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Guest Commentary: September 27, 2001
Now Is Not the Time to Close Military Bases
The Honorable Orrin Hatch
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I have thought long and hard on the subject of base closings. The arguments for and against initiating another process which might lead to additional base closings have weighed heavily on my mind. I have the deepest respect for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and I know how hard he is working to find efficiencies and economies within the Department of Defense. I know he believes that a new base closing initiative is an important tool in his efforts to fix our defense infrastructure problems. However, I strongly believe that the events of September 11th changed this Nation's priorities. Now is not the time to engage in any type of activity that distracts from our national defense priorities.
This is a pivotal time in our history. All our efforts and resources must be focused on fighting terrorism at home and abroad. At this time, I do not think that the time and money spent preparing for base closings will contribute to this effort. Military bases and the military establishment need to be focused on the war effort. Our military leaders and base commanders throughout the country do not need to be worrying about justifying their installations' existence. The communities around the bases do not need to be worrying about their future economic well-being. At a time when we, as a Nation, face an uncertain future, we need not take on a process that is rife with uncertainty and turmoil and which distracts from our national goals.
Additionally, we do not yet know what force structure will be required to accomplish all the missions associated with this new 21st century warfare. I believe it will take some time to determine what our military should look like. Why would we start a base closure process when we have no idea what shape or size our forces will take? Equally important, we do not know which bases will be key to our efforts in building an effective homeland security network.
There is great debate about how much base closings cost and how much base closings save. In a time of economic uncertainty, I do not believe it is wise to spend millions of dollars on a base closure process. I am not willing to sacrifice the readiness of our armed forces for theoretical savings.
Note: The above commentary has been adapted from a speech Sen. Hatch made on the floor of the Senate, September 24, 2001.
 How to contact Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
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