puts forward a man who favours cutting the defence budget and closing unnecessary military bases.

But documents obtained by The Royal Gazette give no indication the Wisconsin Congressman thinks the US Naval Air Station in Bermuda should be one of them -- yet.

In statements as chairman of the Congressional committee overseeing US armed services operations, Mr. Aspin has favoured deeper cuts in the military budget than the Bush Administration.

And he has accused Defence Secretary Dick Cheney of politicising base closures in such a way that he "will not close them''.

Mr. Aspin's call for a "rational, bipartisan procedure'' to settle base closures means the US Naval Air Station will stand or fall on its military usefulness.

In one 1990 statement, Mr. Aspin referred to his work with Congresswoman Pat Schroeder to "flesh out such a procedure''. "Our goal is to close facilities based on a military plan, not politics,'' he said.

Mrs. Schroeder, who is chairman of the Congressional Subcommittee on Military Installations and Facilities, sent a shudder through Bermuda two weeks ago when she focused on the local base.

"If the Navy itself acknowledges that NAS Bermuda serves no military purpose, the Secretary (of Defence) should put it on the base closure list,'' she said.

"The US has far too many overseas military bases. We can't afford to keep unneeded ones open.'' Her call came on the same day ABC TV's PrimeTime Live portrayed the base as the Navy's Club Med with no military mission.

The Navy has since revealed it is assessing the "capability, role and tasking'' of the Base along with others.

"This is a serious study concerned with future military necessity...'' a Navy statement said.

The investigations dovetail with Mr. Aspin's long-time push for a realistic assessment of base needs in the context of diminishing security requirements for the US.

In a Washington news conference yesterday, Mr. Aspin said Mr. Clinton had put two challenges to him.

"The first,'' he said, "involves maintaining the superb quality of our forces and our high technology edge as we go about the inevitable downsizing of our forces.'' The second involved meeting the challenges of the post Cold War, post Soviet world where threats to US security have spread to regional powers and nuclear proliferation.

Mr. Aspin's statements as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee show he wants any base closures to be part of an overall assessment of US defence needs.

His five-point plan issued in 1990 would require a "force structure plan to form the foundation of the base closure decision''.

"To suggest base closures without knowing where we are going with force structure makes no sense. Guessing troop levels or missions or equipment needs means we'll be guessing which are the right bases to close.'' Mr. Aspin's force structure approach might provide Bermuda more time before any base closure decision is taken. His approach could mean the US will be less receptive to Government arguments that there are good non-military reasons for the Base continuing to exist.

And in the event of the Base's inclusion on the closure list, Mr. Aspin recommends base spending be continued until Congress's Base Closing Commission makes its final recommendations.

"Bases should be adequately maintained during the review period,'' he said.

"Draining operations and maintenance budgets could let bases fall into disrepair -- a possible pretext for closure.'' USNAS Bermuda has been reducing its numbers since the start of the year. The base objective is to cut back personnel by 60 percent by the end of next year.

Military personnel are to be cut to 300 from 850. When dependents and civilian personnel are taken into account, about 1,200 of the 3,000 people involved in the US military in Bermuda are being told to go.