Army rejects idea for military theme park

The Army has rejected a proposal to build a military theme park on a Virginia Army base a few miles from the nation's capital. A Florida developer wanted to erect the park at Fort Belvoir in conjunction with plans for a new National Museum of the United States Army scheduled to be built at the base by 2011. Keith Eastin, the Army's assistant secretary for installations and environment, says that proposal "was dead on arrival, and will be dead on arrival if resubmitted." Eastin says the Army is willing to consider some type of "visitor destination concept" to go with the museum. But he says it would have to be done "in a tasteful and appropriate manner." The theme park proposal also drew sharp criticism from local officials.