Army Brass Push for More U.S. Base Closings
Defense News reports that “senior US Army leadership has doubled down on its support for another round of shuttering and shrinking domestic installations, with Army Secretary John McHugh telling a congressional committee Tuesday morning that the service could save about $1 billion a year by undertaking a new round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC.)”
“’To maintain an unused building is to throw money away’ at a time when the Army’s budget is under stress from sequestration and the flattening of topline budget numbers in future budgets, he said.”
“Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno added that any new round of BRAC would not be as expensive as the last round of closures in 2005, ‘and you’ll probably get a bigger return’ due to lower maintenance costs combined with the reduction in overall troop numbers.”