Northeast and Midwest States Try to Make a "Base Case"

According to an updated report by the Northeast-Midwest Institute in DC, the 18 northeastern and midwestern states, which hold about 40 percent of the nation’s population, account for only just more than 10 percent of the active duty military personnel located in the country.

The report finds that the NE-MW region contains densely populated metropolitan areas, critical transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, key border crossings and ports for international trade, and the resources that produce more than 40 percent of the nation’s annual economic output – yet together the 18 states of the Northeast-Midwest contain fewer active duty military personnel than Texas alone, or the state of California.

Will it make a difference in the region's case to keep its bases over those in the South and West? Looking at the decisions being made, it appears the South and West are poised to win out. In the world of politics, nothings is "really" impossible though.