Military base closing criteria released

PORTLAND – The U.S. Department of Defense did not incorporate suggestions from Maine’s congressional delegation into the criteria it will use to choose military bases to close next year.

The Defense Department will use those criteria, published Thursday in the Federal Register, to decide which military installations to recommend for closure in 2005.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement that she was disappointed the department did not incorporate any suggested revisions in its final criteria. She vowed to keep working to ensure the long-term survival of Brunswick Naval Air Station and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, located in Kittery.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said he believes the military has about 20 percent to 25 percent excess capacity at its bases. He has said he plans to close up to a quarter of the nation’s 425 bases in 2005 to cut costs.

Maine’s delegates had lobbied defense officials to protect the state’s military bases by changing the rules the department will use in deciding which bases to close.

Republican Sens. Collins and Olympia Snowe, and Democratic Rep. Tom Allen suggested rule changes that would benefit Brunswick Naval Air Station, while Massachusetts and New Hampshire legislators proposed ways to protect Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.