Obama's 2013 budget includes $581 million for area military bases
ADAM ASHTON
President Barack Obama’s 2013 budget delivers a wealth of goodies for the military in the Puget Sound area, signaling the region remains an important part of national defense as the Pentagon prepares to trim its overall spending.
For the hounds of war: Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Army Ranger battalion stands to gain a $4 million canine kennel.
For the Navy’s underwater forces: The Pentagon is ready to put $280 million toward the construction of a second submarine explosives-handling wharf at Naval Base Kitsap.
And for South Sound’s military and civilian neighbors: The Army plans to spend $91 million to improve Lewis-McChord’s wastewater treatment plant, bringing it up to modern standards.
Obama’s spending plan would steer a total of $581 million to the state for military construction, up from $519 million in this year’s budget.
“These substantial expenditures reflect the military value of our state’s defense bases,” Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, said in a written statement.
About half of the state’s military construction work in 2013 would take place at Lewis-McChord. The base south of Tacoma stands to receive a $73 million battalion complex in addition to the new sewage plant.
But the biggest single expense for the state would go farther west, to Naval Base Kitsap, which is developing a $700 million explosives-handling wharf for its Trident ballistic-missile submarines. Obama’s 2013 budget sets aside money for about one-third of that project.
Lewis-McChord’s growing Special Forces units are in line for better facilities, too. The budget calls for $46.5 million to develop a 1st Special Forces Group operations center along with the new military working dog kennel for the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
The 1st Special Forces Group in August expanded by adding a fourth battalion at Lewis-McChord, which brought another 400 Green Berets to South Sound. Much of the expense for the new operations center would benefit the new battalion, 1st Special Forces Group spokesman Maj. Matthew Gregory said.
The base has about 1,500 soldiers in the 1st Special Forces Group. Those soldiers continually deploy to war zones and to Pacific nations where they train foreign allies.
The Ranger battalion, likewise, deploys often to Afghanistan and reports to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
Lewis-McChord would see another $75 million for two Army Reserve and Washington National Guard projects. Each is called a readiness center, with $40 million going to the Army Reserves and $35 million to the National Guard.
The National Guard project would house the Guard’s Information Operations Group, which is tasked with influencing foreign information systems and protecting U.S. networks, National Guard spokesman Capt. Keith Kosik said.
The Army has announced plans to reduce active-duty ranks by some 80,000 soldiers in coming years, but it’s unclear how those cuts would play out in the Northwest. Washington lawmakers believe the state is well-positioned to maintain its defense installations.
The House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday is expected to hold its first hearing on the defense proposal. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, is the ranking Democrat on the committee. He has endorsed Obama’s overall goal of reducing defense spending while continuing to invest in tools to fight specific threats.
Adam Ashton: 253-597-8646
adam.ashton@thenewstribune.com
