommended for closing as Rumsfeld gave a nine-member Defence Base Realignment and Closure Commission his recommendations to shut about one in 10 of the 318 major bases in the United States and its territories.

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.

The head of the commission earlier this month acknowledged the big impact, saying there "will be tsunamis in the communities they hit." Many communities mounted frantic lobbying efforts to try to save their local bases.

Mike Wynne, undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics, said the Pentagon recommended closing or realigning a 775 other smaller military locations.

Rumsfeld did not participate in the briefing.

The Pentagon said its recommendations would result in US$5.5 billion ($7.74 billion) in recurring annual savings and a net savings of US$48.8 billion over 20 years.

Total defence savings, combined with those anticipated by realigning US forces worldwide, would be US$6.7 billion a year and US$64.2 billion after costs over 20 years, the Pentagon said.

Wynne said the process of actually closing the bases would cost about US$24 billion.

Coinciding with the domestic base-closing process, the Pentagon is working on plans to shift roughly 70,000 troops stationed abroad, primarily in Europe but also from South Korea, back to domestic US bases.

At the same time, the United States has a major commitment of combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of the 33 major bases to be closed, the Army would have the largest number at 14, followed by 10 for the Air Force and nine for the Navy. But facilities for the Army's foot soldiers would grow at 18 of its bases compared to growth at 14 each for the Air Force and Navy.

The commission will evaluate Rumsfeld's plan and make possible additions or subtractions. Their list, in turn, will be sent to Bush by Sept 8. If he accepts that plan, he would forward the list to Congress, which can approve or reject it entirely but not make changes.

The previous four rounds of domestic base closings, in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995, resulted in the closure of 97 major facilities and many more closures and consolidations of smaller bases. None of the prior rounds involved closing more than 28 major bases.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush's focus was on the affected communities. "We want to make sure that they have the assistance they need to transition once these decisions become final," McClellan said.

- REUTERS