Rummy to Close US Military Bases and some NC'linians are upset

[KoKo]

claiming they don't have any reps in the Military who are on the Panel deciding this. Although Liddy Dole is on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

I don't have a link for the NC Blurb on this because it's subscriber only, but I wondered why this all seems to be going on "in secret."

Here's a link from back in February about this. It's an AP story that unfortunately has a Fox Link. (Sorry about that).

Wouldn't many states lose revenue with base closings? And, didn't the Repugs blame Clinton for a weak military when it was Poppy Bush who did a huge round of military base closings back in the 80's?

What is Rummy doing, here. :eyes: AND, is he closing bases while involved in a Never Ending War on Terror because he knows they have replace our Military with Private Contractors? MERCENARIES FOR HIRE who have THEIR OWN BASES scattered throughout the US but are not monitored by Congress?

Is THIS the real reason for Rummy's Base Closings. So that North Carolina's "Blackwater" Mercenary Training Base can be enlarged with our tax money but not accountable to anyone but the Pentagon?

.....................................
(BTW: This article in full,is an excellent read about this issue we are hearing so little about)


More U.S. Military Bases to Close
Monday, February 21, 2005

WASHINGTON — Safe for a decade, military bases (search) in the United States face an uncertain future.

The Pentagon plans to shut down or scale back some of the 425 facilities, the first such effort to save money in 10 years. The downsizing is part of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's (search) long-term transformation of the Cold War-era military.

The Pentagon chief argues that closing or consolidating stateside facilities could save $7 billion annually and that the money would be better spent improving fighting capabilities amid threats from terrorists.

"The department continues to maintain more military bases and facilities than are needed, consuming and diverting valuable personnel and resources," Rumsfeld recently told lawmakers.

Shrinking the domestic network of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps bases is a certain source of savings. It also is a high-stakes political fight because it affects local economies in congressional districts.

Lawmakers have resisted efforts to shutter their bases, challenging past base closing rounds and lobbying hard to keep their installation off the final list.
-SNIP-
Congress authorized the fifth round of Base Realignment and Closure (search) — commonly known as BRAC — last year. The first deadline in the yearlong process is March 15, when President Bush must name a nine-member commission that will review a list of closures that Rumsfeld will propose by May.

More............

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:E1oc-Av2iHEJ:www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,148231,00.html+US+to+Close+Military+Bases&hl=en

[BillZBubb]

1. Boo Friggin' Hoo!

No sympathy for Dumbfuckistanis.

[jdj]

2. ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!

Suckers!!!!!!!!!!

All you people here in NC with W04 stickers on your car need to get 'food stamps/homeless shelter 05' stickers now.

As someone in a republican stronghold, I have no sympathy.

[KoKo]

3. Excuse Me? Not all folks in NC have WO4 stickers. Our Election was

stolen here in NC and there are folks working every day to expose the fraud.

My post was about Rummy closing "legitimate supervised bases" so that the "Private Contractor" bases (a huge one is in NC with it's own training facilities..Blackwater) can now operate "under the radar."

[jdj]

6. I don't have one either but I see them every single day here in

NC and I DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR THESE REACTIONARY ASSHOLES THAT GAVE BUSH NC.

Yes, there is massive fraud, but I can introduce you to 5 NC linians who voted for Bush right off, in my immediate family.

You get what you vote for.

In my town Kerry got 7000 votes, to W.'s 17,000.

Preach about "supporting the troops" now, wingnuts.

[Lex]

9. I'm in one of the NC's true-blue counties. I get sick of getting

lumped in with the rest of the Bush-voting redneck wingnuts.

:sigh:

[atreides1]

4. Can't say I'm sorry for them

But food stamps will be cut, and they can only go to homeless shelters run by the "Faith Based" groups.

The bad part about this, is that the small number that voted for Kerry will get the same shaft.

[jdj]

7. well, I guess it should Read "W 04, SOL 05" then.

hey, that's kinda catchy, may use that myself.

[SoCalDem]

5. Base closings are not new and will continue .. The military is anti-family

(Military at the TOP).. They want their force..lean. mean and unencumbered, so closing bases that are "family-friendly" makes a lot of sense. I grew up on Air Force bases and can tell you for sure how great bases USED to be. They were CITIES unto themselves.. We had EVERYTHING... Sometimes the bases were BETTER than the towns around them. We had a better grocery store,better schools, recreation center, you name it.

The idea back then was to provide an OASIS for military families so the men would stay in the military forever. These days, they try to make it as difficult as possible so only a few "choice" people stay in and the rest are there to "fill the ranks" for a while and then go on reserves or guard, so the military can cut the benefits..

Base housing is scarce these days, and with rents in the outlying communities, sky-high, it's no wonder lots of young military families are on food stamps..

Of course it's a sign of the times too. There was a time when men needed permission to even get married, if they were in the military.. They wanted men entering the service to be young and unmarried until they achieved some rank..so most soldiers/airmen/sailors were not 22 with 3 kids when they entered the service..These days there are a lot of single parents entering because the non-military jobs available to young single parents suck and at least military life has benefits for active duty, even if the base life sucks these days..

When a base closes, it's sometimes a mortal blow to the community nearby, since the base generates a lot of income, but unless the base is a "dirty, polluted mess", the town can gain access to some valuable land for development. The base in my home town ended up better off after a few years, even if they hated it when the base closed..

[KoKo]

10. But, So Cal,I think they want to replace them with "Blackwater" Mercenary

Training Camps that won't be contolled by anyone except a bunch of Pentagon Psy Ops, Black Ops folks. Hell, they might even let these Private Contractors go Public on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange so investors can throw bucks into them.

I know you know what I'm talking about here, because you and I were onto these Private Contractors from the beginning. I remember you posting photo's of "Blackwater" here in NC and for every one "NC Blackwater" Mercenary Camp there are probably a hundred more scattered in secret throughout states in the US who would profit heavily from US Oversighted
Base Closings.

:shrug: That's what I'm trying to get at here. We will close real military bases so that the private guys can flourish. :shrug:

Maybe DU'ers would rather substitute Private for Tax Payer...but then we would lose control. But, if you all think it's a good thing to have the Private thrive over controlled US Army, Marines...then okay...I'll try to be cool with that.

[SoCalDem]

12. Exactly.. Out of sight out of mind..

Our government likes things hidden..:(

[jdj]

14. you so right on that one. they've already got a fluff piece on the History

Channel on how the merc. companies will make the world all shiny and happy.

Zactly.

[blm]

17. DING, DING, DING....you got it, KoKo. I've been saying so for a few years

Bechtel and DynCorps clued me in long ago. Even Halliburton. Alot of our military is already privatized since 1991 (Cheney) but few Americans are even aware of it.

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. And closing the base will simultaneously close down most of the

strip clubs, porn shops, whorehouses, etc, that surround every base. Not necessarily a bad thing is itself.

[KoKo]

8. Please read the post and article. This isn't about trashing NC'linians...

It's more involved than that...and this is General DISCUSSION Forum.

Discussing a posted article and the thesis of the poster about it shouldn't invite so many "hit and run" posts.

I'm an Anti-Iraq Invasion Protestor. I am not talking about Peace Protests in this thread but about trading off legitimate Military Bases across the US (and the proposed closings are scheduled heavily in the Northeast, btw, if you read the article I linked) and substituting Private Contracting Military Training Facilities run by the Pentagon which will NOT be ANSWERABLE to our Congressional oversight. Such as it is..(weak Congressional conrol)it's still better than ABSOLUTE RUMMY/BUSH/CHENEY...Pentagon Control. :-(

[tsuki]

16. I have tried posting about this problem (not the black ops,) but the

problem with the Southern economy. 34% of the FL panhandle's economy is derived from the military. Four Billion in Alabama. How much in NC?

The problem that I run into is the "DEMOCRATS are anti military and will take our jobs away and destroy our economy." We must change that perception. People vote their best interests, and if a military base providing jobs and revenue is that "best interest," we must show them that BRAC is a REPUBLICAN Program.

And that cutting the VA is a REPUBLICAN Program, not a Democratic Program.

I am trying, but "you get what you deserve" does not help.

[KoKo]

20. $18 billion, or 7 percent of the gross state product /not including

the "Private Mercenary Contractors." I haven't found the info on the Blackwater and other training facilities and how much they bring into the economy....but they are so secret that they are direct government paid and probably NC gets little money from them)

......................................
Base ads $800 million to economy

Seymour Johnson Air Force Base affects nearly 15,000 employees and contributes $800 million to the state's economy, according to a new study.

The study was prepared for the N.C. Advisory Commission on Military Affairs, which makes recommendations to the governor about the economic effect and relationship between the bases and their surrounding communities. The commission is working to get the state to view military bases in the way it views industry when considering economic development. The study was prepared by East Carolina University Regional Development Services; Regional Economic Models Inc., of Amherst, Mass.; and N.C. State University's Division of Community Engagement. The commission has met several times in Goldsboro, and several Wayne County residents are on the commission.

Work for the study began in the middle of last year in hopes of updating a similar study that was done in the mid 1990s.

The study indicates that the Base Realignment and Closing Commission has begun its initial steps in another round of military assessments and it is expected that the next series of BRAC recommendations will occur during the latter part of 2005.

Based upon the projections of the gross state product of North Carolina, the contribution of all aspects of the military dollars spent exceeds $18 billion, or 7 percent of the gross state product.

About 70 percent, or $12 billion, is contributed to that total by the primary military bases through the operations of the bases, purchases and payroll of military and civilian employees.

Defense contracts and retiree payments account for another $1.43 billion and $1.51 billion, according to the study.
http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2004/02/10/base_ads_800_million_to_economy/index.shtml

[BRLIB]

11. Send them to Iraq! They're going

to open up 14 military bases there.....

[blm]

13. NC could have had a 20 year Marine veteran in Congress with Jack Flynn.

He was like the congressional candidate version of Wes Clark, dedicated and smart as a whip.

They put the GOP media version of "strong on terror" rubber stamp for Bush, Sue Myrick. What a sad focking joke on the military, the people of NC, and the rest of this nation.

[tsuki]

18. Mmmm, boy howdy. Does that talking point need to be made in NC. n/t

[Johonny]

15. I feel your pain

California that felt it's share of the BRAC and already is a net loser in the federal tax and spend game is very concerned about this issue too. It's not like California is vital to the nations defense or something. I mean no large industry, international boarders, costal boarder...

[tsuki]

19. I have often wondered if it wasn't payback for voting blue. But then,

I am a conspiracy wingnut.

[RaleighNCDUer]

22. Blackwater and their ilk worry me, too. If there's any core for an

American SS, it would be these private companies. Militia groups like the Michigan Militia might be useful tools, but compared to Blackwater's SS potential, they just SA brownshirts.