Shakeup of military bases seems certain to take effect next month

[MaineDem]

WASHINGTON — A plan to close and reconfigure hundreds of military bases is sailing through Congress, on track to take effect next month in a blow to communities hoping for an eleventh-hour reprieve.

In a long-shot attempt to halt the first round of base closings in a decade, the House planned a vote Thursday on a proposal to reject the final report of the 2005 base-closing commission. Even base-closing opponents considered the effort certain to fail, like Congress´ attempts to stop the four previous rounds.

To kill the process, the Senate also would have to veto the report _ and the chances of that are slim to none. In both chambers, opposition has been muted by the elimination of several major bases from the Pentagon´s original list of closures and the recent focus on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

http://news.mainetoday.com/apwire/D8DFTQE00-298.shtml

[OneBlueSky]

1. related question . . . other than tradition, why do we need . . .

four branches of the armed forces? . . . huge amounts of duplication could be eliminated if we had a single defense force with appropriate separate divisions . . .

[cantstandbush]

2. Closing bases to send the soldiers to Iraq. In place of draft? n/t