Cheney Seeks to Close 31 Major Bases in U.S. : Military: Long Beach Naval Station among 11 affected California facilities. State would lose 27,000 jobs.

Citing a shrinking military force and declining defense budgets, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney on Friday proposed padlocking 31 major U.S. military bases.

The proposed list includes several California installations, including Ft. Ord in Monterey, Castle Air Force Base in Merced, the Marine Air Station at Tustin, the Long Beach Naval Station and the Navy’s Moffett Field in Sunnyvale.

In all, 11 California facilities would close, resulting in the net loss of nearly 27,000 military and civilian jobs and thousands of additional jobs in retail and service businesses in the affected communities, officials said.

The list touched off an expected storm of criticism from lawmakers, who expressed concern that the list was politically motivated and that the closings would wreak economic havoc in their districts.

Cheney stoutly defended his recommendations, saying that over the next five years the U.S. military would shrink by 25%--roughly 500,000 men and women--and that he could not justify keeping open all of the nation’s 495 major military posts.

If the current list is accepted, 47 major bases will be closed by 1997, nearly 10% of the nation’s total. The figure includes the 31 closings recommended by Cheney Friday and 16 bases to be shuttered under legislation approved in 1989.

“Smaller forces need fewer bases. It’s as simple as that,” the secretary said at a Pentagon press conference. “If we leave base closing up to the communities affected or to the members of Congress affected, there won’t be any bases closed. I get paid to make these kinds of decisions.”

Cheney proposed closing 31 major bases and 12 minor facilities and reducing manpower at 28 others. The actions would involve substantial short-term costs for relocation and environmental restoration efforts, but would save the Pentagon an estimated $850 million over the next five years, and $1.7 billion a year after that.

The Pentagon already has begun to close 86 domestic installations and 198 foreign bases under previous consolidation efforts. A plan presented last year to close an additional 55 U.S. bases--including many of the same posts on Friday’s list--collapsed in a hail of partisan recriminations last fall. Congress then created an independent commission to review the Pentagon’s proposal and forward its recommendations to the White House and Congress.

Cheney said Friday that he would not permit funds for military training, equipment and personnel benefits to be diverted to keep redundant bases open. Such use of resources, he said, would represent a return of the “hollow force” of the late 1970s, when ships could not sail and aircraft could not fly because of lack of funds.

“The bottom line,” Cheney said, is that “a hollow force gives you Desert One instead of Desert Storm.” Desert One was the code name for the disastrous 1980 effort to rescue the U.S. hostages in Tehran.

California’s two senators, however, questioned the rationale behind shuttering the state’s facilities and vowed to challenge the recommendations before the eight-member panel created to review the Pentagon’s list.

While agreeing that some unnecessary bases should be closed, Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston expressed concern that the Bush Administration might be targeting bases in Democratic-controlled areas for closure. “I will be urging the newly formed base closure commission to review these recommendations thoroughly and without prejudice,” Cranston said in a statement.

California’s new GOP senator, John Seymour, said that he would challenge the closing of Ft. Ord, urging the commission to conduct a public hearing in Monterey on the proposal.

“Closing Ft. Ord does not serve the national interest,” Seymour said. “As our military operation in Panama demonstrated so dramatically, the 7th Light Infantry is working well. In my view, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The Army, citing the high cost of property and the limited training room in Monterey, plans to transfer the 7th Division to Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Congressmen from Washington to Pennsylvania likewise complained about the Pentagon’s list. Each argued that his particular naval base, airfield or Army post represented a critical economic benefit and a significant historical presence in its community. Many also intimated that the list intentionally punished Democrats.

Cheney rejected that argument, saying that the lists had been drawn up by the military services based on eight criteria spelled out in legislation passed in November. He said that he has no idea how many bases are in districts represented by Democratic or Republican lawmakers.

“Let me assure everyone that we’ve been extremely careful to make certain that there has been no political ‘spin,’ if you will, involved in this effort,” Cheney said. “The last time we came up with a list of potential bases for closure, there were some comments on Capitol Hill that somehow we’d done a political number on my friends on the other side of the aisle. That was not true then; it’s certainly not true today, either.”

He said that affected California districts are represented by both Democrats and Republicans and noted that both Seymour and Gov. Pete Wilson are Republicans.

“So the suggestion that somehow there’s any political benefit to be gained from hitting any one of these states strikes me as just goofy. It simply isn’t true,” Cheney said.

Among other major facilities recommended for closing are Ft. McClellan, Ala.; Ft. Chaffee, Ark.; Lowry Air Force Base, Colo.; the Naval Training Center at Orlando, Fla.; Moody Air Force Base, Ga.; Ft. Benjamin Harrison and Grissom Air Force Base, Ind.; England Air Force Base, La.; Loring Air Force Base, Me.; Ft. Devens, Mass.; Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Mich.; Philadelphia Naval Station, Pa.; Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, S.C.; Bergstrom and Carswell Air Force bases in Texas, and the Naval Air Station at Whidbey Island, Wash.

The outcries were predictable. “It looks like the (Department of Defense is) declaring war on Pennsylvania today,” said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

“We intend to fight this one. It’s a kick in the teeth for our economy at a time when we’re flat on the mat,” said Rep. Chester G. Atkins (D-Mass.).

Georgia’s Moody Air Force Base “is one of the finest tactical fighter bases in the country and this action will be a severe blow to the Valdosta community,” said Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.).

Under the 1990 legislation that created the independent Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, here’s what happens next:

Cheney will formally present his list to Congress and the commission, which has until July 1 to review the recommendations. The panel, chaired by former Republican Rep. James A. Courter of New Jersey, will hear testimony from lawmakers, military officials, citizens and business representatives before forwarding its conclusions to the White House.

The President must accept or reject the list by July 15. If he concurs, he sends it directly to Congress for action. Or he can send it back to the commission for as much as four weeks of further study.

After Congress receives the final list, it has 45 days, or until the end of the current session, to approve or disapprove the entire list. It cannot amend it.

While Cheney said that the Pentagon has no current plans to propose additional base closings, the law provides for submission of further eliminations in 1993 and 1995.

Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, predicted that Cheney’s current list would survive the process virtually unscathed.

He said that a quick study indicated the list is balanced between bases represented by Democrats and Republicans. By contrast, he said, all but a handful of the 55 bases on last year’s list were located in areas represented by Democrats.

“This one is not so bad,” Aspin said. “Nineteen bases are in Democratic districts, 14 are in Republican districts and one of them is a split district.”

Aspin predicted that Congress, after a suitable interval of hand-wringing, would buy the new list. “The odds are that the vote will be yes,” because the number of lawmakers unhappy with the list will be offset by those who are relieved that their bases didn’t get axed and who recognize the need to cut defense spending, he said.

Staff writers Paul Houston and Helaine Olen contributed to this story.

Targeted Closures in California

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney has proposed shutting 31 major military bases nationally. Here is a look at the 11 California facilities that may be closed. Hunters Point Annex Area: 515 acres Function: Dry docks for ship building and repair Personnel: 6 active duty and 18 civilians Commissioned: 1941, annexed to Treasure Island in 1987 Moffett Field Naval Air Station Area: 2,000 acres Function: Headquarters of the Commander Patrol Wings Pacific Fleet Personnel: 5,500 active duty and 2,500 dependents and 1,400 civilians employees Commissioned: 1933 Fort Ord Area: 28,057 acres Based here: 7th Infantry Division Personnel: 15,000 active duty and 7,000 civilian employees Commissioned: 1940 Sacramento Army Depot Area: 485 acres Function: Electronics repair facility Personnel: 500 active duty and 3,200 civilian employees Commissioned: 1946 Castle Air Force Base Area: 3,257 acres Based here: 93rd Bombardment Wing Personnel: 5,000 active duty with 13,000 dependents and 1,261 civilian employees Commissioned: 1941 Long Beach Naval Station

Area: 263 acres Based here: 38 ships Personnel: 16,000 active duty and 936 civilian employees Commissioned: 1942 Tustin Marine Corps Air Station Area: 1,600 acres Based here: Marine Aircraft Group (MAG)-16 Personnel: 3,500 active duty and 150 civilian employees Commissioned: 1943 Minor Facilities: Naval Space Systems Activity, Los Angeles. Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center, Vallejo Integrated Combat Systems Test Facility, San Diego Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center, San Diego

Source: Department of Defense and military installations.

Compiled by Times editorial researcher Michael Meyers

CHENEY’S HIT LIST

These are the 43 military bases recommended for closing by Defense Secretary Dick Cheney: ARMY

Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind.

Fort Chaffee, Ark.

Fort Devens, Mass.

Fort Dix, N.J.

Fort McClellan, Ala.

Fort Ord, Calif.

Sacramento Army Depot, Calif.

Harry Diamond Lab Woodbridge Research Facility, Va. NAVY

Chase Field Naval Air Station, Texas

Hunters Point Annex, Calif.

Long Beach Naval Station, Calif.

Moffett Field Naval Air Station, Sunnyvale, Calif.

Orlando Naval Training Center, Fla.

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Pa.

Philadelphia Naval Station, Pa.

Sand Point (Puget Sound) Naval Station, Wash.

Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, Calif.

Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, Wash.

Davisville Construction Battalion Center, R.I.

Naval Space Systems Activity, Los Angeles

Integrated Combat Systems Test Facility, San Diego

Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Centers in San Diego and Vallejo, Calif.; St. Inigoes, Md., and Charleston, S.C.

Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center, Washington, D.C.

Naval Ocean Systems Center Detachment, Kaneoche, Hawaii

Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility, Albuquerque, N.M.

Naval Mine Warfare Engineering Activity, Yorktown, Va. AIR FORCE

Bergstrom Air Force Base, Texas

Carswell Air Force Base, Texas

Castle Air Force Base, Calif.

Eaker Air Force Base, Ark.

England Air Force Base, La.

Grissom Air Force Base, Ind.

Loring Air Force Base, Maine

Lowry Air Force Base, Colo.

Moody Air Force Base, Ga.

Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, S.C.

Richards-Gebaur Air Refueling Squadron, Mo.

Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Ohio

Williams Air Force Base, Ariz.

Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Ariz.

Source: Associated Press