Panel Schedules New Base-Closure Hearing

After adding more California military installations to its review list, the federal base-closing commission will travel to San Diego early next month to hold a new round of regional hearings, according to a commission source.

The one-day hearing is tentatively scheduled for June 5 and will focus on newly added bases in the southwest part of the country, according to the staff member, who spoke on the condition that his name not be used. Other regional hearings will also be scheduled.

The commission last Friday added 69 large and small bases nationwide to the list of 35 major military commands already being considered for possible shutdown.

Technically, the added bases are as vulnerable to closure as the original Pentagon choices. But history tells a different story. Two years ago, the commission added 35 bases but wound up adopting most of the Defense Department’s initial recommendations, closing none of the added bases.

Nine more California bases were included, and five of them are considered major, according to the commission source. They are the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego County, the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, the North Island Naval Aviation Depot in San Diego and the Barstow Marine Corps Logistics Base. The state now has 15 such threatened facilities, plus more than a dozen smaller commands in jeopardy.

Commission Chairman James Courter said last week that Defense Secretary Les Aspin and the secretaries of the armed services will be invited to testify again in Washington to justify their original recommendations for closure.

At least one commissioner must visit the newly threatened bases before the panel makes its final choices in late June. It must send the list to President Clinton by July 1.

Bases in Jeopardy

THE MARCH LIST

Here is the list of 35 major military installations that the base closing commission has been reviewing since March. The Defense Department on March 12 recommended 31 of these bases for closure. The base-closing commission added four bases (*) to the list on March 29. California bases are in boldface. (+)

ARMY

(+) Presidio of Monterey*

Ft. McClellan, Ala.

Vint Hill Farms, Va.

NAVY

(+) Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo

(+) Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro

(+) Naval Air Station, Alameda

(+) Naval Aviation Depot, Alameda

(+) Naval Hospital, Oakland

(+) Treasure Island Naval Station, San Francisco

(+) Naval Supply Center, Oakland

(+) Naval Training Center, San Diego

Naval Station, Mobile, Ala.

Naval Air Station, Cecil Field, Fla.

Naval Aviation Depot, Pensacola, Fla.

Naval Training Center, Orlando, Fla.

Naval Air Station, Barbers Point, Hawaii

Naval Air Station, Glenview, Ill.

Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center, St. Inigoes, Md.

Naval Air Station, Meridian, Miss.

Naval Air Station, South Weymouth, Mass.

Naval Station, Staten Island, N.Y.

Aviation Supply Office, Philadelphia

Charleston Naval Shipyard, S.C.

Naval Station, Charleston, S.C.

Naval Air Station, Dallas

Naval Aviation Depot, Norfolk, Va.

Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Ill.*

Agana Naval Station, Guam*

AIR FORCE

(+) McClellan Air Force Base, Sacramento*

Homestead Air Force Base, Fla.

K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, Mich.

Newark Air Force Base, Ohio

O’Hare International Airport Air Force Reserve Station, Chicago

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Defense Electronics Supply Center, Dayton, Ohio

Defense Personnel Support Center, Philadelphia

BASES ADDED LATER

At the May 21 hearing, the base closing commission added 69 large and small bases nationwide to the list it would review before coming up with a final recommendation for base closures by the end of June. California bases are in boldface. (+)

ARMY

(+) Presidio of Monterey Annex/Ft. Ord**

Ft. Gillem, Ga.

Ft. Lee, Va.

Marcus Hook U.S. Army Reserve Center, Pa.

Ft. McPherson, Ga.

Ft. Monroe, Va.

NAVY

(+) Naval Shipyard, Long Beach

(+) Naval Air Station, Miramar

(+) Marine Corps Air Station, Tustin

Naval Shipyard, Norfolk, Va.

Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Maine/N.H.

Naval Air Station, Oceana, Va.

Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, S.C.

Naval Hospital, Beaufort, S.C.

Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Tex.

Naval Hospital, Corpus Christi, Tex.

Naval Station, Ingleside, Tex.

Naval Station, Pascagoula, Miss.

Naval Station, Everett, Wash.

Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, Ill.

Ships Parts Control Center, Mechanicsburg, Pa.

Naval Electronics Support Engineering Center, Portsmouth, Va.

Naval Air Facility, Martinsburg, W.V.

Naval Air Facility, Johnstown, Pa.

Naval Reserve Center, Chicopee, Mass.

Naval Reserve Center, Quincy, Mass.

Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center, Lawrence, Mass.

Naval Ordnance Station, Louisville, Ky.

Naval Air Station, Memphis, Tenn.

Naval Hospital, Millington, Tenn.

AIR FORCE

Plattsburgh Air Force Base, N.Y.

Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.

DEFENSE MAINTENANCE DEPOTS

(+) Naval Aviation Depot, North Island, San Diego

(+) Defense Distribution Depot, San Diego

(+) Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach

(+) Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow

(+) Defense Distribution Depot, Barstow

(+) Defense Distribution Center, McClellan Air Force Base

Red River Army Depot, Tex.

Defense Distribution Depot, Red River, Tex.

Anniston Army Depot, Ala.

Defense Distribution Depot, Anniston, Ala.

Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pa.

Defense Distribution Depot, Norfolk, Va.

Naval Aviation Depot, Cherry Point, N.C.

Defense Distribution Depot, Cherry Point, N.C.

Naval Aviation Depot, Jacksonville, Fla.

Defense Distribution Depot, Jacksonville, Fla.

Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany, Ga.

Defense Distribution Depot, Albany, Ga.

Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base

Regional Processing Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

Defense Distribution Depot, Oklahoma City

Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga.

Regional Processing Center, Warner Robins, Ga.

Defense Distribution Depot, Warner Robins, Ga.

San Antonio Air Logistics Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Tex.

Regional Processing Center, Kelly Air Force Base, Tex.

Defense Distribution Depot, San Antonio

Gentile Air Force Station, Ohio

Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Defense Construction Supply Center, Columbus, Ohio

Defense Information Technology Services Organization, Columbus, Ohio

Defense Contract Management Northeast District, Mass.

DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY

Defense Information Technology Services Organization, Denver

Defense Information Technology Services Organization, Cleveland

Army Information Processing Center, Chambersburg, Pa.

Army Information Processing Center, Huntsville, Ala.

** Added to clarify that a March 29 commission vote to add the Presidio of Monterey was intended to include the Annex as well.