CONNERS: CRITICAL GAO REPORT MEANS PENTAGON MUST RETHINK FORT MONMOUTH CLOSURE

By thester

CONNERS: CRITICAL GAO REPORT MEANS PENTAGON MUST RETHINK FORT MONMOUTH CLOSURE

(DELRAN) - Assemblyman Jack Conners, chairman of the Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, today said a new Government Accountability Office report shows the Pentagon must rethink the plan to close Fort Monmouth.

The report found the Army faces "significant challenges" in moving operations from Fort Monmouth to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. It found it could take until 2016 to reconstitute the fort's 5,000-member civilian workforce at Aberdeen and until 2024 to fully train the workforce to do the work now being done in New Jersey.

Fort Monmouth is set to close in 2011. It was recommended to be closed in 2005 by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The move was expected to cost $780 million but that cost is now estimated at $1.6 billion.

Conners, D-Camden, issued the following statement:

"The plan to close Fort Monmouth is a matter of great concern to New Jersey and the country. The GAO report heightens that worry, finding among other things that the Army may face trouble hiring qualified people, getting security clearances, finishing new buildings and paying for the move. This is very unsettling news.

"The idea behind closing military bases was to save money and improve troop readiness, but the GAO report indicates closing Fort Monmouth wouldn't accomplish either goal. In fact, it could impair national security and put our soldiers at risk.

"The Pentagon must reconsider this move. There's still time to keep Fort Monmouth open."
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THESTER can be reached via email at thester@njleg.org.

Related topics: Jack Conners, Fort Monmouth, GAO