Rumsfeld says base-closing savings would reach $48.8 billion over 20 years

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday that his recommendations for closing and realigning domestic military bases would save $48.8 billion over a 20-year period.

Rumsfeld is scheduled to submit his recommendations to an independent base closing commission on Friday. He is expected to propose that dozens of bases in the United States be either shut, reduced in size or, in some cases, expanded to accept additional troops from the U.S. or overseas.

At a Pentagon news conference, Rumsfeld did not say how many bases he would recommend closing or downsizing. He said he was aware that base closures have significant economic impact.

"The changes that occur will affect a number of communities," he said.

He said the Pentagon will take an active role in assisting communities that are negatively affected.

Rumsfeld said that if the base closing commission, the Congress and President Bush approve his set of recommendations, the government will realize a net savings of $48.8 billion over the coming 20 years.

Combining that with anticipated savings from changing the way U.S. forces are positioned abroad, the Pentagon would enjoy a net savings of $64.2 billion over that period, Rumsfeld said.

The military for years has been operating more bases than it needed for the 1.4 million troops on active duty. Throughout the late 1990s the Congress refused to authorize a round of base closings.

Previous official estimates put the base capacity surplus at between 20 and 25 percent, a range that Rumsfeld frequently cited as justification for initiating the politically painful process of deciding which bases to close.

Appearing at the Pentagon with Rumsfeld, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he endorsed the decision to cut bases and approved of the process that was used to reach decisions.

"It's a necessary step to improve the war-fighting capability of the joint force," he said.

The Pentagon has several motivations for seeking to close and downsize some of its 425 major U.S. domestic bases. One is economics. Fewer bases means smaller costs for operating and maintaining facilities. Another motive is to promote greater integration of training among the military services — and between the active-duty and reserve forces — by having them share bases.