thedrifter
07-23-05, 06:49 AM
Pentagon answers Marine consolidation question
Published Saturday July 16 2005
By GEOFF ZIEZULEWICZ
The Beaufort Gazette
The Defense Department on Thursday laid out its rationale for not putting Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego on the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list, a move that would have consolidated all recruit training on Parris Island and doubled the number of recruits coming out of the Lowcountry each year.
The explanation responded to a July 1 letter from the BRAC Commission, which asked why the San Diego recruit depot was not earmarked for closure and consolidation with Parris Island, putting the training of about 40,000 Marines a year at the Lowcountry site.
BRAC Chairman Anthony Principi states in the letter that consolidating recruit training would increase training efficiency, reduce excess capacity and save recurring costs.
But in their Thursday reply, Defense Department representatives wrote that a Marine training consolidation was considered, though numerous factors prevented the San Diego closure from being proposed.
According to the BRAC Commission's letter, the closing of the San Diego installation also could generate offsetting revenues by selling the depot's land, which sits on prime downtown real estate. The San Diego location also has less military value than Parris Island because of metropolitan encroachment, the letter states.
An analysis has shown that closing San Diego would cost $570 million and would result in a steady savings of $14 million a year, meaning it would take years to recoup the closure costs, the Defense Department states. It's unclear how much the recruit depot land would sell for.
Parris Island and San Diego each train about 20,000 recruits a year.
If more recruits were needed to go through training during a surge time, as was the case during the Vietnam War, having one facility would reduce the Corps' ability to train more Marines, the response states.
One training site also would hinder the gradual growth of the Marines over the years and leave few alternatives should something disrupt the training flow on Parris Island, according to the Defense Department.
"These factors would have an adverse effect on an organization that is heavily committed to sourcing three Marine Expeditionary Forces worldwide and waging the global war on terrorism," according to the response. "Any disruption in the recruiting/training continuum would disrupt the pipeline to provide new Marines to the operating forces."
Having a recruit depot on each coast also allows for better location knowledge for recruitment and less travel time for recruits, the report states.
"This synergy has supported the Marine Corps' historic success in meeting recruiting mission, and becomes increasingly vital in an era of increasingly competitive recruiting and accelerated operational deployments," according to the report.
If the BRAC Commission wishes to add the San Diego facility to the closure list, it will require seven out of nine commissioners to vote for it, and the commission will have to show the Pentagon deviated substantially from future force projections.
Military analysts and local officials said this week that they agreed with the Pentagon's explanation for maintaining a recruit depot on each coast.
Jeremiah Gertler, a military analyst during the 1995 BRAC round, said the disadvantages associated with closing San Diego might make the move difficult.
"Fundamentally, I believe it would not be worth the amount of money and effort it would take to expand Parris Island right now, since San Diego is already in place and functioning," said Gertler, now a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The subject of recruit depot consolidation is "a very touchy subject" within the Corps, said retired Marine Col. John Payne, who chairs Beaufort's Military Enhancement Committee, a group that works to promote the county as a place the Pentagon would want to do business.
The Corps wants a recruit depot on each coast for a variety of reasons, Payne said.
"There are security reasons and weather," Payne said. "What if they have an earthquake in San Diego, or a hurricane here?"
While some training consolidation has taken place in other military branches, Gertler said the special needs of the Marines necessitate multiple training facilities because of the intensity and nature of training.
Even if recruit depot consolidation does not happen in the near future, it shouldn't be entirely discounted further down the line, said U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.
"With the continued encroachment around San Diego, Parris Island is ever more attractive," he said.
Ellie
Published Saturday July 16 2005
By GEOFF ZIEZULEWICZ
The Beaufort Gazette
The Defense Department on Thursday laid out its rationale for not putting Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego on the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list, a move that would have consolidated all recruit training on Parris Island and doubled the number of recruits coming out of the Lowcountry each year.
The explanation responded to a July 1 letter from the BRAC Commission, which asked why the San Diego recruit depot was not earmarked for closure and consolidation with Parris Island, putting the training of about 40,000 Marines a year at the Lowcountry site.
BRAC Chairman Anthony Principi states in the letter that consolidating recruit training would increase training efficiency, reduce excess capacity and save recurring costs.
But in their Thursday reply, Defense Department representatives wrote that a Marine training consolidation was considered, though numerous factors prevented the San Diego closure from being proposed.
According to the BRAC Commission's letter, the closing of the San Diego installation also could generate offsetting revenues by selling the depot's land, which sits on prime downtown real estate. The San Diego location also has less military value than Parris Island because of metropolitan encroachment, the letter states.
An analysis has shown that closing San Diego would cost $570 million and would result in a steady savings of $14 million a year, meaning it would take years to recoup the closure costs, the Defense Department states. It's unclear how much the recruit depot land would sell for.
Parris Island and San Diego each train about 20,000 recruits a year.
If more recruits were needed to go through training during a surge time, as was the case during the Vietnam War, having one facility would reduce the Corps' ability to train more Marines, the response states.
One training site also would hinder the gradual growth of the Marines over the years and leave few alternatives should something disrupt the training flow on Parris Island, according to the Defense Department.
"These factors would have an adverse effect on an organization that is heavily committed to sourcing three Marine Expeditionary Forces worldwide and waging the global war on terrorism," according to the response. "Any disruption in the recruiting/training continuum would disrupt the pipeline to provide new Marines to the operating forces."
Having a recruit depot on each coast also allows for better location knowledge for recruitment and less travel time for recruits, the report states.
"This synergy has supported the Marine Corps' historic success in meeting recruiting mission, and becomes increasingly vital in an era of increasingly competitive recruiting and accelerated operational deployments," according to the report.
If the BRAC Commission wishes to add the San Diego facility to the closure list, it will require seven out of nine commissioners to vote for it, and the commission will have to show the Pentagon deviated substantially from future force projections.
Military analysts and local officials said this week that they agreed with the Pentagon's explanation for maintaining a recruit depot on each coast.
Jeremiah Gertler, a military analyst during the 1995 BRAC round, said the disadvantages associated with closing San Diego might make the move difficult.
"Fundamentally, I believe it would not be worth the amount of money and effort it would take to expand Parris Island right now, since San Diego is already in place and functioning," said Gertler, now a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The subject of recruit depot consolidation is "a very touchy subject" within the Corps, said retired Marine Col. John Payne, who chairs Beaufort's Military Enhancement Committee, a group that works to promote the county as a place the Pentagon would want to do business.
The Corps wants a recruit depot on each coast for a variety of reasons, Payne said.
"There are security reasons and weather," Payne said. "What if they have an earthquake in San Diego, or a hurricane here?"
While some training consolidation has taken place in other military branches, Gertler said the special needs of the Marines necessitate multiple training facilities because of the intensity and nature of training.
Even if recruit depot consolidation does not happen in the near future, it shouldn't be entirely discounted further down the line, said U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.
"With the continued encroachment around San Diego, Parris Island is ever more attractive," he said.
Ellie