Military Makeover
With a painful plan to close some bases, Rumsfeld launches a new round of reform
Rumsfeld believes America is ill-served by having heavy forces sitting in garrisons in Germany or even South Korea. Indeed, Rumsfeld began asking his regional commanders about American troops stationed overseas back in August 2001. "All of these questions Rumsfeld asked led us to the strong conclusion that globally we were in a Cold War posture," says Ray DuBois, the acting under secretary of the Army. "And you have to ask yourself: What sort of posture do we need for the next 20 years?"
Location. The essential belief inside Rumsfeld's Pentagon is that because of restrictions other nations put on U.S. troop movements, forces can move to a conflict from the United States as fast as they can from a foreign base--as long as they are positioned domestically near railheads and airports. The Pentagon plans to move about 70,000 troops stationed overseas back home, but there are some who have raised doubts. Last week, to the dismay of the Pentagon, a commission appointed by Congress released a report that questioned the details of the overseas withdrawal. Al Cornella, the commission chairman, said that he did not disagree with Rumsfeld's overall vision but added that the Pentagon is moving too fast. Before the military leaves Germany, Cornella says, the Pentagon must be sure it has enough ships and cargo planes to deploy troops from America quickly. "We will get one chance to do [this]," he said, "and we want to do it right."
The decision to redeploy American troops from Korea and Germany to domestic bases has blunted some of the pain of base closure. Some of the bases that have been considered for closure in earlier rounds, like Fort Riley, Kan., and Fort Carson, Colo., were designated by the Pentagon last week for expansion--because of large training areas and newly renovated railroad connections that allow rapid deployment. Another winner was Texas: Fort Bliss will receive troops coming home from Germany. Some could not resist pointing out that it also made for good politics to move troops back to Colorado, Texas, and Kansas. "Those are red states by the way, if you haven't noticed," says Bill Nash, a retired major general now with the Council on Foreign Relations. "This is a great opportunity to take care of your friends and lessen the impact of BRAC."
The closure list also reflects Rumsfeld's desire for an integrated military in which the Army, Navy, and Air Force not only fight together but train side by side and share facilities. In years past, individual services have largely chosen which bases will close. This time around, Rumsfeld was determined to change the process. "The Rumsfeld people . . . are making the services work together," says Christopher Hellman, a military analyst with the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation.
And the final list reflects that emphasis. Walter Reed Army Medical Center would be largely shuttered and combined with the National Naval Medical Center to create a joint hospital. "Does it really matter what uniform a doctor wears?" Hellman asks. Pentagon officials also pointed to their proposal to create combined training centers for cooks and truck drivers at Fort Lee, Va. (at the expense of Lackland Air Force Base, Texas). Several Army and Air Force bases like Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base in Washington State would consolidate their operations. And the 7th Special Forces Group would leave Fort Bragg, N.C., to work with Air Force Special Operations at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
In previous rounds, about 15 percent of the Pentagon decisions have been overturned by the BRAC commission. Pentagon officials believe this time there will be fewer overrides, in part because of new rules and in part because they believe the services have done a better job of evaluating what's needed. The next months will show whether that confidence is merited. But even if the list remains relatively unchanged, it will take years to see just how successful Rumsfeld's plan is. It is easy to talk about making the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines work together more closely. It is more difficult to make it happen.
advertisement
