Military

US military doesn't need 19% of its property, Pentagon chief estimates

US Defense Secretary James Mattis is having a hard time convincing Congress to cut “excess infrastructure” from the military, estimated to be nearly one-fifth of all military property. Jobs may be at risk, and the savings may not be there, lawmakers fear.

“I must be able to eliminate excess infrastructure in order to shift resources to readiness and modernization,” Mattis wrote to Congress on October 6. The letter was released Tuesday by House Armed Services Committee vice chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington), according to the Washington Examiner.

Mattis estimates that 19 percent of US military properties worldwide may be dispensable, a figure cited in a Pentagon report urging a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) review. The estimate is based on the military's needs in 2012. A BRAC review would assess how what Pentagon has matches its current needs, and could potentially bring about base closures by the 2020s, the Examiner reported.