In an effort to save money and become more efficient, the U.S. armed forces is embracing the idea of joint military bases for the first time, merging Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps personnel under a single command. In southern New Jersey, the first tri-service installation—Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst—officially went into operation on Tuesday, after years of cooperation among three formerly separate bases (Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base, and Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station). The three bases began working together, while maintaining their separate commands, in the early 1990s to avoid being shuttered during the first wave of base closures.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst—home to more than 42,000 military personnel, civilians, and their families—is just the first of what will eventually be a dozen such combined military centers throughout the United States. By going this route, the military expects to save $2 billion over the next 20 years.
                                                                                                                                                        -Noel Brinkerhoff

Joining Forces as the New McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Base (by Edward Colimore, Philadelphia Inquirer)