MILITARY REORGANIZATION CAN BE EFFECTED SAFELY

The Cold War's obituary, perhaps written prematurely, contains a postscript that touches many Americans. With the lessening of world tensions comes a natural readjustment of national priorities; where military might once had prominence, other concerns have now stepped forward. No one said this transition would be easy, and, with the announcement of military base closures in recent days, it is indeed proving not to be. Still, while securing this nation from foreign threats must be the supreme duty of the federal government, now seems an appropriate time for reorganizing and pruning the U.S. military to a more lean posture.

Downscaling our nation's military commitment should help the fiscal bottom line (the so-called peace dividend) yet these changes come with a price. Across America, communities that have lost bases in their backyards are scrambling to reverse military proposals or in some way lessen the economic impact of an installation's departure. When the time became right for these decisions to be made, and they were developed with the military's supervision, some pain was inevitable.

During the round of installation closings announced last week, 31 facilities were targeted for closure and another 134 were pointed at for operational cutbacks. In the first round, one of the military bases nearest to Cape Girardeau, Eaker Air Force Base in Blytheville, Ark., was closed. Since many of the bases affected recently were naval facilities, the Midwest was not hit as hard; in fact, Missouri and Illinois stand to gain 15,000 military jobs as a result of consolidating military operations from other states. Fort Leonard Wood, an army outpost near Waynesville, Mo., would pick up a substantial number of troops because of the closing of Fort McClellan in Alabama.

However, this shift doesn't make up for the fact that midwestern states, Missouri particularly, have been hard hit by private-sector job losses associated with the defense industry. Some officials estimate that 16,000 people in the St. Louis area have permanently lost their defense-related jobs since 1990. Almost 13,000 of those had been employed by McDonnell Douglas Corp., a prominent military contractor.

The military, during this period of relative calm on the international scene, intends to do in the near future what private corporations have done for fiscal viability in recent years: trim fat, consolidate operations, work smarter. Complicating these changes are troubling signs from afar: a communist backlash against Boris Yeltsin's democratic reforms in Russia, North Korea's departure from an international nuclear treaty, and terrorism being conceived abroad and executed on U.S. soil. Some military reductions are in order, yet security can not be compromised.

From the perspective of congressional appropriations, the military represents pork at its highest level. Lawmakers many of whom clobber military spending at every opportunity, yet are suddenly hawkish in the face of these cuts will test the bounds of their power in trying to keep money flowing to their constituents. Credit President Clinton for delivering on a promise to scale back the military. Let's hope the president hangs tough against this political pressure and continues with these measured reductions. While the pain might last for a time, a leaner, more effective (and more cost-effective) military could result.