PENTAGON RECCOMENDS FT. MCCOY "REALIGNMENT"
Friday, May 13th, 2005 -- 10:34 AM
The Defense Department has released its Base Realignment and Closing recommendations and the news is not good for Wisconsin. Fort McCoy ? the state?s largest military installation ? is not on the chopping block, but it will be ?realigned?.
In this case, "realigned" means ?downsized?.
Under the proposal, Fort McCoy would lose 282 military positions and gain 51 civilian jobs, a net loss of 231 jobs.
The Pentagon is recommending the closure of a number of Wisconsin facilities, most notably their base at Mittchell Field in Milwaukee. That will mean a loss of 266 jobs.
All tolled, Wisconsin would lose 552 civilian and military positions under the proposal. Wisconsin's military installations employ 8,235 and had a combined annual economic impact of almost $919 million.
Governor Jim Doyle, Sen. Herb Kohl and Congressman Ron Kind planned to hold two press conferences on the matter this afternoon.
State Senator Ron Brown, a Republican from Eau Claire, issued a press release expressing disappointment in the staffing reductions. He said this was not the final word and the state would continue to make its case.
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