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As the military prepares to close Fort Lawton, an Army Reserve base nestled in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood, a city proposal to develop a 200-home subdivision that includes housing for the homeless angers some residents. ___ A newly released city plan to redevelop the soon-to-be-closed Fort Lawton in Seattle calls for building a 200-home subdivision of market-rate and affordable housing on about 18 acres. At a final community meeting Saturday at Fort Lawton, those living near the Army Reserve base said they didn't oppose housing for the homeless, but they worried that the total number of homes proposed and the percentage...

Munitions pose no danger FORT KNOX — World War I-era munitions found at a construction site at Fort Knox pose no danger, Army ordnance experts determined. Construction workers at the site of the future Human Resources Center of Excellence discovered the mortar shells Friday while moving soil for a sewer system. As an additional safety measure, an expert from the Army Corps of Engineers was brought in to inspect the site and present the post with options for proper site clean up and disposal. Based on inspection findings, Col. Mark Needham, garrison commander, directed an ordnance expert be hired to...

Some Republicans groaned at Gov. Rick Perry's announcement that he plans to seek another term in 2010, but Mayor Bill White's camp reacted with glee. White has made no effort to hide the fact that he is looking to run for governor after being term-limited out of the mayor's office next year. And Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the biggest vote-getter in Texas history, has been more than hinting that she plans to "come home" to run for the same office. She outlined to Texas Monthly last November a plan to resign the Senate in 2009 to make the race, while...

Highways The Texas Department of Transportation plans to let contracts for $4.1 billion in construction in 2008 are in jeopardy after having to return around $950 million to Washington over the past 18 months. The mood in Austin is uncertain, although voters approved Proposition 12 in November, authorizing the next Texas Legislature in 2009 to issue up to $5 billion in bonds (paid from general revenue) to build highway projects. A required independent audit of the Texas Department of Transportation during 2007 recommended that the department “should continue to pursue Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDA) and toll pricing at levels that...

However slim, there may still be a chance to avert the closure of Fort Monmouth. New Jersey's U.S. Senators have introduced legislation that would trigger a reconsideration of major base closings that will cost far more than what was estimated during the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. The legislation will create a mechanism to require a re-evaluation of any major base realignment or closure should the actual cost exceed BRAC's estimated cost by more than 25%. The closing of New Jersey's Fort Monmouth is now expected to cost almost twice its original $780 million price tag. Menendez says,...

Cannot be posted because of copyright whine. Link

At the request of most members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation, the Government Accountability Office says it will look into whether faulty cost and savings estimates played a role in the 2005 decision to close Fort Monmouth by 2011. Henry L. Hinton, a managing director for the agency, confirmed on Tuesday that the agency was embarking on a review of the Defense Department’s estimates and how they have since changed. The 90-year-old Army post, which has not yet begun to be shut down, employs 5,000, generates $3.3 billion annually and supports 22,000 additional jobs in the state. In addition,...

MCAS Tustin has been reduced to rubble.  The enemy did not have to fire a single shot.   The Marines have been replaced with a 24+ Million dollar government housing project, a shopping mall, and a tract of overpriced McMansions       Got Socialism?   First wave of McMansions arrives at MCAS Tustin:      

SEATTLE - Facts are stubborn things. So are cherished beliefs - especially when they're shared by adversaries who, for reasons of their own, find them too convenient to shed. And among the greatest of our shared delusions is the belief that high oil prices accomplish something. They don't. Fortunately, there is a way to ease the crisis: BRAC it. However, before explaining what the Pentagon's Base Closure and Realignment Act has to do with the price of gas, it's necessary to define, then shred, the wrong idea that "the market" has much to do with fixing this mess. According to...

Army cautions figure is snapshot and could change ATLANTA - Army surveys show that 64 percent of civilian employees whose jobs will move as a result of Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations would follow the job, the Army's BRAC chief said Thursday. That's a snapshot of Army employees' feelings now, as the results of the 2005 BRAC begin to unfold, and isn't a guarantee, said Col. Bob Derrick, speaking to about 500 community leaders at the Department of Defense BRAC conference "Responding to Change." "That's the demographics we have today, but those could change," said Derrick, who is in...

ATLANTA, May 3, 2006 – With the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process shutting down 25 major installations and radically realigning 24 others over the next six years, a BRAC conference under way here is focusing on growth as well as downsizing, a defense official told reporters here today. "Traditionally when we've done these events, they've been very much closure-focused," said Philip W. Grone, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment. But this conference, he added, also features "a very healthy focus on growth." This is happening because many areas will gain substantial numbers of uniformed and civilian military...

ATLANTA, May 3, 2006 – More than 900 people representing organizations with a stake in how the Base Realignment and Closure process goes forward are gathered here this week to discuss the implications of the 2005 BRAC round. The conference brings together officials from the White House, Defense Department, individual service branches, various federal departments and agencies, and state and local leaders from areas affected by past and ongoing BRAC actions. Philip W. Grone, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, noted that nearly all of the 22 federal agencies working on BRAC-related issues have representatives here. "In my...

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2006 – When the premier medical centers from the Army and Navy merge into one joint facility in Bethesda, Md., in 2011, the rich heritage and world-class treatment reputation of Walter Reed Army Medical Center will continue under the same name at a different location, the hospital's commander said here April 30. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission announced the Defense Department initiative to close Walter Reed on May 13, 2005. The famed military medical facility, which is a monument to a long tradition of patient care, medical research and educational development, will continue its legacy...

Congressional appropriators expressed concern Wednesday that there will be a lack of funding for the military services to implement recommendations reached through the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. Successful implementation will require a hefty financial commitment, but fiscal pressures could reduce the funding available, said Rep. James Walsh, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Appropriations Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, at a hearing. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, ranking member of the subcommittee, said he is concerned that the real BRAC costs will be significantly higher than originally estimated. Implementation of the 182 base closure and realignment recommendations...

The federal government is all but forcing Virginia Beach to condemn private property in order to keep Oceana Naval Air Station, home to the Navy's fighter/attack squadron of F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets. But this isn't some ugly twist on the Kelo eminent-domain case. For years, Virginia Beach has mostly ignored legitimate Navy concerns that its pilots could crash in residential areas under development near the base. But the city has chosen to let development proceed apace and -- though it certainly did not intend to -- heightened the danger by allowing ever-larger structures and increasing population density. So the...

Fort turns 64 on a sad note By ADD SEYMOUR JR. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 11/05/05 Carl Rhodenizer didn't know where Atlanta — let alone the Atlanta General Depot — was located when the Army sent him here in 1951. But the Virginia native grew so close to "The Depot," now known as Fort Gillem, that he never again lived more than five miles from the base. That's why Fort Gillem's 64th anniversary party on Friday evoked sadness for some longtime Clayton County residents. With the base scheduled to close, there won't be many more celebrations. "It's been a...

WASHINGTON – The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow the first round of U.S. military base closures and consolidations in a decade, clearing the way for facilities across the country to start shutting their doors as early as next month. In a 324-85 vote, the House refused to veto the final report of the 2005 base-closing commission, meaning the report seems all but certain to become law in mid-November. Targeted facilities then would have six years to close their doors and shift forces as required under the report. Both the House and Senate must pass resolutions rejecting the report to...

Germany's Rhein-Main Air Base Closing By MATT MOORE, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago The runways that once helped feed a blockaded Berlin, bade Elvis farewell after his Army service and provided the first glimpse of freedom for hostages returning from Iran now stand empty. A hub of U.S. military activity for decades, Rhein-Main Air Base is being given back to Germany and its logistical functions taken over by bases at Ramstein and Spangdahlem. Ceremonies set for Monday will mark the handover, which will take until the end of the year. "The mission has moved," said U.S. Air Force Col....

WASHINGTON (AP) - Military housing, airport hangars, equipment and power lines were heavily damaged at six military bases across Louisiana and Mississippi, forcing nearly $1 billion in emergency repairs, according to base personnel and other defense officials. A Navy facility in New Orleans is partially flooded and all but essential personnel are still evacuated. Hurricane winds and heavy rain slammed other bases, but many are up and running now..... There have been no reported military casualties. A federal base closing commission had voted earlier to shut down one of the damaged bases, Naval Station Pascagoula, as well as the inpatient...

White House Loses Appeal on Base ClosingFriday September 9, 2005 12:31 AMBy GINA HOLLAND Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The base closing commission hit a snag Thursday over the deadline for its recommendations to the White House, as the administration lost a last-minute bid to get the Supreme Court to intervene and protect the panel's plan. What was to be a routine paperwork delivery of those proposals to President Bush was threatened by a cross-country legal fight. Judges in Connecticut and Tennessee blocked the panel from recommending changes at local Air National Guard bases. The Tennessee decision was overruled...

WASHINGTON (AP)--The U.S. Supreme Court was asked Thursday to block a federal panel from sending to President George W. Bush its recommendations for closing or realigning hundreds of military bases nationwide. Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., filed the request for an emergency stay with Justice David H. Souter, who could handle the matter himself or request a vote of the eight remaining justices. In court papers, lawyers representing Corzine and other New Jersey state and congressional officials said they wanted a temporary reprieve so that they could file a full appeal of the decision by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A federal judge on Wednesday granted the state's request to block the federal base commission's recommendation to realign the Bradley Air National Guard Base. U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello granted a temporary injunction to prevent the commission from including the Bradley realignment in its recommendation to President George W. Bush. "The court is of the opinion that the governor of Connecticut would suffer significant hardship if consideration were to be withheld, as once the recommendation is submitted to the president, the governor's claim that her authority has been abrogated ... is not subject to judicial review,"...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed Gov. Rod Blagojevich's lawsuit aimed at stopping the military from moving fighter jets from Illinois to Indiana. Judge Jeanne Scott ruled that Illinois had suffered no economic loss or breakdown in security because a federal commission's recommendation to move 15 F-16s to a base in Fort Wayne, Ind., is not final. In a statement, Blagojevich said that the "battle to do what is right for Illinois and our country is certainly not over." But a spokesman said aides had not yet decided on the next step. The Democratic governor argued that...

TRENTON, N.J. — A coalition of local and state officials, unions, contractors and soldiers on Friday filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a federal panel's decision to close Fort Monmouth. The lawsuit alleges the process that aims to close the Army post was flawed, and asks a federal judge to prevent the Base Realignment and Closure Commission from presenting to the president the list of bases slated for closure. "We're doing this for the men and women overseas whose lives depend on the work at Fort Monmouth. If they're fighting for us, we think we shouldn't give up on them,"...

In a speech Wednesday at the National Small Business Conference in Washington, President Bush proffered the idea of converting closed military bases into oil refineries. He promised to "direct federal agencies to work with states" to spur refinery-building and "to simplify the permitting process for such construction."

Aug 26, 2005, 3:16 PM The Department of Defense took its final vote on Ft. Huachuca. It will not be one of 33 major bases closed, but it will be one of the 29 bases realigned.That means a loss of 371 jobs.The DOD is moving the communications security division from Ft. Huachuca to a base in Maryland, taking those 300-plus jobs with it.It's a tough move for families, but experts say it will have little impact on the base, considering the 12,000 other positions at Ft. Huachuca remain intact. Sierra Vista's city manger also projects little trickle-down economic impact.Mary Jacobs, Sierra Vista Assistant City Manager says, "What...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2005 – The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission wrapped up four days of deliberations in final actions Aug. 26 and 27 by voting to turn Pope Air Force Base, N.C., into an Army airfield and recommending sweeping recommendations to revamp the Air National Guard and consolidate its operations. The nine-member commission deviated significantly from the Pentagon's proposed plan to realign the Air Guard, passing a recommendation that would ensure every state with an existing Air Guard unit would retain at least some Guard aircraft. Specific details of the plan, including charts used in the deliberation, are...

County officials acknowledged this week that Arlington did about as well as could be hoped in the recommendations made by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, or BRAC. While the commission’s recommendation to President Bush could result in moving 18,000 defense-related jobs out of the county, Arlington will retain several key research agencies. Under the recommendation, which heads to the president on Sept. 8, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Office of Scientific Research and Army Research Office will remain in Arlington, keeping about 2,000 highly specialized jobs in the county. The commission...

WASHINGTON and BRUNSWICK, Maine — Almost as far back as Don Russell can recall, planes from the nearby naval air station have roared overhead, an audible assurance of security, especially since the Sept. 11 attacks. <-- SNIP --> Some wonder whether the military, by leaving so many places where it has long been a part of the community, is setting itself up to become too remote from the very people it is charged with protecting. This changes the calculus on everything from defense budgets to recruiting and retention.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) sat tense, crouched and glowering as the base-closing commission delivered its verdict about Ellsworth Air Force Base in the ballroom of a Crystal City hotel yesterday, then leapt up gleefully when the bomber base's death sentence was commuted. The 44-year-old's political career may have been spared as well. Last fall, Thune unseated Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) in part by claiming that a Republican tight with the White House would have a better chance of saving the perennially impaired Ellsworth, a Cold War arsenal in the middle of the prairie. So it was potentially...

For those who may not know her, we have a long-time FREEPER who has at last returned to us after a long and arduous recovery from some difficult health problems. When she was previously active, many of us valued her wit and ideas. Her handle is YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS. WELCOME BACK, ROSE!!! Rosie has come up with an idea on how to handle the illegal alien problem and has asked that I post her idea for her. I can take no credit at all for it; it is purely her idea! YELLOW ROSE'S IDEA Instead of closing the military...

Now that the results are in, the Finance center in Limestone not only stays open, but grows to about 700 from a bit under 500. Those stationed at Limestone both Military and civilian are delighted. Brunswick Naval Air Station is going to be closed, and that is the big story ehre. For while the Civilian work force is hanging their collective heads, saying "oh woas me, oh woas me, what did Bush do to us now?" The Officers and Men assigned to NAS Brunswick are delighted. Why? Well the why concerning the civilian workforce is pretty easy, they are going...

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Pentagon had broken the law in seeking to close down the 111th Fighter Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard without first obtaining the governor's approval. The ruling was a victory for Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, who challenged the Pentagon's plan to close the fighter wing at a naval base near Philadelphia. The disputed closure, which would cost more than 1,200 jobs, is part of round of planned domestic military base reductions. The case was closely watched by other U.S states affected by the program because it could set...

BRAC commission just voted to keep Cannon AFB open until December 31, 2009, but with no mission. Existing fighter wings will be transfered as proposed by DOD. If the AF/DOD does not find a mission by that time, it will be closed. Vote was 6-1-2 recusals. Links coming up

WASHINGTON - The base closing commission voted Friday to keep open Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota — rejecting the Pentagon's plan to close it — as the panel labored toward conclusion of a politically delicate task that has brought alternating sighs of relief and exasperation in communities across America. The surprise decision was a setback for Pentagon leaders, a blessing for South Dakotans who feared losing some 4,000 jobs, and a victory for Sen. John Thune and the state's other politicians who lobbied vigorously to save the base. Thune, a freshman Republican, unseated then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle...

Panel spares S. Dakota air base, senator relieved Fri Aug 26, 2005 12:48 PM ET By David Lawder WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - A military panel on Friday voted to keep open South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Base, a decision that overturned a Pentagon recommendation and spared the state's Republican senator a major political defeat. The decision to preserve the base for the Cold War-era B-1 bomber was a victory for Sen. John Thune, a freshman Republican who beat former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle last November based on his claims that he would be better placed to save the facility....

Commission Votes to Save Ellsworth Base By LIZ SIDOTI Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The base closing commission voted Friday to keep open Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota - rejecting the Pentagon's plan to close it - as the panel labored toward conclusion of a politically delicate task that has brought alternating sighs of relief and exasperation in communities across America. The surprise decision was a setback for Pentagon leaders, a blessing for South Dakotans who feared losing some 4,000 jobs, and a victory for Sen. John Thune and the state's other politicians who lobbied vigorously to...

By Liz Sidoti, The Associated PressEuropean edition, Thursday, August 25, 2005 J. Scott Applewhite / AP With fate of the Navy submarine base at New London, Conn., at stake, Anthony J. Principi, center, chairman of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, leads the vote to keep the Atlantic Coast sub facility, rejecting the Department of Defense recommendation for closure, during the BRAC hearing in Arlington, Va., Wednesday. The verdict ... Stars and StripesThe nine-member Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted Wednesday to shutter major Army bases in Georgia and Michigan, and to close nearly 400 Army Reserve and National Guard...

ANCHORAGE—The Base Realignment and Closure Commission on Thursday rejected the Pentagon’s proposal to place Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks on “warm” status. Instead, commissioners recommended keeping the 354th Fighter Wing’s F-16 fighter planes at the base instead of distributing all fighter aircraft to installations outside Alaska. The base's A-10s would be relocated to Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. The 168th air refueling wing, a National Guard unit, would remain at home as well. “I don’t think it can be kept in warm status,” said commission member James Hansen before the vote was taken. “It would be rather foolish...

McLEAN, Va. (AP) - A federal commission voted Thursday to move tens of thousands of military and civilian defense jobs from the close-in suburbs of northern Virginia to military bases outside the Capital Beltway despite concerns that such a massive jobs shift could create traffic nightmares. In May, the Pentagon recommended to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission that 23,000 military and civilian defense employees working in leased office space in the suburbs of Alexandria and Arlington County be relocated to military bases outside the Capital Beltway, including Fort Belvoir, Va., Fort Meade, Md., and Quantico Marine Corps Base, Va....

The legendary Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, considered by many as the centerpiece of Army hospitals, will close as a result of a decision Thursday morning by a federal panel. City leaders and health care officials reacted with little surprise, but much frustration, over losing the nearly 100-year-old hospital. D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, speaking on WTOP's "Ask the Mayor" program, said, "You can't be happy about this if you live in the District of Columbia or work at Walter Reed. But we knew we had an uphill struggle here. They were set to do it their way."...

BRAC’s ultimatum comes with big price tag By KERRY DOUGHERTY, The Virginian-Pilot © August 25, 2005 You’ve got to hand it to members of the Virginia Beach City Council. Their timing is exquisite. On the night before we learned that their canoodling with developers had led to the almost inevitable realignment of Oceana, six members of that embarrassing body voted themselves big fat pay raises. We always knew they were shameless. Now it looks like they’ve gone mad. Frankly, no council in Virginia was ever less deserving of a pay hike. I don’t care what shade of lipstick Beach officials...

Just reported on Fox News. Will merge its mission into Bethesda Naval Hospital which is nearby. Good decision: A bad, poorly located campus that needs updating really badly....has needed it for decades.

When then-House Republican backbencher Dick Armey came up with the concept of an independent base-closing commission in the mid-1980s, the idea was to make it easier for the political system to do the right thing... As we're seeing in the current round of base closings, even the Armey method is having a hard time surviving the ability of Members to sabotage the process.... The Pentagon has proposed closing a record 62 major bases and 775 small installations to save $48.8 billion over 20 years and reposition the armed forces to face current threats.... Before the Brac Commission was even in...

WASHINGTON - Tennessee Congressional Democrats are backing Gov. Phil Bredesen in his lawsuit to stop the Defense Department from moving a Nashville-based airlift wing's planes to bases elsewhere in the country. But Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee won't join them, saying a Bredesen victory would undermine the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure process. At issue is the Pentagon's recommendation to strip the 118th Airlift Wing of equipment and personnel, including its C-130 transport planes, which would be relocated to Kentucky, Illinois and Texas. Bredesen's suit argues it is against federal law for an Air National Guard unit to...

WASHINGTON - The commission weighing the Pentagon's plan to restructure hundreds of U.S. military bases on Wednesday spared an Army depot in Texas and a submarine base in Connecticut from being shut down. However, as it began final voting Wednesday with lightning speed, the panel agreed with Pentagon proposals to close several other major bases elsewhere and approved most of the recommendations made by the Army and the Navy. Many were changes at relatively small facilities.The nine-member panel chose to keep open the Red River Army Depot in Texas and Submarine Base New London in Connecticut, against the Pentagon's wishes.The...

Texas, Connecticut Spared Base Closings By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer The commission weighing the Pentagon's plan to restructure hundreds of U.S. military bases on Wednesday spared an Army depot in Texas and a submarine base in Connecticut from being shut down. However, as it began final voting Wednesday with lightning speed, the panel agreed with Pentagon proposals to close several other major bases elsewhere and approved most of the recommendations made by the Army and the Navy. Many were changes at relatively small facilities. The nine-member panel chose to keep open the Red River Army Depot in Texas and...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Overruling the Pentagon on two of its biggest requests, a commission reviewing base closings voted to keep open a shipyard and a submarine base in New England that military planners wanted to shut down. The panel also spared the Red River Army Depot in Texas against Pentagon wishes. The commission voted to save the Portsmouth shipyard at Kittery, Maine, and Submarine Base New London in Connecticut, two economic engines of their region and the subjects of intense lobbying to save them. In another reversal, the commission decided to close Naval Air Station Brunswick in Maine, rather than...

WASHINGTON -- By an 8-0 vote Wednesday, the Base Closure Commission approved shutting down the Concord Naval Weapon Station -- a decision that local officials had lobbied for claiming they needed the land for new homes and commercial development. Concord is celebrating the centennial of the town's incorporation this year, and Mayor Laura Hoffmeister said having the base released would be a new beginning "because we've got 20 to 30 years of development opportunities out in that area. It certainly will be a new chapter in our next 100 years of history." Meanwhile, commissioners weighing the Pentagon's plan to restructure...

Commission Votes to Close Five Army Bases By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 9 minutes ago The commission considering the Pentagon's proposal to restructure hundreds of U.S. military bases voted to shut down five major Army bases in Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan. As it began final voting Wednesday with lightning speed, the nine-member panel also signed off on closing nearly 400 Army Reserve and National Guard facilities in dozens of states, creating instead new joint centers. The commission decided to side with the Pentagon in closing Fort Gillem and Fort McPherson in Georgia, Fort Monroe in Virginia, the...