Base closing rounds hit N.E. hardest

WASHINGTON – New England has been hit the hardest by military base closings, losing more than 58 percent of its active duty personnel between 1997 and 2002, according to a report compiled by the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

New Hampshire suffered the biggest decline, losing 92 percent of its active military, while Massachusetts lost 74 percent, Maine lost 54 percent, and Connecticut lost 41 percent.

The report comes as the Pentagon is preparing to release its fifth and latest round of recommended base closings in about two weeks. And the region’s lawmakers said it shows that New England has suffered enough.

According to the Institute’s report, the 18 states in the Northeast and Midwest hold 40 percent of the nation’s population, but account for just slightly more than 10 percent of the country’s active duty Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine personnel.

“It’s no wonder that recruitment for the services is down,” said Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., and co-chairman of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition. “The Pentagon has basically ceded the Northeast and Midwest.”

New England’s six states have lost nearly 18,000 active military personnel, with three of the states in the top 10 hardest hit: New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine, ranked first, fifth and seventh.

Rhode Island ranked 26, with a loss of 24.5 percent in active military, while Vermont fared the best, ranking 41st and losing just 10 percent of its personnel.