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Pentagon Plan to Cut Bases Derailed

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Times Staff Writer

The commission deciding the future of U.S. military bases voted Wednesday to block the proposed shutdown of two major installations in New England, a major reversal for a Pentagon plan that critics said would have “demilitarized” the Northeast.

The move by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission came as a dramatic and unusual rebuke of the Bush administration’s approach to restructuring the nation’s defenses, and it marked the sharpest disagreement between the Pentagon and any review panel in 17 years of military cutbacks that were triggered by the end of the Cold War.

Rejecting the Defense Department’s plan to leave New England without a major active-duty military presence, the commission overturned the recommendation to close the Naval Submarine Base New London at Groton, Conn., and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

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The moves would have affected 13,000 military and civilian employees.

The commission’s action followed several months of hearings at which panel members heard appeals from state officials supporting local military bases who disputed Pentagon economic and military projections.

But the decisions made by the base closing commission also highlighted differences between many defense experts and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over his emphasis on a lighter, faster and more lethal military. In the case of the Connecticut submarine base, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, three former chiefs of naval operations and other retired high-ranking Navy officers opposed the Pentagon’s recommendations, said Anthony J. Principi, the chairman of the base closure commission who was the secretary of Veterans Affairs during President Bush’s first term.

The reversals were the most prominent in an era of sweeping changes to the Pentagon’s blueprint for the nation’s future military base structure. The commission also reversed the Pentagon’s proposal to close the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Norco and disagreed with other recommendations.

“I think they have shown they are independent,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who attended the first of several days of the base closure commission’s final deliberations.

The Pentagon issued its recommendations for base closures and reorganization in May after the various military branches studied their future needs. Under federal law, the president appoints a nine-member panel in consultation with congressional leaders -- the law requires he consult with Republican and Democratic leaders -- to review the recommendations.

After acting on the Pentagon’s recommendations, the commission will give Bush its report Sept. 8. He may forward it to Congress or send it back to the commission, but the final reorganization plan must go to Congress by Nov. 7.

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In its first day of formal votes, the commission set aside Rumsfeld’s concern that it would be “risky” to make changes to the Pentagon’s recommendations. Retired Air Force Gen. Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton, a Connecticut resident, disputed the Defense secretary’s findings that the New London submarine base represented excess capacity. Newton called it “a first-class facility,” adding, “It’s the flagship of the submarine facilities.

“I find it would be a big mistake to close this facility at this particular time,” he said.

Principi “strongly” agreed and rejected Pentagon arguments that other submarine bases in Virginia and Georgia provided sufficient space for a force of about 55 fast-attack vessels.

“New London submarine base is more than piers and parking spaces for nuclear-powered submarines,” Principi said. “It is truly the center of excellence in submarine warfare.”

Principi said the submarine base with surrounding support facilities “would be very, very difficult to replicate at another location.”

Both Principi and Newton said emerging threats from Asia required continued naval readiness, apparently referring to China’s growing navy.

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“If we close New London down, we will never get it back,” Principi said. “I believe it would be a tragic mistake, a tragic loss to this nation, if this recommendation was to be approved.”

Commissioner Samuel K. Skinner, who served as chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, criticized Rumsfeld for not presenting panel members with other submarine options, including the possibility of closing one of the other East Coast bases.

“I think the secretary picked the wrong one to eliminate,” Skinner said. “It is the center of excellence. It has been the center of excellence. I wish the secretary had chosen another one.”

The decisions to save the two New England bases, as expected, drew euphoric praise from Northeastern lawmakers.

“Simply put, the commission did not accept the Navy’s contention that there is enough excess capacity,” Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) said. “I commend the commission for doing their own analysis of shipyard capacity.”

Acting on other California installations, the base closure panel voted to give the Navy until Jan. 1, 2007, to settle on a redevelopment plan for the 14-acre Navy Broadway Complex on the San Diego waterfront, a process that is underway.

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That decision was hailed by Rep. Susan A. Davis (D-San Diego) and Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins as a victory for the city, the port district and the Navy. Local officials had worried that the commission would put the complex on the closure list, which could have scuttled the redevelopment plans.

San Diego-area officials were also pleased by the commission’s decision to endorse closing Naval Station Ingleside in Texas and relocate 10 ships to San Diego.

“This is what the city and the Navy both wanted. It provides for the continuing redevelopment of San Diego’s downtown waterfront, as well as for a new headquarters for the Navy’s southwest region,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said.

Feinstein noted that votes today or Friday could cut other California sites. Commission action is expected on the Naval Postgraduate School and the Defense Language Institute, both in Monterey.

The scope of the alterations and the brisk pace of the commission’s work left analysts and lawmakers predicting major changes to the Pentagon’s proposed list. Review panels in four previous base-closing rounds have altered an average of about one-sixth of the administration’s recommendations; this year’s commission may revise one-fourth.

On Wednesday, panel members decided to keep open the Red River Army Depot in Texas, a facility the Pentagon wanted to close, and to close the Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine, which the Pentagon had planned to keep open with reduced staffing. And they gave Virginia a year to pass laws to halt growth around the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach or lose the base.

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Holding out the possibility that Oceana’s work would be shifted to the now-closed Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Fla., Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who attended Wednesday’s session, said: “The state and the city of Jacksonville are prepared to make a commitment that this is a viable long-term option. Cecil Field is the optimal master jet base.”

There were political overtones to other decisions facing the commissioners. They approved a Pentagon recommendation to close Pascagoula Naval Station in Mississippi, long protected by politicians including Republican Sen. Trent Lott, who has clashed with the White House in recent years.

Also facing the panel this week is a decision on the fate of Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, which the Pentagon has recommended be shut. Freshman Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) had pledged to protect the base as a key plank in his campaign platform last year en route to unseating Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

Pentagon officials declined to comment on specific cuts, but said they expected the commission to make changes.

As the commission began voting at a suburban Washington hotel on the future of more than 800 military facilities around the country, a broad assortment of senators, governors, mayors and lobbyists paced the ballroom, awaiting word on the fate of bases in their states and towns.

Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf sat expressionless, three local television cameras trained on her face, as panelists deplored encroaching development that threatened the viability of Oceana Naval Air Station.

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“I’m relieved and happy that the base is not closed,” she said afterward. “Obviously we have homework to do.”

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Times staff writer Tony Perry in San Diego contributed to this report.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Out of cross hairs

A military base closure commission rejected the Pentagon proposal to shut two major New England bases. A look at the bases that most likely will remain open:

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Location: Kittery, Maine

Opened: 1800

Current function: Overhauls and repairs mostly nuclear-powered submarines

Jobs potentially affected: 4,510

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Naval Submarine Base New London

Location: Groton, Conn.

Opened: 1916 (was a Navy yard since 1872)

Current function: Supports attack submarines and the Navy’s nuclear research deep submersible

Jobs potentially affected: 8,460

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Sources: Department of Defense, GlobalSecurity.org

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