MCRD, San Diego could be added to list of base closures

[Ernesto]

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The chairman of an independent federal commission tasked with evaluating the Pentagon's recommendations for military base realignment said the group may add the Marine Corps Recruit Depot to its list of closure recommendations.
Anthony Principi, chairman of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, said commissioners will study whether the training of depot recruits could be shifted to Camp Pendleton to save money.
http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/13033448p-13879544c.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. the USMC said that the costs woudl be too high

to close it, cost benefit does not work for them

Notice, first the Navy closes training now Marines... what the heck is going on?

I mean this IS a military town

[MindPilot]

2. With the world safe for democracy under the statemanship

of our Glorious Leader, we don't need as much military bases 'n' stuff.

:patriot:

[Semi_subversive]

3. I couldn't belive it when the shut down the Naval Training Center

I went thru boot there and learned that San Diego has perfect year-round weather, a great location for a training center. How's the weather at The Training Center at Great Lakes in December? Made absolutely no sense other than f***ing over CA.

[haele]

5. Politics and Easy Money for local "Pioneers"...

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Republican developer types are trying to pull strings again to make some more money.

Do you know how much those ticky-tacky duplex townhouse type gated condo "communities" they've been building at the old San Diego Navy RTC are going for?
A 1300 sq ft two bedroom, two bath with garage and no yard to speak of is going for 3/4 of a mil.

There's some prime oceanfront "close to the harbor" real estate there, especially if they're looking at some serious redeveloping of the Old Town and the MidTown area. Not only that, they can use some of the back drill area to re-align Lindberg Field and minimize some of the noise and operational impact as well as expanding the airport.

You're talking billions of dollars of profits for those same greedheads that gave us the "Qualcomm Stadium" contract and many of the other city investment plans that helped us attain the "stellar" bond rating we currently enjoy.

All these developers are major Californian Republican Party operatives throughout the southern portion of the state - an area that is beginning to see a resurgence of power on the Democratic Party side due to the uncertain economy - and they are seeing the need for more money to "buy back" their influence in those areas.

Most military and anyone who works as a military contractor thinks base closures are not very good for either the military or the community. It's very odd to see MCRD suddenly appear on the list when there's an nationally influential "issue" involving the local moneymakers who will appear to require a large influx of cash fairly soon.

That's my take on it.

Haele

[cascadiance]

4. My take is that this is all part of the Rethugs vote gathering theatre!

First they target South Dakota's bases, and leave San Diego's bases alone, making it so that Thune can make good "local political hay" and attract more moderate in the middle votes for standing up to the president and threatening to support Democrats on a number of votes if he the president doesn't back down on base closures there. If the plan all along was to close San Diego bases, and not South Dakota's, they helped Thune get more votes by going through this exercise, pulling back their plans of closures in South Dakota, and instead close bases in San Diego.

Thune gets more votes, Republicans can still get the same amount of "saved money" by redirecting closures other places, and not worry as much about the political costs here in San Diego (at least at the Senate Level, where Rethugs are not likely to pick up support).

This has a very big smell of Rovian strategy here!