Announcement puts troops southward bound

Southern and Western bases benefited because of their lower costs.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon outlined a plan Friday to close 33 major domestic military bases and transform 29 others in a cost-saving makeover that gives the military an increasingly Southern accent.
If approved without major changes, the fifth round of base closures, proposed by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, would move thousands of troops and their equipment from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and, to a lesser extent, the West.
The cutbacks outlined by the Pentagon largely preserve combat forces and targeted support units, in a move that military analysts said was spurred by the Bush administration's focus on a global campaign against terrorism.
The proposal, which goes to an independent Base Realignment and Closure Commission and eventually to Congress, is more nuanced than ever. It would reduce the number of major bases from 318 -- under a new, narrower definition -- to 285, in line with major cuts from previous years.
Along with the major closures and tweaks came recommendations for 775 minor closures and realignments, more than triple the 235 adjustments made in the past four rounds of base closures combined.
The changes conform to Rumsfeld's plan to refashion a Cold War military into a nimbler, leaner force. They put a premium on coordination and combining the various armed service branches at one site. They also consolidate National Guard and Reserve troops with active-duty troops.
Hard-hit areas
Although the planned cutbacks were far smaller than Pentagon strategists had forecast a few months ago, they hammered many Northern and Midwestern states.
The biggest losers would be Connecticut, with 8,586 fewer military and civilian jobs; Maine with 6,938; and the District of Columbia with 6,496. South Dakota would lose 3,797, New Jersey 3,760 and Missouri 3,679. Massachusetts defied the trend. It would gain 491 jobs and keep the endangered Hanscom Air Force Base. Rhode Island would gain 531.
"When Connecticut loses more jobs than California, it's a good year for California," said Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va., public policy institute. California, which was devastated in the past four rounds of base closures, would lose 2,018 jobs -- a fraction of the 93,000 it lost in the past four rounds.
The proposed closures include several well-known military installations throughout the Northeast that employ thousands of troops and civilian personnel: New London submarine base in Connecticut, Portsmouth naval shipyard in Maine and Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.
The Pentagon's decision to shutter northern bases was due in large part to the lower cost of the more spacious southern and western states, defense officials and military analysts said.
Gainers
The biggest gainers were farther south, including Maryland, just below the Mason-Dixon line, with a likely net increase of 9,293 jobs; Georgia with 7,423; and Texas with 6,150.
The region will benefit from a movement of troops from Europe. The domestic realignment of the U.S. military was coordinated closely with the Pentagon's plan to overhaul where U.S. troops are stationed abroad.
The Pentagon is shutting some of its biggest bases in Europe and relocating the bulk of two entire Army divisions based in Germany -- the 1st Armored Division and the 1st Infantry -- back to the United States. Most of these troops will move to Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Riley, Kan., officials said.
Western states generally fared comparatively well, either gaining jobs or losing small numbers. Colorado would gain 4,917, and Washington state 760. Oregon would lose 1,083, Idaho 659 and Utah 446. Alaska was the exception, in terms of large losses, facing the prospect of losing 4,619 jobs. Guam would lose 95 positions.
Politics
The major bases the Pentagon recommends shuttering include Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and Naval Station Pascagoula in Mississippi. The news marked an enormous political blow to their respective Republican champions in the Senate: John Thune, R-S.D., and Trent Lott R-Miss.
Thune, who won an election against former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in November, said repeatedly during the campaign that his strong ties to the White House would help ensure that Ellsworth survived the round of base closures.
Yet the South Dakota base, which houses half the U.S. fleet of B-1 bombers, fell victim to a shifting strategic environment. With the Cold War-era bomber out of vogue at the Pentagon, military planners saw less need to keep Ellsworth open.