last week

Last Friday, the US Department of Defense released its list of military installations that are being recommended for closure or restructuring. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld presented the list to the presidential-appointed independent Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The department's BRAC recommendations, if adopted, would close 33 major bases and realign 29 more, and, Rumsfeld noted during the news conference at the Pentagon, save the military an estimated net sum of $48 billion over the next two decades. When combined with the anticipated savings from overseas basing realignments around the world, the projected net savings increases to $64.2 billion.

Industry insiders comment that real estate developers are already salivating over the potential gain in developable acreage, but any long-term gains will come at a short-term cost. Southwest bureau chief Connie Gore reports, the folks of Bowie County, faced with a $200-million economic hit, are prepared to go to battle to keep Red River Army Depot and an ancillary base open, but they don't hold out much hope of success. "BRAC experts are saying there's not much that can be changed about last week's Department of Defense recommendations," Gore reports. "Still, it won't keep locals from fighting."

Likewise, more than 2,000 jobs will be gone when the smoke clears in Illinois. Reporter Mark Ruda reveals that since Great Lakes Naval Training Center was the US Navy's only boot camp, it was not expected to be on the hit list. However, Great Lakes still may take a hit, as the proposed BRAC program calls for a net loss of 2,022 local jobs, out of a population of 23,439. Although that population includes some 13,000 students and recruits preparing to ship out to various ports, the base has a military payroll of $275 million while the civilian work force there adds another $134 million to the area economy.