Pentagon's long list of bases to close (in the US)

[donsu]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=5&u=/csm/20050412/ts_csm/abasex&sid=84439559


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The Defense Department has made no secret of the fact that this year's list of suggested closings figures to be the biggest in history. But unlike past rounds, when the process focused primarily on paring down a bloated military, the goal this year is largely to recast the military.

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"Any favorably located place like Hawaii or ... the Carolinas will probably receive missions rather than lose them in the future," says Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute. "Contrast a base in the Carolinas with a base in the nation's interior, which is far from the coast and difficult to deploy."

The desire to have bases serve joint functions is perhaps one of the strongest clues to Rumsfeld's view of the future. For decades, the military branches - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines - have acted like fiefdoms, each working largely independently of the others. Rumsfeld wants a more seamless military, and putting multiple branches on one base is seen as an efficient, potent way to recast the armed forces' culture and cooperation.

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In small ways, the process has already begun. Langley Air Force Base in Virginia is integrating active members of the Air Force with members of the Guard. Now the Air National Guard's 192nd Fighter Wing will train at Langley, even flying the new $150 million FA-22 Raptor.
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