Free Republic

Some Republicans groaned at Gov. Rick Perry's announcement that he plans to seek another term in 2010, but Mayor Bill White's camp reacted with glee. White has made no effort to hide the fact that he is looking to run for governor after being term-limited out of the mayor's office next year. And Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the biggest vote-getter in Texas history, has been more than hinting that she plans to "come home" to run for the same office. She outlined to Texas Monthly last November a plan to resign the Senate in 2009 to make the race, while...

Highways The Texas Department of Transportation plans to let contracts for $4.1 billion in construction in 2008 are in jeopardy after having to return around $950 million to Washington over the past 18 months. The mood in Austin is uncertain, although voters approved Proposition 12 in November, authorizing the next Texas Legislature in 2009 to issue up to $5 billion in bonds (paid from general revenue) to build highway projects. A required independent audit of the Texas Department of Transportation during 2007 recommended that the department “should continue to pursue Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDA) and toll pricing at levels that...

However slim, there may still be a chance to avert the closure of Fort Monmouth. New Jersey's U.S. Senators have introduced legislation that would trigger a reconsideration of major base closings that will cost far more than what was estimated during the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. The legislation will create a mechanism to require a re-evaluation of any major base realignment or closure should the actual cost exceed BRAC's estimated cost by more than 25%. The closing of New Jersey's Fort Monmouth is now expected to cost almost twice its original $780 million price tag. Menendez says,...

Cannot be posted because of copyright whine. Link

At the request of most members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation, the Government Accountability Office says it will look into whether faulty cost and savings estimates played a role in the 2005 decision to close Fort Monmouth by 2011. Henry L. Hinton, a managing director for the agency, confirmed on Tuesday that the agency was embarking on a review of the Defense Department’s estimates and how they have since changed. The 90-year-old Army post, which has not yet begun to be shut down, employs 5,000, generates $3.3 billion annually and supports 22,000 additional jobs in the state. In addition,...

MCAS Tustin has been reduced to rubble.  The enemy did not have to fire a single shot.   The Marines have been replaced with a 24+ Million dollar government housing project, a shopping mall, and a tract of overpriced McMansions       Got Socialism?   First wave of McMansions arrives at MCAS Tustin:      

SEATTLE - Facts are stubborn things. So are cherished beliefs - especially when they're shared by adversaries who, for reasons of their own, find them too convenient to shed. And among the greatest of our shared delusions is the belief that high oil prices accomplish something. They don't. Fortunately, there is a way to ease the crisis: BRAC it. However, before explaining what the Pentagon's Base Closure and Realignment Act has to do with the price of gas, it's necessary to define, then shred, the wrong idea that "the market" has much to do with fixing this mess. According to...

Army cautions figure is snapshot and could change ATLANTA - Army surveys show that 64 percent of civilian employees whose jobs will move as a result of Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations would follow the job, the Army's BRAC chief said Thursday. That's a snapshot of Army employees' feelings now, as the results of the 2005 BRAC begin to unfold, and isn't a guarantee, said Col. Bob Derrick, speaking to about 500 community leaders at the Department of Defense BRAC conference "Responding to Change." "That's the demographics we have today, but those could change," said Derrick, who is in...

ATLANTA, May 3, 2006 – With the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process shutting down 25 major installations and radically realigning 24 others over the next six years, a BRAC conference under way here is focusing on growth as well as downsizing, a defense official told reporters here today. "Traditionally when we've done these events, they've been very much closure-focused," said Philip W. Grone, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment. But this conference, he added, also features "a very healthy focus on growth." This is happening because many areas will gain substantial numbers of uniformed and civilian military...

ATLANTA, May 3, 2006 – More than 900 people representing organizations with a stake in how the Base Realignment and Closure process goes forward are gathered here this week to discuss the implications of the 2005 BRAC round. The conference brings together officials from the White House, Defense Department, individual service branches, various federal departments and agencies, and state and local leaders from areas affected by past and ongoing BRAC actions. Philip W. Grone, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, noted that nearly all of the 22 federal agencies working on BRAC-related issues have representatives here. "In my...

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2006 – When the premier medical centers from the Army and Navy merge into one joint facility in Bethesda, Md., in 2011, the rich heritage and world-class treatment reputation of Walter Reed Army Medical Center will continue under the same name at a different location, the hospital's commander said here April 30. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission announced the Defense Department initiative to close Walter Reed on May 13, 2005. The famed military medical facility, which is a monument to a long tradition of patient care, medical research and educational development, will continue its legacy...

Congressional appropriators expressed concern Wednesday that there will be a lack of funding for the military services to implement recommendations reached through the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process. Successful implementation will require a hefty financial commitment, but fiscal pressures could reduce the funding available, said Rep. James Walsh, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Appropriations Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, at a hearing. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, ranking member of the subcommittee, said he is concerned that the real BRAC costs will be significantly higher than originally estimated. Implementation of the 182 base closure and realignment recommendations...

The federal government is all but forcing Virginia Beach to condemn private property in order to keep Oceana Naval Air Station, home to the Navy's fighter/attack squadron of F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets. But this isn't some ugly twist on the Kelo eminent-domain case. For years, Virginia Beach has mostly ignored legitimate Navy concerns that its pilots could crash in residential areas under development near the base. But the city has chosen to let development proceed apace and -- though it certainly did not intend to -- heightened the danger by allowing ever-larger structures and increasing population density. So the...

Fort turns 64 on a sad note By ADD SEYMOUR JR. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 11/05/05 Carl Rhodenizer didn't know where Atlanta — let alone the Atlanta General Depot — was located when the Army sent him here in 1951. But the Virginia native grew so close to "The Depot," now known as Fort Gillem, that he never again lived more than five miles from the base. That's why Fort Gillem's 64th anniversary party on Friday evoked sadness for some longtime Clayton County residents. With the base scheduled to close, there won't be many more celebrations. "It's been a...

WASHINGTON – The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow the first round of U.S. military base closures and consolidations in a decade, clearing the way for facilities across the country to start shutting their doors as early as next month. In a 324-85 vote, the House refused to veto the final report of the 2005 base-closing commission, meaning the report seems all but certain to become law in mid-November. Targeted facilities then would have six years to close their doors and shift forces as required under the report. Both the House and Senate must pass resolutions rejecting the report to...

Germany's Rhein-Main Air Base Closing By MATT MOORE, Associated Press Writer 26 minutes ago The runways that once helped feed a blockaded Berlin, bade Elvis farewell after his Army service and provided the first glimpse of freedom for hostages returning from Iran now stand empty. A hub of U.S. military activity for decades, Rhein-Main Air Base is being given back to Germany and its logistical functions taken over by bases at Ramstein and Spangdahlem. Ceremonies set for Monday will mark the handover, which will take until the end of the year. "The mission has moved," said U.S. Air Force Col....

WASHINGTON (AP) - Military housing, airport hangars, equipment and power lines were heavily damaged at six military bases across Louisiana and Mississippi, forcing nearly $1 billion in emergency repairs, according to base personnel and other defense officials. A Navy facility in New Orleans is partially flooded and all but essential personnel are still evacuated. Hurricane winds and heavy rain slammed other bases, but many are up and running now..... There have been no reported military casualties. A federal base closing commission had voted earlier to shut down one of the damaged bases, Naval Station Pascagoula, as well as the inpatient...

White House Loses Appeal on Base ClosingFriday September 9, 2005 12:31 AMBy GINA HOLLAND Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The base closing commission hit a snag Thursday over the deadline for its recommendations to the White House, as the administration lost a last-minute bid to get the Supreme Court to intervene and protect the panel's plan. What was to be a routine paperwork delivery of those proposals to President Bush was threatened by a cross-country legal fight. Judges in Connecticut and Tennessee blocked the panel from recommending changes at local Air National Guard bases. The Tennessee decision was overruled...

WASHINGTON (AP)--The U.S. Supreme Court was asked Thursday to block a federal panel from sending to President George W. Bush its recommendations for closing or realigning hundreds of military bases nationwide. Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., filed the request for an emergency stay with Justice David H. Souter, who could handle the matter himself or request a vote of the eight remaining justices. In court papers, lawyers representing Corzine and other New Jersey state and congressional officials said they wanted a temporary reprieve so that they could file a full appeal of the decision by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A federal judge on Wednesday granted the state's request to block the federal base commission's recommendation to realign the Bradley Air National Guard Base. U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello granted a temporary injunction to prevent the commission from including the Bradley realignment in its recommendation to President George W. Bush. "The court is of the opinion that the governor of Connecticut would suffer significant hardship if consideration were to be withheld, as once the recommendation is submitted to the president, the governor's claim that her authority has been abrogated ... is not subject to judicial review,"...