More Smoke and Mirrors From The Rumsfeld Pentagon

Those fighting the move of 18 F-15 fighter jets assigned to the 142nd Fighter Wing at the Portland airport to bases in Atlantic City, N.J., and New Orleans may have a little more hope.
U.S. base closing commissioners question cost savings

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cost savings from the latest round of military base closings appear to be far less than the $50 billion estimated by the Pentagon, members of the commission with veto power over the actions said on Saturday.

The net savings to taxpayers over 20 years looks more like $14 billion because military jobs cut from the bases will be shifted to other locations or given new missions, Anthony Principi, chairman of the Base Realignment and Closing Commission, said at a Capitol Hill hearing.

The Pentagon estimated in May that the base closings and cutbacks would eliminate nearly 11,000 military jobs, but the military said it is not planning to make reductions in future military force levels.

"I'm still very skeptical, because I think at the end of the day, the bottom line shows that you have not saved any (military) dollars," Principi told Pentagon officials at a the hearing.

He also pointed out that the base closings will cost $24 billion in one-time costs for a net savings of $14 billion.

And I love this line.

Commissioner Philip Coyle pointed out that a witness at a previous hearing likened the savings estimates to "Enron accounting."

I guess the base closing commissioners are smart enough to realize that everything else Rumsfeld has said has turned out to be pure bull shit so this shouldn't be any different. The removal of the F15s from Portland would leave the Pacific Northwest unprotected. Now that's what I call homeland security. Of course Oregon and Washington are Blue states so they are expendable.