Defense secretary wants new base closings

If Congress balks, Cohen could mothball bases or let them deteriorate

Cohen argues that the closings would free up $20 billion annually for military hardware such as:

April 2, 1998
Web posted at: 5:28 p.m. EST (2228 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary William Cohen said Thursday he will ask Congress to approve two more rounds of military base closings, which he says could free up about $20 billion annually to pay for more military hardware.

And Cohen, whose past requests for new base closings have been rebuffed by Congress, said he could recommend that the targeted facilities be mothballed or allowed to deteriorate if he doesn't get the go-ahead to close them.

"There are a number of options, certainly, available," Cohen said at a Pentagon news conference. "I could recommend that we simply allow a deterioration in some of the facilities that would go without repairs. I could recommend that we simply start moving toward what might be called mothballing certain facilities."

But Cohen, a former senator from Maine, said he would prefer not to take either of those approaches, which he said would hurt troop and community morale at the bases affected.

"I think those are not really positive ... acceptable alternatives. But that's something I could do," Cohen said.

Cohen said the aim of the two rounds of base closings, one in 2001 and another in 2005, would be to eliminate excess capacity created by the reduction of U.S. forces since the end of the Cold War.

The number of U.S. troops has fallen 40 percent since 1989, and, despite four earlier rounds of base closings, the Pentagon says base capacity remains about 23 percent more than necessary.

"We need to eliminate excess infrastructure because it saves money. Operating these facilities and bases that we don't need wastes billions of dollars that we need for readiness and modernization," Cohen said.

He said if Congress were to approve the closings, then the Pentagon could work with the affected local communities to mitigate the loss of jobs, as was done during the previous rounds of closings.

To bolster that position, Cohen brought along Ned Randolph, the mayor of Alexandria, Louisiana, to the news conference. Randolph said the closing of England Air Force Base in his community did not lead to the calamity once feared.

"Where there was doom and gloom, there came hope," said Randolph, who said Alexandria added 1,500 civilian jobs by turning England into an industrial park. "We have made a success story out of what we though would devastate our community."

Cohen also has the support of the Pentagon brass for his proposal. Speaking on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Jay Johnson, the Navy's top admiral, said, "We stand four-square behind Secretary Cohen."

"If we don't shed structure, our warfighting capability will suffer," Johnson said.

Cohen said the money saved by the closures would go to buying fighter jets, aircraft carriers and other combat ships, helicopters, advanced artillery systems and amphibious assault vehicles.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• DefenseLINK - Official Web Site of U.S. Dept of Defense
  • William S. Cohen - Secretary of Defense
  • Report on Base Closures
    • DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM S. COHEN SAYS FUTURE SECURITY REQUIRES MORE BASE CLOSURES - released 4-2-98

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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