Defense Secretary William Cohen stepped up the Pentagon's push for two additional base closure rounds Thursday with a report hailing the success of the first four rounds.
"The Report of the Department of Defense on Base Realignment and Closure" highlights towns where bases were closed but new jobs were created to offset the loss of federal funds in the communities.
"We know the impact of the previous rounds our military has incurred, and it's been positive," Cohen said. "We know that closing bases is very hard, but the alternatives are far worse."
At South Carolina's Charleston Naval Air Base, former DoD civilians have found jobs with new tenants, including Charleston Marine Manufacturing, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Postal Service. At Fort Devens in Massachusetts, 2,178 DoD civilian jobs were replaced by 3,000 jobs with organizations, including Gillette and a federal prison medical facility.
Cohen also said DoD now estimates it will save $25 billion in operating costs by 2003 from the first four rounds of base closures. From the year 2003 on, the department will save $5.6 billion a year. Those savings estimates are 29 percent higher than than estimates made in 1993.
If Congress approves two additional base closure rounds for 2001 and 2005, DoD would save $21 billion from 2008 through 2015, Cohen predicted.
Cohen said that despite the first four rounds of base closures, during which 97 major installations were targeted for shutdown, infrastructure reductions have not kept pace with overall Defense downsizing.
For example, the Navy will reduce its fleet by 46 percent from 1989 to 2003, but the service will reduce its piers and support facilities by only 18 percent. The Army will reduce its classroom space by 7 percent during the same period, while Army personnel will drop by 43 percent.
The Pentagon is trying to convince a wary Congress that base closures are a necessity. Members of Congress have turned cold to additional base closures, partly because the lawmakers fear political repercussions, and partly because they were angered by President Clinton's interference in base closures at Kelly Air Force Base in Texas and McClellan Air Force Base in California. Some members have also argued that DoD should wait until the current closure rounds are completed in 2001 before planning new rounds.
"Some opponents suggested that we should wait for the right time, until the first four rounds are completed," Cohen said. "My answer is, there is no right time for base closure."
But the Pentagon has agreed there is a wrong time. Originally, Cohen had recommended holding the next round of closures in 1999, but DoD has revised its recommendation so that the next round would be held after the 2000 presidential election.
Cohen added that Congress must consider the country's long-term military readiness over short-term concerns.
"It's easy for me to say, 'Fine, if you don't want to have more [closures], it won't affect me immediately. I'll only be here another two and a half years,' " Cohen said. "My obligation is to leave my successor a plan that will allow that successor to continue to promote the national security interests of this country."
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