WASHINGTON — The Pentagon thinks it has a winning argument for why Congress should allow a new round of military base closings. The case goes like this: The Army and Air Force have vastly more space for training and basing troops than they need, and trimming the surplus would save money better used to strengthen the military.
Congress, however, has its own logic: Closing bases can hurt local economies, which can cost votes in the next election. Besides, some lawmakers say, the Pentagon has cooked the books to justify its conclusions or at least has not finished doing the math.
In a little-noticed report to congressional leaders this month, the Pentagon offered a detailed analysis — the first of its kind in 12 years — that concludes the military will have an overall 22 percent excess of base capacity in 2019. The Air Force will have 32 percent surplus, the report says.
No bases were named in the analysis.
Officials at Columbus Air Force Base, where the military trains pilots, did not respond to messages by press time.
A representative for Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi told The Dispatch that the discussions are very preliminary, and have not reached the point to where the base would be involved.
Not the first time
Base capacity is the total amount of acreage or work space available to support military forces at places such as a training range, an air base, a weapons storage site or an office building.
“Spending resources on excess infrastructure does not make sense,” Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work wrote leaders of the relevant congressional committees on April 12. The letter was meant to support the Obama administration’s case for a bipartisan base-closing authority, known as a Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC). This mechanism, meant to take politics out of the process, was used during the 1990s and again in 2005, but not since.
Former Columbus mayor Fred Hayslett was about two years out of the office when the 1995 BRAC galvanized the community to protect CAFB.
Hayslett told The Dispatch on Monday a committee, consisting of three or four people, drew broad support in the months leading up to a presentation in Georgia. Hayslett said the community raised about $100,000 to pay consultants, trips to Washington, D.C., and other needs as the process played out.
Hayslett said Columbus’ close ties to CAFB aren’t necessarily unique, among communities that host military bases. But he said the Pentagon and lawmakers should weigh the effects of removing bases from communities.
“Every community has a story with the importance of the base to the community,” he said. “Those that did not have a relationship with their bases in any branch of service — those have already been closed. Those that are open are extremely important to and have a good relationship with the communities where they’re located.”
Hayslett pointed out that the Air Force base brings many people to Columbus who might not otherwise come to the city. That, as a result, diversifies the city by introducing new cultures, or demand for retail or types of food that might not otherwise be available.
“We have a tremendous amount of people who are retirees who live here that probably wouldn’t be her if the base wasn’t here,” Hayslett said. “They add a lot to the community and to the schools, churches and whatever jobs they’re in.”
Unlikely
The Pentagon has not said a lot publicly about its latest pitch to Congress for another commission, perhaps because it sees little chance of success.
Nearly every year the Pentagon asks Congress for authority to convene a base-closing commission. The answer is always the same: not this year.
And probably not anytime soon, either.
Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran said it’s unlikely that this year’s request will go anywhere.
“The repeated requests from the Defense Department for another round of base realignment and closure, or BRAC, have been met with resistance for a number of reasons, including the uncertainty of short and long-term costs and savings associated with previous base closures,” Cochran told The Dispatch. “It is unlikely that the Congress will agree to the request for another BRAC this year. I will continue to work with our delegation and state and local officials to see that military installations in Mississippi remain well positioned to carry out their national security missions.”
Rep. Trent Kelly (R-Mississippi), in an emailed statement, said he does not believe the Pentagon’s report provides the impetus to look into closing bases.
“The Department of Defense Infrastructure Capacity Report for 2016 does not provide adequate information to determine how another round of base closures would be decided or executed,” said Rep. Kelly. “This is an issue I will be following closely, as it impacts the citizens of the First District and our state.”
Alternative
The Pentagon may have to wait at least another year before Congress is willing to open the door to base closings, but it has some limited authority to act on its own. The study sent to Congress hinted at this by stating that BRAC is the fairest approach to resolving the surplus problem.
“The alternative is incremental reductions” as the Pentagon cuts spending at military installations. Those spending cuts, it added, “will have an economic impact on local communities without giving them the ability to plan effectively for the change.”
Dispatch reporter Alex Holloway contributed to this report.
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