[blaquebyrd]

I'd trust the Pentagon's numbers, they are not politically motivated. The panel knew what their marching orders were going in and they cooked the numbers to back their position. The Pentagon goes through a very thorough process based on needs of the military to come up with their recommendations. It gets screwed up when civilians get their hands on it and they use the list as political bargaining chips. That's why we waste money maintaining old installations whose only purpose is to provide a source of income for the community. It's another form of big government welfare spending.

[for-q-clinton]

See my post #34 for the things the Military tries. They know they have to give up something so they chose some bases that they know will cost way too much to close. And then declare they didn't know of Chemical X or Ammo Y buried there.

[NonValueAdded]

Yeah, if the error was that huge on Ellsworth, wouldn't that call into question ALL of the savings estimates? Savings are nice but has anyone put forth a strategic argument for keeping the base open or closing it? Not that we'd want a complete public discourse on our strategerie but I would like to think that was of equal if not more importance than just the dollars. And I don't mean the political strategerie, either!

Personally. I'd think a heartland location would provide enough time to deal with almost all forms of attack save a space-based attack. plus there is the polar route to the most likely destinations for the bones to consider. All our eggs in one Texas basket would be too vunerable to SLCM nukes, would it not?

[jillym]

You say you'd trust the Pentagon more than the BRAC commissioners???? What are you smoking? The panel is completely independant. In fact, the Pentagon did NOT follow 4 out of the 6 criteria used to close a base. I have followed this from the very beginning and have been to many meetings, etc here as I live in Rapid City, SD near Ellsworth. Another statement of fact is that Ellsworth has a 95% efficiency rating in their training missions....Dyess AFB where they were going to move the rest of the B1's is less than 40% efficiency. Plus, Dyess AFB has a bunch of lawsuits pending due to "noise complaints."

[RinaseaofDs]

No sir, nothing political going on at the Pentagon with respect to picking which bases to close or how savings are being caluculated. No command turf wars going on, or rivalries between Generals and Admirals. Nothing of the sort.

When I was in the CG, if John Breaux said jump, the Commandant would ask how high, and Breaux wasn't the only one. Yost before him was worse.

Life after Admiral or General is what a lot of these guys are interested in.