Posted on 05/13/2005 9:54:45 AM PDT by CedarDave
Lawmakers and residents in towns with military bases targeted for closure promised Friday to fight to get off the list, saying their communities would be crippled and national security would be damaged. "The battle starts today," one mayor said.
South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base, home to intercontinental missiles and long-range bombers during its 63-year history, and the nation's first submarine base, in Connecticut, were among the 150 military installations from Maine to Hawaii listed in the first round of base closures in a decade.
The bases are an important, often crucial, source of jobs, and communities and politicians have spent months fiercely lobbying for their home stations.
New Mexico, for example, stands to lose Cannon Air Force Base, which would cost 2,385 military jobs and 384 civilian jobs, according to the Pentagon's list released Friday.
That doesn't include costs to the surrounding communities. A separate study last year said closing Cannon would cost Curry County alone $98 million annually.
"It'll kill Clovis," said Linda Hanks, manager of a Dairy Queen there. "We don't have any industry here. We rely on the base. Probably 75 percent of our business comes from the base. That's not only us, it's every business in town."
The proposed list of bases to be closed now goes to a federal commission, which must report by Sept. 8, and then goes to Congress and President Bush.
The Pentagon plan calls for a net loss of 29,005 military and civilian jobs at domestic installations, but some places stand to gain as jobs at closed bases are shifted to those that survive.
President Bush's home state of Texas could gain more than 9,000 military jobs even while losing four major installations and several smaller ones. Ohio would gain about 240 jobs overall - a prospect Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi called "just amazing."
Employees whooped and cheered when they heard the Defense Supply Center in Columbus and suburban Whitehall would remain open, said Alex Maksimovic, Whitehall development director.
"It would have impacted the city of Whitehall by about 45 percent of our income-tax base. It would have been a huge, huge loss for us," he said.
Many in the communities that were targeted were scrambling Friday to figure out how to avert such losses.
For South Dakota, an Air Force study last year estimated the annual economic impact of Ellsworth at $278 million, including its $161 million annual payroll.
"We're not throwing in the towel with Ellsworth at all," said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.
Fort Monmouth in New Jersey would lose all its 5,272 military and civilian jobs, according to the Pentagon list.
"It's a major disappointment. I think it's a poor decision," said Gerry Tarantolo, mayor of nearby Eatontown, N.J.. "But obviously this is just the beginning of the fight," he said. "The battle starts today."
In Connecticut, the proposed closures would affect nearly 8,600 jobs, mostly at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., called the recommendation "irrational and irresponsible."
"It insults our history and endangers our future," he said.
The base - which began construction in 1872 as the Navy's first submarine base - is homeport to 18 attack submarines and home of the Naval Submarine School, three submarine squadrons staffs and other support facilities.
© 2005 The Associated Press.
I didn't know Curry County had a $98 million dollar economy. ;)
It's enough to make this Cold Warrior cry.
If it did, it won't in the future (a casino can't make up the difference).
Hah! We've never been attacked from the sea.
ONE - The nations armed forces do not constitute a State welfare agency.
TWO - Exactly WHAT do these cities' mayors, congresspersons and senators know about national defense?
THREE - We have way to many military bases costing us billions of dollars. The base closings are just the tip of the iceberg. I can't wait till the cuts in various other government programs (the usual pork projects) start to happen!
CUT MY TAXES!
Fort Bliss will gain an additional 11,500 soldiers and civilian jobs in the coming years under a Pentagon plan to be announced this morning, making El Paso the second-biggest winner in the proposed Base Realignment and Closure process.
An estimated 15,918 military jobs and 384 civilian now based elsewhere will move to Fort Bliss under the Base Realignment and Closure process, while 4,564 military and 165 civilian jobs now at the post will move elsewhere.
That’s a net gain of 11,354 military positions and 147 civilian jobs, the largest gain of soldiers of any base or post. Only Fort Belvoir, Va., with 11,858 additional military and civilian jobs, came out ahead of Fort Bliss in combined military-civilian job growth.
Why not offset the job loss by converting Cannon into a refinery? Those jobs pay good.
SD media is in full outrage mode already, blaming Thune for the closing. The usual suspects are saying it's our own fault for rejecting Daschle. So, I'm sure Tommie (the commie) will be back in state next week to tsk, tsk.
By September, the 15-member BRAC commission will review the Pentagon's long list of bases to shutter and report to the White House. President Bush will then have two weeks to review the list and pass it to Congress, which then has 45 legislative days to make its decision.
It reads badly, but the naval base is not the New Mexico base. The New Mexico base is an Air Force Base.
martin's just messing with me.
Obviously, it doesn't, but lets not fool ourselves that the press isn't capable of using the report itself to hammer a Senator that they opposed vehemently.
Thune did promise to protect Ellsworth better than Tommie could. . .
Yes he did, sort of set himself up there. But, the list gets reviewed by the President, and hopefully thats where Thune will have juice. This situation shows, in spades, the danger of becoming dependant on the government. When the chuckwagon closes, there's some mighty hungry cowboys around for awhile.
That should occur on the second Tuesday of the week following hell freezing over.
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