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Esta página no está disponible en español. Pentagon Recommends Closing Two Facilities In Puerto Rico But Fort Buchanan Remains Proposed Military Base Closings
Pentagon Recommends Closing Two Facilities In Puerto Rico But Fort Buchanan Remains May 13, 2005 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The last active U.S. Army post in the Caribbean will remain open, the Pentagon recommended Friday, quieting fears the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico would lose income estimated at US$200 million (euro157 million) annually. A smaller Army post and a National Guard base on the island would be closed under the recommendation submitted by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission on Friday. Buchanan would lose nine military and 47 civilian positions as well as the Army Contracting Agency Southern Hemisphere Region Headquarters, which would move to Fort Houston, Texas, under the proposal. The Army facility to be closed, at Bayamon town neighboring the capital, San Juan, would lose 25 military and one civilian positions. Two other military posts recommended for reorganization, one in San Juan and the other in west-coast Aguadilla, would lose another 53 military positions. President George W. Bush will announce his decision on the recommendations by Sept. 23. Congress will then vote to approve or disapprove the entire list. "The recommendation is to reutilize its (Fort Buchanan's) resources in a different form," said Luis Fortuno, Puerto Rico's nonvoting representative in the U.S. Congress. The reorganization process takes five or six years and "does not necessarily imply a reduction in functions and importance. On the contrary, it may signify an increase," Col. Stephen Ackman, commander of Fort Buchanan, said in a statement. Earlier this week, Fortuno said he feared the Bush administration would close Fort Buchanan in reprisal for Puerto Ricans forcing the closure of the U.S. Navy's prized bombing range on Vieques island. The Navy abandoned its base in 2003, four years after the killing of a civilian guard by errant bombs sparked outrage and protests. Critics said the bombing harmed the island's fragile environment, endangered the health of residents and hurt the livelihoods of fishermen and hoteliers. The Navy denied the accusations. The departure from Vieques prompted the closure last year of Roosevelt Roads Naval Station on Puerto Rico's east coast, which had administered the bombing exercises. It had been a support base for U.S. invasions of the Dominican Republic in 1965, Grenada in 1983 and Haiti in 1994. Thousands of troops and civilians packed up and left, depriving the economy of an estimated $300 million (euro234 million) a year. Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba now is the last U.S. Naval base in the Caribbean. Fort Buchanan was established in 1923 in suburban Guaynabo and mobilizes, readies and deploys some 15,000 National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve soldiers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 450 buildings dot its 4,500 acres (1,820 hectares). At the end of last year, about 630 people were employed on the base, which was the headquarters for U.S. Army South from 1999 to 2003. Fort Buchanan first appeared on the list of bases whose closure was contemplated in 1995. This year the Pentagon proposed shutting about 180 military installations from Maine to Hawaii, including 33 major bases. List Of Proposed Military Base Closings By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS May 13, 2005 WASHINGTON (AP) -- A list of military facilities the Defense Department recommended for closure Friday: Alabama: Abbott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Tuskegee Anderson U.S. Army Reserve Center, Troy Armed Forces Reserve Center, Mobile BG William P. Screws U.S. Army Reserve Center, Montgomery Fort Ganey Army National Guard Reserve Center, Mobile Fort Hanna Army National Guard Reserve Center, Birmingham Gary U.S. Army Reserve Center, Enterprise Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Montgomery Navy Reserve Center, Tuscaloosa The Adjutant General Building, AL Army National Guard, Montgomery Wright U.S. Army Reserve Center Alaska: Kulis Air Guard Station Arizona: Air Force Research Lab, Mesa Allen Hall Armed Forces Reserve Center, Tucson Arkansas: El Dorado Armed Forces Reserve Center Stone U.S. Army Reserve Center, Pine Bluff California: Armed Forces Reserve Center Bell Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Oakland Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Bernardino Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Diego Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Seaside Naval Support Activity Corona Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Detachment Concord Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Encino Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Los Angeles Onizuka Air Force Station Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant Connecticut: Sgt. Libby U.S. Army Reserve Center, New Haven Submarine Base New London Turner U.S. Army Reserve Center, Fairfield U.S. Army Reserve Center Maintenance Support Facility, Middletown Delaware: Kirkwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Newark Florida: Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Orlando Navy Reserve Center, St. Petersburg Georgia: Fort Gillem Fort McPherson Inspector/Instructor, Rome Naval Air Station Atlanta Naval Supply Corps School, Athens U.S. Army Reserve Center, Columbus Hawaii: Army National Guard Reserve Center, Honokaa Idaho: Navy Reserve Center, Pocatello Illinois: Armed Forces Reserve Center, Carbondale Navy Reserve Center, Forest Park Indiana: Navy Marine Corps Reserve Center, Grissom Air Reserve Base, Bunker Hill Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Indianapolis Navy Reserve Center, Evansville Newport Chemical Depot U.S. Army Reserve Center, Lafayette U.S. Army Reserve Center, Seston Iowa: Navy Reserve Center, Cedar Rapids Navy Reserve Center, Sioux City Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Dubuque Kansas: Kansas Army Ammunition Plant Kentucky: Army National Guard Reserve Center, Paducah Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Lexington Navy Reserve Center, Lexington U.S. Army Reserve Center, Louisville U.S. Army Reserve Center, Maysville Louisiana: Baton Rouge Army National Guard Reserve Center Naval Support Activity, New Orleans Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Baton Rouge Roberts U.S. Army Reserve Center, Baton Rouge Maine: Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Limestone Naval Reserve Center, Bangor Naval Shipyard Portsmouth, Kittery Maryland: Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Patuxent River Navy Reserve Center, Adelphi Pfc. Flair U.S. Army Reserve Center, Frederick Massachusetts: Malony U.S. Army Reserve Center Otis Air Guard Base Westover U.S. Army Reserve Center, Citopee Michigan: Navy Reserve Center Marquette Parisian U.S. Army Reserve Center, Lansing Selfridge Army Activity W.K. Kellogg Airport Air Guard Station Minnesota: Navy Reserve Center Duluth Mississippi: Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant Naval Station, Pascagoula U.S. Army Reserve Center, Vicksburg Missouri: Army National Guard Reserve Center, Jefferson Barracks Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Kansas City Defense Finance and Accounting Service, St. Louis Marine Corps Support Center, Kansas City Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Kansas Navy Reserve Center, Cape Girardeau Montana: Galt Hall U.S. Army Reserve Center, Great Falls Nebraska: Army National Guard Reserve Center, Columbus Army National Guard Reserve Center, Grand Island Army National Guard Reserve Center, Kearny Naval Recruiting District Headquarters, Omaha Navy Reserve Center, Lincoln Nevada: Hawthorne Army Depot New Hampshire: Doble U.S. Army Reserve Center, Portsmouth New Jersey: Fort Monmouth Inspector/Instructor Center, West Trenton Kilmer U.S. Army Reserve Center, Edison SFC Nelson V. Brittin U.S. Army Reserve Center New Mexico: Cannon Air Force Base Jenkins Armed Forces Reserve Center, Albuquerque New York: Armed Forces Reserve Center, Amityville Army National Guard Reserve Center, Niagara Falls Carpenter U.S. Army Reserve Center, Poughkeepsie Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Rome Navy Recruiting District Headquarters, Buffalo Navy Reserve Center Glenn Falls Navy Reserve Center Horsehead Navy Reserve Center Watertown Niagara Falls International Airport Air Guard Station North Carolina: Navy Reserve Center, Asheville Niven U.S. Army Reserve Center, Albemarle Ohio: Army National Guard Reserve Center, Mansfield Army National Guard Reserve Center, Westerville Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Dayton Mansfield Lahm Municipal Airport Air Guard Station Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Akron Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Cleveland Parrott U.S. Army Reserve Center, Kenton U.S. Army Reserve Center, Whitehall Oklahoma: Armed Forces Reserve Center Broken Arrow Armed Forces Reserve Center Muskogee Army National Guard Reserve Center Tishomingo Krowse U.S. Army Reserve Center, Oklahoma City Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Tulsa Oklahoma City (95th) Oregon: Navy Reserve Center Central Point Umatilla Army Depot Pennsylvania: Bristol Engineering Field Activity Northeast Kelly Support Center Naval Air Station Willow Grove Navy Crane Center Lester Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Reading North Penn U.S. Army Reserve Center, Norristown Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station Serrenti U.S. Army Reserve Center, Scranton U.S. Army Reserve Center Bloomsburg U.S. Army Reserve Center Lewisburg U.S. Army Reserve Center Williamsport W. Reese U.S. Army Reserve Center/OMS, Chester Puerto Rico: Army National Guard Reserve Center, Humacao Lavergne U.S. Army Reserve Center, Bayamon Rhode Island: Harwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Providence USARC Bristol South Carolina: Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Charleston South Naval Facilities Engineering Command South Dakota: Ellsworth Air Force Base Tennessee: U.S. Army Reserve Area Maintenance Support Facility, Kingsport Texas: Army National Guard Reserve Center No. 2, Dallas Army National Guard Reserve Center (Hondo Pass), El Paso Army National Guard Reserve Center, California Crossing Army National Guard Reserve Center, Ellington Army National Guard Reserve Center, Lufkin Army National Guard Reserve Center, Marshall Army National Guard Reserve Center, New Braunfels Brooks City Base Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Antonio Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant Naval Station, Ingleside Navy Reserve Center, Lubbock Navy Reserve Center, Orange Red River Army Depot U.S. Army Reserve Center No. 2, Houston Utah: Deseret Chemical Depot Virginia: Fort Monroe Washington: 1LT Richard H. Walker U.S. Army Reserve Center Army National Guard Reserve Center, Everett Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Tacoma U.S. Army Reserve Center, Fort Lawton Vancouver Barracks West Virginia: Bias U.S. Army Reserve Center, Huntington Fairmont U.S. Army Reserve Center Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Moundsville Wisconsin: Gen. Mitchell International Airport ARS Navy Reserve Center, La Crosse Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Madison Olson U.S. Army Reserve Center, Madison U.S. Army Reserve Center, O'Connell Wyoming: Army Aviation Support Facility, Cheyenne Army National Guard Reserve Center, Thermopolis
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