When a federal panel voted to close Fort Monmouth, it included a vague condition directing the Pentagon not to shutter the post unless it could be sure that the fort's work supporting the war on terror was not disrupted.
When a federal panel voted to close Fort Monmouth, it included a vague condition directing the Pentagon not to shutter the post unless it could be sure that the fort's work supporting the war on terror was not disrupted.
But the condition did not specify any authority to make certain the Pentagon sticks to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission's recommendation.
On Thursday, Rep. Chris Smith, R-Robbinsville, circulated a letter to his New Jersey colleagues that asks the commission to name an independent body, such as the Government Accountability Office, to determine if the Pentagon has met the condition before closing Fort Monmouth and moving more than 4,000 of its jobs sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
"Because we remain unconvinced that Aberdeen will meet the criteria delineated by BRAC, we strongly believe that the recommendation by BRAC for the closure of Fort Monmouth will only be ensured when an independent body--outside of the Department of Defense--is responsible for their certification and report their findings to Congress," Smith wrote.
The congressman circulated the letter through the New Jersey delegation Thursday and planned to send it to the commission on Friday.
On Wednesday, the commission voted to close Fort Monmouth but said its work on equipment that helps soldiers communicate is too vital to disrupt by closing the base too soon.
Closing Fort Monmouth, established in 1917, would save the Pentagon $143 million in cost of living and health expenses, but New Jersey officials argued it would cost $822 million to shift the fort's work to Aberdeen. They also stressed that nearly 80 percent of Fort Monmouth's employees would not relocate to Aberdeen, creating a so-called "brain drain" of highly skilled engineers and scientists.
But Pentagon officials said that consolidating the work being done at Fort Monmouth and other Army research and development operations in Maryland made more sense, instead of having work scattered at bases in various states.
