US to close 33 military bases
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also recommended a list of scores of other domestic installations - including 29 major bases - that will remain open but with thousands fewer troops. Dozens of others will gain troops from other domestic or foreign bases.
Overall, he has said his plan would save $48.8 billion over 20 years while making the military more mobile and better suited for the global effort against terrorism.
Rumsfeld’s proposal calls for a massive shift of US forces that would result in a net loss of 29,005 military and civilian jobs at domestic installations. He proposes pulling 218,570 military and civilian positions out of some US bases while adding 189,565 positions to others, according to the Associated Press.
The closures and downsizings would occur over six years starting in 2006.
“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,” Rumsfeld said in a written statement.
Among the major closures were Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, at a cost of 2,700 jobs, the Naval Station in Ingleside, Texas, costing more than 2,100 jobs, and Fort McPherson in Georgia, costing nearly 4,200 jobs.
Base closures represent a high-stakes political fight, because they affect jobs in congressional districts.
