The Pentagon proposed Friday the closure of 33 major domestic military bases in the first round of base closures and realignment in a decade.

The 33 bases from coast to coast were among the 180 military installations to be shut down as proposed by the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld submitted the list to the nine-member Base Realignment and Closure Commission, which will review the list and make its own recommendations to President George W. Bush.

Among the major closures were Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, the Naval Station in Ingleside, Texas, Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, and Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut.

As part of the Pentagon proposal, 29 major bases would remain open but with thousands fewer troops. Dozens of others will expand to accommodate troops returning to the United States from Europe as a result of the ongoing adjustment of global military posture.

The Naval Shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, and Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland are among those to be expanded.

"Our current arrangements, designed for the Cold War, must give way to the new demands of the war against extremism and other evolving 21st Century challenges," Rumsfeld said in a written statement.

Rumsfeld said Thursday that the scope of the new round of domestic base closures would be smaller than foreseen earlier due to the return of tens of thousands of troops and the decisions to reduce leased space by moving activities from leased space into owned facilities.

He said if his list of recommendations was approved, then a total of 48.8 billion dollars would be saved over the coming 20 years, or a recurring annual savings of 5.5 billion dollars.

The Pentagon said the base closures and realignments, which will take six years starting 2006, were necessary to reduce costs, promote flexibility and greater integration of training among military services.

The Pentagon has conducted four rounds of base realignments and closures, in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995 respectively, which brought about 97 major closures, 55 major realignments and 235 minor actions.

Source: Xinhua