New Call For Base Closures

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) – A new round of military base closings has been recommended for 2017.

The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1MGSCP6) an upcoming evaluation of all U.S. military bases has members of South Mississippi’s military and business communities gearing up to prove its installations are valuable and necessary.

President Barack Obama ordered a new round of recommendations in fiscal year 2017 from the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. The commission is to assess the value and effectiveness of military installations and advise Congress and the president on how to best organize U.S. forces.

Between five installations — Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Trent Lott Training Complex in Gulfport, Stennis Space Center in Hancock County and Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg — the military employs 19,760 people in southern Mississippi.