Skelton Questions Military Brass on Base Closing

West-central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton expresses disbelief that the Air Force cannot tell him whether it researched the law that says a Governor must give permission for a National Guard base to be closed – before the Pentagon recommended such closings. Skelton, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, has questioned Air Force Lieutenant Governor Stephen Wood during a hearing. Skelton says the law seems clear: That a Governor has to give permission for a Guard Unit to be closed in his state. And Skelton has told Wood the issue goes beyond the law. He says the Pentagon is placing the relationship between communities and the military at risk in proposing the National Guard units be closed or relocated.