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Politics and a bit of superstition are likely to move up the Pentagon's date for announcing what military bases will be closed or realigned.

The list could be announced as early as Tuesday, May 10.

Federal law requires the Pentagon to publish the base closure list in the Federal Register by no later than May 16. Pentagon officials, however, are worried that the list could leak out over the weekend before it's published that Monday morning.

Additionally, the Pentagon normally contacts lawmakers whose bases stand to lose jobs in advance of the official announcement. They would be easier to reach during the week in Washington rather than having to track them down over the weekend, when many return to their home states.

The solution seemed simple enough: Announce the list on Friday, May 13. However, Defense officials said they worried about the headlines that would be generated by announcing base closings on the notoriously hard-luck day. Now, the Pentagon is weighing announcing it on May 10, 11 or 12.

Whenever the list is announced, other steps in the base realignment and closure process will remained unchanged. The independent BRAC commission is expected to hold 15 hearings across the country on the list before making final recommendations to the president by Sept. 8. The president either can reject the list or send it to Congress by Sept. 23. Lawmakers have 45 legislative days after that to approve or reject the list in its entirety.

Military communities across the country have been closely watching the BRAC process for clues as to whether their installations will remain open. The Pentagon had once projected that a quarter of all military bases would close, but recently has downplayed those estimates, saying the closings may not be as severe as forces are moved from Europe and Asia back to the United States.

Meanwhile, President Bush announced in a speech Wednesday that some military bases that are closed could be used to house oil refineries to help ease the nation's energy crunch. The Associated Press reported that Bush has ordered the Energy Department to step up discussions with communities near such bases to try to get refineries built.

COMMENTS

• If the list is finished, release it. Quit playing games. Playing games however is what the secret society in charge of DoD is all about. They especially like to play the "go away, go away, come back, come back" game. GovExec.com reader Posted May 3, 2005 1:00 PM
• Our motto has become "doing less with less". A year ago my office was full speed ahead supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraqi. Everyone was tired and overworked. And right in the middle of this mess a Bush goon from DC shows up asking questions about downsizing. What an insult. The CO was absolutely livid. Since then they've already cut 20% of our staff and plan to let more go. Those that remain take on the additional load. Yet, the the last straw was when they decided to save money by cutting janitorial services. Now the staff is also spending time taking out trash and cleaning the floors. Many people have even started buying their own toilet paper! Needless to say, morale is at an all time low. Bush talks grandiosely about bringing democracy to the world. Yet, the truth is he can't even provide armor and simple things like toilet paper to his own people. What's wrong with this picture? GovExec.com reader Posted April 29, 2005 3:57 AM
• Why, Why do these people like to play GOD with our lives? So let me get this straight. Annnounce that there will be a BRAC that is going to be the mother of all BRACs, keep us all in the dark. Then finally they will release it sometime in May. Make us all have a nervous breakdown worrying about all of these unneeded closings, but they are not affected by any of it. I am raising my grandchild, supporting my elderly mother and work a part-time job in addition to my full-time government job. I cannot, like many others afford to lose my job. Maybe we should all pack our baga and go camp out at BUSH'S AND RUMMYS FRONT DOOR. GovExec.com reader Posted April 28, 2005 4:22 PM