Carson City man has book published on closing the Presidio in San Francisco

A Carson City man has published a book challenging the wisdom of closing the Presidio in San Francisco in the hope that readers will learn why it was a mistake.

Robert W. Curtis, who retired from the U.S. Air Force and also as a human resource officer for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, in the 320-page book with seven appendices provides a case study of the closure decision.

“It is my hope that readers of my book will learn that the ends did not justify the means of the Presidio closure,” he said, “and that many military personnel and communities facing the same threat today may not benefit if cuts are made.”

Curtis says closure was a national mistake based on false economic reasoning, as well as military and political interference, and it had a devastating economic effect on San Francisco’s economy.

Curtis is a former adviser to the commanding general at the Presidio.