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American Politics  » Thirty-Thousand On A Toilet Seat?

Thirty-Thousand On A Toilet Seat?

When I first heard the news that the Bush administration was going to be closing military bases I was initially gleeful. The prospects of disillusioned Republicans danced in my head. I imagined all the thousands of service men and woman who bought into the Bush bullshit finding out that the guy they thought they knew had just indefinitely relieved them. I thought back to all the comments by all the pinhead conservatives who tried to paint Kerry as the anti-defense candidate.

"He voted against this piece of hardware and this billion dollar gadget that's guaranteed to kill thousands. Oh, the horror!"

The horror indeed. I remember looking at the records of the dark lord Cheney when he was a congressman, and Powell and Bush I back in the day when they were championing the "peace dividend" and advocating cuts in the military that were much deeper than what Kerry voted against. I know the hypocrisy and thought that now the predominantly Republican military would find out the truth.

Then reason kicked me in the head. No news is ever good news, with Bush loose. Sure they're saying that we're going to save $48 billion dollars over 20 years but my question is where are they going to spend the savings. After all this "conservative" President is the most spendthrift commander-in-thief this country has ever known.

Let me take a couple of guesses. How about battle-field nuclear weapons, or maybe the fantasy program that continues under the assumption that it's wise to spend trillions of dollars in the stratosphere for a sci-fi wet dream known as "Star Wars" targeted at stopping Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles?(It's a dream because if it ain't 100% perfect it don't matter) Or better yet, another war or Republican directed government waste that funnels off profit to private companies at the expense of the taxpayers? After all they are Republicans and this is your money we're talking about.

Another thing struck me as odd. Isn't it strange that there is only going to be a savings of $48 billion over 20 years when they're proposing the closing of 180 bases and we spend well over $400 billion a year on the military? I mean where is all the rest of the money going. That's only $13,333,333.34 dollars per base, per year. We spent $420.7 billion on the military last year not including the expenditures for Iraq and Afghanistan (don't get me started). So where did the rest of the $418.3 billion go?

If I'm doing my math correctly and assuming that the military budget stays at the present amount over the next 20 years that means that we'll spend well over $8 trillion protecting this great nation (by the way we kicked King George's ass without a standing army or navy and more recently got our asses kicked not once but twice by 3rd world nations).

$48 billion is like .6% of the total budget.

Let me say that again:

The budgets for 180 bases for the next 20 years equals .6 (YES THAT'S POINT 6) %(PERCENT) of the total military budget.

So my question is where is all the rest of the $7,952,000,000,000 (SEVEN TRILLION, NINE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO BILLION DOLLARS) going to be spent if it's not being spent on military bases?

Chew on that but here's the list of where it's not going to be spent:

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

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

Parisan 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

Naval Shipyard Portsmouth

New Jersey

Fort Monmouth

Inspector/Instructor Center, West Trenton

Kilmer U.S. Army Reserve Center, Edison

New Mexico

Cannon Air Force Base

Jenkins Armed Forces Reserve Center, Albuquerque

New York

Armed Forces Reserve Center, Amityville

Army National Guard Reserve Center, Niagra 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

Niagra Falls International Airport Air Guard Station

North Carolina

Navy Reserve Center, Asheville

Niven U.S. Army Reserve Center, Albermarle

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

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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)

Pennsylvania

Bristol

Engineering Field Activity Northeast

Kelly Support Center

Naval Air Station Willow Grove

Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Reading

North Penn U.S. Army Reserve Center, Morristown

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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