Ft. Hood hit by 'severe' cutbacks (one of the nation's largest posts)

[rainbow4321]

Cutbacks for Ft. Hood but no shortage of $$ for chimp's corrupt contractor$ in Iraq.

http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3921640.html

A "severe budget crunch" has hit Fort Hood, one of the nation's largest military posts and home to a U.S. Army division serving in Iraq, officials said Thursday.

The funding squeeze forced the Central Texas installation to impose an immediate hiring freeze and dramatic cuts in contracts with local providers of support services, officials said.

The move announced Thursday follows "significant internal steps to help manage existing funds through the end of the fiscal year," an announcement from base headquarters said. "Additional measures are necessary and will be implemented beginning (Thursday)," the statement said.

In addition to the "100 percent civilian hiring freeze," other cutbacks will reduce custodial contracts, on-post housing referrals, grounds maintenance contracts and government vehicle contracts, officials said. Additionally, pest management contracts were "severely" cut and other services were "significantly" reduced, officials said.

[Tempest]

1. The local businesses are going to be hit hard

"dramatic cuts in contracts with local providers of support services, officials said."

I'm torn about whether to feel bad for them, considering how strongly the area supports the deciderer.

[Algorem]

2. must be too many Democrats in that area?

[cantstandbush]

3. Just keep those tax breaks for the wealthy coming. Move on.

you have to go to war with the military you have.

[MADem]

4. I was on a military installation last week

A fairly well-secured one, historically. For the first time in my experience there, the gate guard was a rent-a-cop. It was clear to me that he had no idea what he was looking for in checking IDs, which doesn't make one feel very safe or secure, no matter what the threatcon (or force protection blah blah, whatever they call it nowadays) happens to be.

Guess all the kids are off to the sandbox....

[jmowreader]

5. All the money is going to Fort Bragg

The latest round of base closings have shuttered Fort McPherson, Georgia--home of the Training and Doctrine Command, the largest and arguably most important command in the whole Army. TRADOC is coming to Bragg. Reserve Command is coming to Bragg. They're converting Pope Air Force Base into Pope Army Airfield--which it was anyway, they're just finally getting around to admitting it--which means they'll have to bring another Army one-star up to run Pope AAF. There's a few other things that are coming to Bragg.

All the things going into Bragg mean they've got to spend brazillions of dollars on new construction at Bragg...which means that since there's only a certain amount of money to go around, everyone else is gonna get screwed.