Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010079
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Virginia could be a major beneficiary, gaining 3,843 jobs as a result of additions to its bases.
The Pentagon is proposing a total of 146 closings and ``realignments'' in the fourth and possibly final round of base closings since 1988. Of those, 16 involve closure recommendations affecting more than 1,000 jobs while six realignments would claim at least as many jobs at bases remaining open.
``This has been a painful process for the Department of Defense,'' Perry said at a Pentagon news conference. ``It's been a painful process for the communities involved. But it is necessary.''
The recommendations go to the independent Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission for review and possible amendment and then must be accepted or rejected in their entirety by Congress and the president.
In a letter Tuesday to former Illinois Sen. Alan Dixon, chairman of the commission, Perry said there was ``no alternative'' to closing more bases.
``If we fail to bring our infrastructure in line with our force structure and budget, we will lack the funds to maintain our readiness and modernization in years to come,'' Perry wrote.
Even with this round of closures, Perry said, the military will have more bases than it needs to maintain its force of 10 Army divisions, 11 aircraft carriers, 936 Air Force fighters and three Marine Corps divisions.
Perry said he may ask Congress to renew the base closure law and schedule another round within three or four years.
Asserting that politics played no role, he said he accepted the recommendations of each of the military services virtually unchanged.
The states with the highest net loss of jobs would be Texas with 6,981, Alabama with 4,946, New Mexico with 5,138, and Pennsylvania with 3,600.
by CNB