The news hit hard for the men and women at military installations around the country. The Pentagon submitted its recommendations to the “BRAC,” or Base Realignment and Closure commission late last week.
These changes were months in the making. The Department of Defense says they are critical to making its fighting force leaner and more flexible. But many in the cities and towns where these bases say the closures will kill their economies and hurt their communities. They point to the closures in 1988, 1992 and 1995 which left some communities reeling.
So while the nation’s military tries to downsize and realign itself in the South and the West, where land is cheaper and the neighbors friendlier, many wonder if these new cuts go too far, or not far enough.
Guests:
Captain William D McDonough, former shipyard commander of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard;Nathan Hill, Military Liaison for the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce
Jeremiah Gertler, Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Tim Ford, Executive Director, Association for Defense Communities.