Reserve Centers in El Dorado, Pine Bluff Only Arkansas BRAC Casualties

Little Rock (AP) - Two small reserve centers in southern Arkansas were the only military installations in the state slated for closure by the Defense Department (website) Friday.The El Dorado Armed Forces Reserve Center and the Stone U.S. Army Reserve Center in Pine Bluff are on the initial list released Friday morning by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

His list of 150 recommended base closings will be reviewed by the White House and Congress before going to a special commission for approval. Arkansas officials had been concerned about closings or realignments at the state's four major installations -- Little Rock Air Force Base, the Pine Bluff Arsenal, Camp Robinson in North Little Rock and the 188th Fighter Wing at Fort Smith.

But those bases were spared any cuts. Thirty-three major bases were recommended for closure in other states. This is the first closure process, called BRAC, since 1995. Public hearings will be held from May through August for the commission to consider arguments against cuts, but experts say about 85 percent of all recommendations are eventually approved by the commission.
http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0505/228046.html

In Texarkana, Red River Army Depot and Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant got tapped for the closure list. They're just across the border in Texas, and from what I've heard about 500 or so workers at those two bases actually live in southwest Arkansas.