Editorial: Too Many Bases, Not Enough Air Force: USAF is spread among nearly a third more bases than it needs
(Source: Air Force Magazine; published in June 2016 issue)
By Adam J. Hebert
The Defense Department's Infrastructure Capacity report to Congress, released in April, got right to the point. The Pentagon "must stop wasting money on unnecessary infrastructure," the introduction read, so DOD can "devote these savings to readiness, modernization, and other more pressing national security requirements."
The first comprehensive assessment of its sort in 12 years determined DOD is currently supporting at least 22 percent more infrastructure than needed for its missions. The Air Force has it even worse, the study determined, as USAF is presently carrying at least 32 percent excess infrastructure.
In other words, nearly one-third of the Air Force's facilities are unnecessary, given the service's planned missions and force structure. This is not a good thing, as it requires USAF to spread an already-strained force among too many bases, creating inefficiency and wasting billions of dollars over time.
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/feature/5/175094/op_ed%3A-too-many-bases%2C-not-enough-air-force.html
