UPDATE, 11:30 A.M. THURSDAY: The Department of Defense has responded to a request for comment on U.S. Sen. James Webb’s remarks about the planned closure of Virginia’s Joint Forces Command:
“The Department of Defense works closely with Congress on a variety of issues, and is aware of his concerns,” a Defense spokesman wrote in an e-mail. “The department takes every request for information from a member of Congress seriously and works diligently to provide the information requested in a timely manner.”
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ announcement Monday that the Joint Forces Command Base in Norfolk, Va., would be shuttered sparked bipartisan opposition from Virginia lawmakers, including Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, Republican U.S. Reps. Randy Forbes and Rob Wittman, Democratic Reps. Robert Scott and Glenn Nye, and U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb, both Democrats.
Webb has since questioned the process behind the decision, saying he is “disappointed” that the White House didn’t consult Virginia’s delegation before the announcement.
A decision of this magnitude should have involved the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, which would have taken into consideration individual stakeholders and the impact on the community, Webb said.
“The Secretary of Defense claims JFCOM is not subject to the base realignment statutes because it is a work-force reduction rather than a base closure,” he said. “However, I believe a strong legal case can be made that the base closure statutes are applicable because this involves a reduction of more than 1,000 civilian personnel.”
Virginia’s senior senator added that he has requested details from the Defense Department on its legal justifications for going around base closure rules, as well as the data it used to make the decision “since the information they have provided publicly has changed from day to day.”
“At a time when we are still fighting two wars, joint interoperability is critical and requires a considerable degree of coordination,” he said. “JFCOM has the expertise for orchestrating the provision of forces to meet combat contingencies. ”
The Defense Department did not return requests for comment.
