Panel makes own changes in Air Guard - The Washington Times

Liz Sidoti of the Associated Press notes that the base-closing commission has taken Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's restructuring proposal as a starting point but has "shuffled personnel and aircraft as they saw fit." Among other things the commission has voted to keep Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota open. (I have South Dakota ties, so this makes me happy.) Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico also got a vote to stay open - but without its aircraft and with an eye toward closure in 2010 unless the Pentagon finds a new mission for it.

This isn't over. According to Sidoti, the panel must send its final report to President Bush by September 8. He can go any of three ways: accept, reject, or send it back for revisions. Then Congress gets a shot at vetoing the plan in its entirety, if it feels like it. Then, once we get a plan, there's about six years of changes in store as the plan gets put into effect.

Article