BRAC panel adds bases to closure list

Members of the independent base closure commission voted Tuesday to add several military installations to the Pentagon's list of facilities that the panel will consider recommending for closure or realignment in the coming weeks.

The Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine and the Naval Broadway Complex in San Diego were added to the list of bases that could be closed. The Naval Master Jet Base at Oceana, Va., and two Air Force bases--North Carolina's Pope Air Force Base and Alaska's Galena Airport Forward Operating Location--will be considered for further reductions than the Pentagon proposed.

Each added base received at least seven of the nine commissioners' votes. Bases considered but left off the list because they did not receive enough votes included the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot; the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii; Georgia's Moody Air Force Base and North Dakota's Grand Forks Air Force Base.

The Pearl Harbor shipyard came the closest to being added to the list, with a five to four vote in favor of adding it. The commission questioned Pentagon officials Monday, asking why Portsmouth Naval Yard in Maine was on the list, and the Pearl Harbor shipyard, which has been rated as less efficient, was not. Pentagon officials testified that they made the best decisions possible, but would support additional recommendations.

The commission also voted in favor of looking at whether to merge several small facilities providing administrative, education and medical services.

Before deliberations began, BRAC Chairman Anthony Principi said a vote in favor of adding a base did not necessarily mean that commissioners ultimately would recommend closure. Rather, he said, commissioners were simply seeking to add some bases to the original list submitted by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on May 13 so comparisons can be made.

"We now have the opportunity to examine the broader picture," Principi said.

At least two commissioners will visit each base added to the list and representatives from the communities will be given an opportunity to testify in regional hearings.

Before the commission makes its final recommendations, Rumsfeld, the heads of the services and other Pentagon officials will be asked to provide comments.

For a full list of the Pentagon's BRAC decisions by state, click here.