[flixxx]

Pretty harsh from Novak...too bad for Thune but wasn't the purpose of the BRAC to take the politics out of the decisions and base the closings on the best available evidence???

[Jim_Curtis]

Put all of our bases on the border.

[DB]

Where military bases are shouldn't be a matter of politics.

If the military wants to close a base because that's what's best for military operations and/or cost benefits then so be it.

Needless pork from the White House is not what I voted for. We have far too much of that already coming from the White House.

If Thune's career depends on needless military bases then as a tax payer I say too bad.

[Cicero]

I'm not always an admirer of Novak, but I'm afraid he's right on this one. Especially telling is this paragraph toward the end of his column:

North Dakota's Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, two of the most partisan Democrats in the Senate, were able to save Grand Forks Air Force Base even though it fell below Ellsworth in most measurements. Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman's firm received $400,000 from the city of Grand Forks to argue its case. An Air Force old boy exercised more clout than a rising GOP politician.

[Vicomte13]

The Republicans' star is dimming in general, over right-to-life issues, over the border, over runaway spending, over the handling of the war. It is painful to watch, but these wounds are self-inflicted.

[fallujah-nuker]

Consolidating all our military into fewer bases will also save the chicoms money, fewer aimpoints needed to disarm their enemy. I remember one of the first bases cut by BRAC was Loring AFB up in Maine, one cost cited was a million dollars per year for snow removal. It was the closest base in ConUS to Europe and it was closed!

It could have been maintained as a standby base at least, with a reserve unit based there for snow removal. Would have been a good base for a couple TDY's in summer, a squadron could have gone TDY and brought their families when the kids were out of school. Lots of recreational opportunities for military families in good weather.