Pentagon seeks more base closings, benefits changes

As defense officials look for ways to pare spending, they're asking Congress for two rounds of military base closings - known by the acronym BRAC - beginning in 2013, as well as fee increases for military health care.

The most recent Base Realignment and Closure commission, in 2005, led to the closing of Fort Monroe in Hampton as well as a recommendation that Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach be shut down. State and local officials managed to keep Oceana open with pledges to more strongly address the Navy's concerns about development encroaching on the base.

The request for two new BRAC rounds, in 2013 and 2015, is contained in the Defense Department's fiscal 2013 budget proposal, which was released today.

Base closings are one of three main cost-saving measures highlighted in the proposal. The others are:

- Reducing the size of the military by 2017, taking the Army down 72,000 to 490,000 soldiers; the Marine Corps down 20,000 to 182,100; the Navy down 6,200 to 319,500; and the Air Force down 4,200 to 328,600. The Reserves and National Guard would see more limited reductions.

- Force structure reductions to save about $50 billion, including cutting at least eight Army Brigade Combat Teams, six Marine Corps battalions and four tactical aircraft squadrons, seven Air Force tactical aircraft squadrons, and retiring seven older Navy cruisers.

The Pentagon is continuing to scrutinize the cost of pay and benefits as well, which it says have grown nearly 90 percent (30 percent more than inflation) since 2001.

The budget proposal calls for a 1.7 percent pay raise for active-duty personnel. But basic pay raises would be slowed following the 2014 fiscal year.

The budget also proposes changes in military health care - increases in TRICARE enrollment fees and pharmacy co-pays and new enrollment fees for Standard/Extra and TRICARE-for-life. None of the proposed fees would apply to active duty troops, survivors of those who died on active duty, or retirees who retired due to disability.

In all, the department expects to save $29 billion in pay and benefits over the next five years. That's slightly more than 10 percent of its overall savings goal. Pay and benefits represent about one third of the defense budget.