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Being a GI in Germany, this Christian Science Monitor story got my attention:
A Rush To Make Room For Returning TroopsThat's alarming! Though it's no surprise to me that I'd never heard of this expert group before - even though I'm planning on returning Stateside next year too, there's no reason for me to expect to know everything. I am but a little cog in a big, big wheel, after all.Substandard housing and overcrowded schools could pose problems at home as military downsizes abroad.
WASHINGTON ? As the military moves forward on historic plans to return to American soil some 50,000 troops stationed in Europe and the Far East, a panel of experts convened to monitor the process will Monday tell Congress that perhaps the Pentagon is moving too quickly - to the detriment of the soldiers that are coming home.
The final report of the Overseas Basing Commission (OBC) is expected to agree with the Pentagon's general aims - to reorganize America's military footprint abroad to support the more flexible needs of the war on terror. But at a time when the Army is already stretched, the concern is that a too-hasty return of thousands of troops to the United States - regardless of its tactical merits - would leave communities with little time to prepare and would cost Congress more than it is willing to pay.
The result, panelists worry, could be substandard temporary housing for soldiers' families and overcrowded schools for their children, further alienating some troops and driving them from the force.
"Stress on families and the receiving communities and the potential consequences on recruitment and retention is a significant factor of the commission's final report," says Patricia Walker, executive director of the commission. "A major concern ... is that the Department of Defense time things properly as not to adversely affect the military members and their families as they return home."Indeed! But...
...the OBC is merely an advisory board, and its recommendations carry no authority.Good! Someone influential in Congress will have the courage to do something in response to this looming disaster...Ultimately, though, Congress controls the Pentagon's budget, and several influential members of Congress have already expressed concern about issues raised by the OBC. These concerns range from the tactical to the political, but few stir more uncertainty than the question of the soldiers' experience when they come home.
"The movement of troops from Europe and Korea back to the United States will have a huge impact on the communities to which they're returning," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California during a June Senate hearing. "Quality of life is a key element of the global rebasing strategy, so the department needs to be very careful to avoid returning American troops and their families to bases in communities that are not ready to receive them."Good for her! The last thing I, a well-paid veteran of the Iraq war needs after returning from years of service overseas is to find myself living in a house made of used toilets, tarpaper, and mud while my children share splintered desks and broken pencils at a substandard school in some ghetto. But wait! Oddly enough, the communities aren't worried...
For their part, the communities aren't complaining about the prospect of thousands of new jobs and a spike in homebuilding. Among the bases receiving the most troops will be Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and Fort Carson near Colorado Springs, Colo. El Paso is so eager for new troops that it has already made preparations for the growth.Not according to a panel of experts you don't!!"We think we've got a pretty good plan in place," says Jean Offutt, a spokeswoman for Fort Bliss.
But wait a minute, I think to myself... who is this Overseas Basing Commission? The Monitor story says nothing about their background, how they started, who runs it... fortunately, I have a very powerful device called a "web search engine"at my disposal. I'm not going to reveal all my secrets, but suffice to say all I do is go to this "search engine", type the words Overseas Basing Commission into a little window there, click the "Google Search" button, and hey, presto! What a surprise - I'm at Diane Feinstein's Homepage!
Senators Hutchison and Feinstein Introduce LegislationBless her heart! Not only did Ms Feinstein agree with the committee, she formed it too! Surprisingly, the Christian Science Monitor didn't mention that in their story. And, equally surprisingly, one of Feinstein's committee's first reports apparently took a few swipes at Donald Rumsfeld:
Creating an Overseas Military Base CommissionApril 29, 2003
Washington, DC - Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, today introduced legislation establishing a congressional panel to conduct a detailed study of United States military facilities overseas.
A government commission studying overseas military bases sent Congress a report that included criticism of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's strategy, then removed the document from the commission Web site after the Pentagon complained that it divulged classified information.I wonder who leaked that story to the press?The congressionally appointed panel contends that the 262-page report is based only on public sources, and several commission officials say they believe the Defense Department was annoyed because their conclusions include harsh criticism of some elements of Rumsfeld's plan for streamlining the military.
That story fails to mention Feinstein's heroic formation of the committee too, but we here at Mudville certainly know where credit is due. Bottom line, kudos to all involved for showing the courage to form a committee that can later present results they agree with to keep GIs and their dollars over in Europe where they belong - while US bases are closed - for the sake of the children.
