After months of suspense, the budget ax fell on military bases this week as Defense Secretary Les Aspin announced the proposed closure of 31 major bases and realignment of 134 other facilities. The cries of pain and outrage already are being heard all across the land.
Included in the list of suggested cuts - nothing is final yet - is the near-closure of Tooele Army Depot's North Area and the loss of more than 2,180 jobs. The South Area, with its storage and destruction of chemical arms, will remain operational. That juxtaposition has upset Utah officials who note that the state loses the facility with jobs but keeps the portion doing the dirty work.The impact at Tooele is in addition to thousands of other previously announced layoffs at Hill Air Force Base and Dugway Proving Ground. The final figures on those cuts are still open to change.
Like other states trying to save their own military facilities, Utahns are mounting a campaign to rescue Tooele Army Depot from the base-closure list. It should be clear that all states must share in the burden of cutting military spending. However, the inclusion of Tooele Army Depot on the base closure is questionable.
For example, TAD just completed a $110 million state-of-the-art assembly line plant to refurbish Army trucks. It is one of the best facilities of its kind in the world, yet work will be transferred from TAD to other facilities that are much older and less efficient. The modern new plant will close while antiquated ones keep operating.
That kind of decisionmaking would get a company CEO fired from his job in a private business. Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, is correct in demanding an explanation about what criteria were used to justify closing TAD.
The Pentagon's recommendations now go to an independent Base Closure and Realignment Commission that has until June 30 to make recommendations to President Clinton. The president then will have 15 days to amend the list and send it to Congress. The Congress has 45 days to reject the final list - without further changes. If it fails to reject the list, the closures then become law.
Clearly, there is still time to make changes in the list. The political pressures on the base closing commission will be enormous. But Tooele Army Depot deserves a closer look based on its own merits and not just on the amount of political clout that can be mustered.