Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement on the release of the U.S. Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure list:
"Californians understand and support the goals of the federal base closure and realignment process: to reduce excess capacity and to help transform our military to meet our future security needs. While it may be necessary for some of our nation's bases to close or change to achieve this transformation, the process must be fair, balanced, and above all, accurate. We know, for instance, how critical California is to our nation's ability to meet the threats of the 21st century, and the unique advantages our bases have in meeting those threats. With today's announcement, it appears the Pentagon agrees.
"The Department of Defense has proposed bringing new missions to a number of California's bases and realigning others, while closing relatively few in our state compared to previous BRAC rounds. In the coming days, we will be taking a closer look at the details to ensure that today's decisions are sound and balanced. Our initial assessment is that this is good news for California and for our nation.
"California communities that find their bases on the BRAC list should know that their local, state and federal officials have been working to help them and will continue to help them throughout the summer. Our California Council on Base Support and Retention, which I appointed last year to prepare for this round, is already organized into teams to help each city that is affected. They will assist with reviews of the Pentagon's decisions for errors, oversights or omissions and they stand ready to help communities make their cases before the upcoming BRAC Commission hearings. Consistent with the Council's advice, I plan to testify before the BRAC Commission at its likely California hearing on behalf of our state's bases.
"Our Council's co-chairs also will be meeting with California's Congressional delegation and the state legislature next week. It is important that we work as a team for California on our next steps. I can assure you that we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to protect California's vital bases."
DoD 2005 BRAC Recommendation List by State, (PDF, 108kb)
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