I'd kind of like to hear the other side of the story before considering this person't comments amazing.
There is obviously a good fit between a shipyard, and sub school, and a defnese contractor's site.
However, if the base is being close I suspect it's likely that the sub school is also going to be relocated, and it's likely that General Dynamics has another location where the ships going.
This does mean that the area is likely to take a big hit financially if the base closes. However, our defense dollars should be spent cost effectively on our defense needs, not to provide jobs in certain areas.
It's definately possible that BRAC screwed up, but that's why there's going to be a hearing to review their decision. I doubt the facts are as one sided as this article implies.
The General Dynamics shipyard is almost a neighborhood business. The industrial area and the residential area share the same streets. The sub base could be anywhere since it has little to do with actual submarines. Whether GD keeps the ship yard open would be a business decision, but submarines aren't the hot item they once were.
I went to school across the river from the whole complex. You have to see it to understand why relocation is plainly stupid - especially to people that build subs for a living.
The Thames River area is a big laboratory for building good subs. It's like a giant college for sub-building. And the area surrounding this college have people who used to be the very best at sub building helping even better people remember some of the things they don't want to forget about ship building.
Moving all those pieces to various places is like breaking up a baseball team that has won 20 world series in a row. It doesn't make sense.
The only reason for doing this is that subs may not play the role they once did in our defense posture.