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WASHINGTON – As the Department of Defense considers where to station military troops returning from overseas bases, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn on Thursday visited the Pentagon to make the case for stationing the troops at Texas facilities. Cornyn, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, highlighted the many benefits of the state’s bases, and urged Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to consider the needs of returning servicemembers in the coming round of base closing. “Texas has the space, the facilities, the weather and the quality of life our troops deserve, and need to most effectively defend our nation” Cornyn said. in addition to the Rumsfeld meeting, Cornyn visited with General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby, Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. While at the Pentagon, Cornyn toured the National Military Command Center, and received briefings on the status of the war on terrorism. Cornyn requested the meeting to discuss military transformation, the Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) commission and intelligence issues. "As you proceed with the Global Defense Posture Review, I encourage you to bring troops to Texas,” Cornyn recommended at the meeting with Rumsfeld. “The state’s bases have great community support, excellent training facilities, immense open spaces, and as important, service members’ quality of life in our great state is better than anywhere else. One in ten military personnel already call Texas home, and with good reason.”"As the DoD makes its BRAC recommendations, defense officials should consider how the pending decision to bring several thousand troops to the United States from overseas bases, coupled with the temporary increase in Army strength levels will affect the needs of the military,” Cornyn said. “We must ensure that new troops and new missions are part of the calculus before any base is closed or realigned. This consideration is a prerequisite, in my opinion, for any future action on the BRAC process.” the next step in the BRAC process is an evaluation by the Comptroller General, within sixty days of the force structure and infrastructure inventory report to Congress, of the report, the final BRAC criteria and the need for the closure or realignment of additional military installations. If the Pentagon then has additional changes to the inventory or force structure plans, those changes will be submitted as part of the FY 06 Budget justification process. Sen. Cornyn serves on the Personnel, Readiness and Management Support, Strategic Forces, and Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittees. He visited 14 of the 17 active duty military installations in Texas over the past year and meets regularly with community groups from military areas in his Washington office.