The gold-plated Pentagon facelift

A Pentagon renovation plan is expected to go substantially over budget
because officials are planning to move senior Defense Department civilians
and military service branch chiefs from their current home in the “E ring”
(outer ring) of the building, a source told WorldNetDaily.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon – which
is currently involved in a multi-year, $1 billion upgrade of the 56-year-old
military facility – said renovation officials were planning to include “all
kinds of new office expansion” for the service chiefs and high-ranking
presidential appointees.

The source reported to WorldNetDaily that top military chiefs fear their
offices are exposed to potential hand-carried portable missile attacks.
Because of that, the source said, high-ranking military officials have
requested their offices be relocated to the “inner ring – the A ring” of the
building instead of renovating their current offices.

However, the source said, to do so would cost millions more in renovation
fees because top military officials also want all the amenities – large
office suites, private bathrooms and plush executive dining facilities –
built as well. Currently, according to the source, the A ring of the
Pentagon does not provide these kinds of accommodations.

The renovation is being done in increments of “wedges,” a reference to the
5-sided nature of the structure. In each wedge are two corridors; there are
10 corridors in the building. The source said crews are currently working on
the second wedge, and “moving the big guys” would cause major construction
delays.

Glen Flood, a spokesman for the office of the secretary of defense, refuted
the report, saying, “We have no plans to go beyond our stated $1.2 billion
price tag.”

“Furthermore,” Flood told WorldNetDaily, “we’ve not made any decision as to
whether or not we’re going to move top ranking military officials from the E
ring to the A ring or anywhere else.”

Flood did not deny that Pentagon officials were considering moving high
ranking service officers or the request to accommodate them with better
office amenities if such a move were to take place.

The Pentagon, which
employs about 23,000 military and civilian personnel, covers 200 acres and
3,705,793 square feet of space – more than three times the floor space of
the Empire State Building in New York City.