Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!umich!mailrus!ames!pacbell!att!cbnews!military From: dritchey@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (Don Ritchey) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Base Closings/Defense Cuts Message-ID: <13850@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 10 Feb 90 03:03:13 GMT References: <13809@cbnews.ATT.COM> Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, Il. Lines: 48 Approved: military@att.att.com From: dritchey@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (Don Ritchey) in article <13809@cbnews.ATT.COM>, schweige@cs.nps.navy.mil (Jeffrey M. Schweiger) says: > In article <13782@cbnews.ATT.COM> scameron@blake.acs.washington.edu (Scott Cameron) writes: [ portions deleted ] >>Rumors are flying here in the Northwest that DOD is contemplating the >>following scenario as part of the so-called "peace dividend" defense cuts: >> -Relocation of the 7th LID from Ft. Ord, CA to Ft. Lewis >> -Closing Ft. Ord [ portions deleted ] > The major rationale for the move is the collocation of McChord AFB with > Ft. Lewis, making it easier for the division to deploy on short notice. > Currently, much of the division would have to travel by ground transportation > to Travis AFB, a couple of hours away, to deploy. Another reason, is > increased opportunity for live fire training at Ft. Lewis, as opposed to > Ft. Ord. Another rationale, from the standpoint of both the soldiers involved and the budget planners of the Pentagon, might include the drastic difference in the cost of living in rural Washington state versus the Montery area of California. I remember friends who contemplated leaving the military, taking unacompanied tours overseas, or taking the Fort Ord, CA assignment as without-dependants (living in a cheap appartment or the BOQ) due to the extremely high cost of living and housing in that area. It was alleged that if you could not get on base housing, you could not afford to get a decent house close to the base. Now, I cannot answer the question of whether all the concern was realistic or not, but the perception of not being able to afford a decent standard of living was very depressing. This was especially true if you were a home-owner in some low cost area, like central Texas (Fort Hood) where a house could be purchased in 1977 for $20,000, and the same house in the Fort Ord area being double or triple the price. I don't know the prices today, but the disparity is probably relatively constant. When I was on active duty, most military people feared an assignment to a high cost area if they already had a home or were facing return from overseas with the deadline from the IRS staring them in the face. Taking a large step backwards in expectations for a house and standard of living makes for poor morale. #include Don Ritchey dritchey@ihlpb.att.com or don.ritchey@att.com AT&T Bell Labs, Room IH 1D-409, Naperville, IL 60566, (312) 979-6179