Sunday, May 15, 2005
Fort Monmouth: Circle the wagons
Big local news is the Dept. of Defense proposing to close the venerable Fort Monmouth in Eatontown NJ. They wanted to do this for two decades. My initial reaction leaned toward approval - let's do it & get it over with. But that opinion quickly shifted after a bit of research; & not because of the knee-jerk responses of politicians (repeated everywhere military istallations would be shut down), which ranged from self-serving to illogical. One of the reasons given by the Defense Department - consolidation of related programs & services - makes sense. Fort Monmouth is a small post with no room for expansion, & it cannot be made secure from terrorist attack. I think Monmouth County is economically healthy enough to absorb the loss of several thousand jobs. Looking over maps & aerial views of the Fort, large sections of the valuable property could be used for education & recreation - it sits on the upper reaches of the tidal Shrewsbury River system, & it has great existing office space. The State would have to get control of the Fort & resist selling it all off for residential use. It's a hot property to be sure.
But there are other considerations, some that have more to do with how we interact with our government than with saving money (which is questionable anyway).....
"We're losing influence abroad when we bring those troops home, and we lose the interaction with America when we create these super bases." Gen. Wesley Clark. Fort Monmouth is a perfect example of a small post that has always been integrated with the surrounding community. Maybe less so now, due to tougher security. But you meet soldiers in Eatontown. & these days, you can't see a soldier without thinking of Iraq.
Missions change. In the previous base-closing round the Pentagon wanted to get rid of McGuire AF Base & Picatinny Arsenal. 9-11 changed that. McGuire is ideally situated on the Northeast Corridor, minutes from New York & Washington DC. Apparently, whatever secret stuff they're doing at Picatinny they're gonna keep doing. Looking over the concise history of Fort Monmouth from its beginnings as Camp Vail (available on large adobe file at the website), the Army has constantly tinkered with & adjusted the base duties, as reflected in a baffling number of acronyms & revolving door commandants. The Defense Dept. can do anything it wants with base, at any time, short of closing it altogether.
My main reason for not closing Fort Monmouth is that it's a very bad time to expect the state & local governments to do the right thing. The State is too broke to deal with it, & the on-going investigations & indictments of Monmouth County politicians of both parties shows that they can't be trusted. So better that the Army hangs on to it.
But there are other considerations, some that have more to do with how we interact with our government than with saving money (which is questionable anyway).....
"We're losing influence abroad when we bring those troops home, and we lose the interaction with America when we create these super bases." Gen. Wesley Clark. Fort Monmouth is a perfect example of a small post that has always been integrated with the surrounding community. Maybe less so now, due to tougher security. But you meet soldiers in Eatontown. & these days, you can't see a soldier without thinking of Iraq.
Missions change. In the previous base-closing round the Pentagon wanted to get rid of McGuire AF Base & Picatinny Arsenal. 9-11 changed that. McGuire is ideally situated on the Northeast Corridor, minutes from New York & Washington DC. Apparently, whatever secret stuff they're doing at Picatinny they're gonna keep doing. Looking over the concise history of Fort Monmouth from its beginnings as Camp Vail (available on large adobe file at the website), the Army has constantly tinkered with & adjusted the base duties, as reflected in a baffling number of acronyms & revolving door commandants. The Defense Dept. can do anything it wants with base, at any time, short of closing it altogether.
My main reason for not closing Fort Monmouth is that it's a very bad time to expect the state & local governments to do the right thing. The State is too broke to deal with it, & the on-going investigations & indictments of Monmouth County politicians of both parties shows that they can't be trusted. So better that the Army hangs on to it.
Comments:
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Closing small bases have a great impact financially on the local towns and non-military workers but equally hurtful is the removal of military presence in a dangerous region of the country.
Fort Monmouth is only about 50 miles from New York City.
Also, by closing smaller local bases, (non-military) civilians will have less contact with Active-Duty Servicemen perhaps making people less sympathetic and thoughtful of the sacrifices these people in the Military make to serve our country.
The more they consolidate the easier they can control.
Couldn't this also effect disabled veterans who use local bases for medical care?
Could it be that any of this decision was made based on politics?
There is a good chance that if Senator Jon Corzine becomes the next Govenor of N.J. his likely
successor to run for Senate will be Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone, who happens to represent the district that Fort Monmouth is in.
Frank Pallone has worked very hard for Monmouth County and the State and has earned respect in a very Rebuplican dominated part of Monmouth County. Could part of the reason for the closure be to undermine him?
Fort Monmouth is only about 50 miles from New York City.
Also, by closing smaller local bases, (non-military) civilians will have less contact with Active-Duty Servicemen perhaps making people less sympathetic and thoughtful of the sacrifices these people in the Military make to serve our country.
The more they consolidate the easier they can control.
Couldn't this also effect disabled veterans who use local bases for medical care?
Could it be that any of this decision was made based on politics?
There is a good chance that if Senator Jon Corzine becomes the next Govenor of N.J. his likely
successor to run for Senate will be Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone, who happens to represent the district that Fort Monmouth is in.
Frank Pallone has worked very hard for Monmouth County and the State and has earned respect in a very Rebuplican dominated part of Monmouth County. Could part of the reason for the closure be to undermine him?
# posted by 
: 3:20 AM
: 3:20 AM
I doubt if there's any really personal politics involved in the initial base closing selections (aside from Texas making a net gain). Certainly, it's a test of Rep. Pallone's influence.
I'd be delighted if either Rep. Pallone or Rep. Rush Holt became a United States Senator. Unfortunately, neither has much support from the big Democratic county machines. But if Jon Corzine is elected Governor, his choice for a replacement, whoever it is, will be endorsed.
I'd be delighted if either Rep. Pallone or Rep. Rush Holt became a United States Senator. Unfortunately, neither has much support from the big Democratic county machines. But if Jon Corzine is elected Governor, his choice for a replacement, whoever it is, will be endorsed.
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