By: jackie.sauter

Surprised?

A report (PDF) from the Government Accountability Office yesterday says that the Pentagon is planning to run over about $10 billion on base closings and realignments. Oh, and there’ll be about $200 million less in savings.

“The Defense Department expects to spend $31 billion to implement Base Closing and Realignment Commission’s recommendations and predicted net annual savings of $4 billion. Also, it will take until 2017 for the Defense Department to recover upfront costs, four years longer than the base closing commission predicted.”

In addition, the closure of New Jersey’s Fort Monmouth will cost more than any other installation on the Pentagon’s 2005 “hit list” (it’s now estimated at $1.5 billion). The new information has fueled many Garden Staters who call for the decision to be re-examined.

Other one-time cost increases include:

-$970 million more for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency at Fort Belvoir, Virginia

-$700 million more to relocate and realign Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C.

JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor