Taps for Dix

Cost-cutting offensive

More than a million American men have good reason to remember the place vividly, if not fondly: Fort Dix, N.J., was where they suffered through basic training. But if the Pentagon has its way. the rites of passage that have continued since 1917 at the center 75 long, long miles from New York City will be coming to an end. In a sweeping economy drive to whittle $264 million from its annual budget, the Pentagon last week announced plans to close down or reduce 157 military facilities, including the famous basic training center at Fort Dix. More than 15,000 civilian and military jobs would be eliminated by the cuts.

The proposal drew predictable howls from states and communities that depend on military payrolls. In Homestead, Fla., 30 miles south of Miami, businessmen are worried about the economic impact of the transfer of a 1,650-man contingent from Homestead Air Force Base to installations in North Carolina and Texas. The rebilleting, says Mayor Nicholas Sincere, would slash the $105 million local military spending by about $25 million.

Even harder hit would be Aroostook County, Me., a depressed potato-farming area, where a reduction of Loring Air Force Base to a forward operating station would cause the loss of 2,780 jobs. The state's congressional delegation claims that move would produce a $22 million drop in retail sales and a surge in unemployment from 11% to about 20%. Says Abraham Etscovitz, who owns an automobile dealership in nearby Caribou: "We're going to pray."

In Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Tom Moody is doing more than that to counter the Pentagon's plans to ship about 1,400 men out of nearby Rickenbacker Air Force Base. Moody and colleagues have set up a committee to find uses for a deserted base. So far four companies have said they might be interested.

Before any of the closings can go into effect, a 30-day period of public comment must elapse. During that time, congressmen will surely take the offensive against the Pentagon's economy drive. New Jersey's 17-member delegation will challenge the Pentagon's estimate of the $16 million in savings that could be made by shifting Dix's basic training function to Fort Jackson, S.C. "We've certainly not thrown in the towel," says Democratic Senator Harrison Williams. "In the past when attempts were made to transfer Dix's training function somewhere else, a united New Jersey delegation has worked wonders." Ironically, many of the legislators who oppose the Pentagon's economy drive are severe critics of military spending. Cut the defense budget, they argue, any place but in my district.

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