BASE CLOSINGS SKIRT THE BIG CUTS

The Pentagon will announce its latest round of military base closings tomorrow, but TIME Defense correspondent Mark Thompson reports that officials haven't mustered the political will to get rid of the biggest financial sinkholes. Instead, he says, most of the closings will affect mid-sized and small bases. On the bright side, he says, the Pentagon has taken aim for the first time at the military's costly repair depots, which employ "a lot of vocal, voting civilians." Two reportedly on the list: the Navy's Long Beach Naval Shipyard in California -- which escaped closing in 1993 -- and the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Tx. Still, Thompson says, "it looks like they're ducking some of the tough calls." He says Pentagon documents suggest that five of the most conspicuous pork centers will be spared: the Air Force's five huge repair depots in California, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. The Pentagon recommendations must be approved by an independent Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission and then accepted or rejected in their entirety by Congress and the president.