Closing List Expected To Include Georgia

[Navy6064]

Closing List Expected To Include Georgia
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
February 22, 2005

The chilling warning is about to go out to communities that are home to Georgia's 13 military installations: Prepare for your base to be closed.

State officials responsible for monitoring this year's round of base closings are confident the Pentagon will not deal a devastating blow to an industry worth $20 billion annually to Georgia.

But the 2005 closure list scheduled for release by May 16 is expected to equal the total of the previous four rounds combined, and it is unlikely the state will avoid the chopping block this time, said retired Army Brigadier Gen. Phil Browning Jr., executive director of the state Military Affairs Coordinating Committee.

"We'll be competitive, but statistically you've got to be concerned because of the numbers they are talking about," he said.

At least one and possibly two Georgia facilities could be shuttered, Browning said, so the Pentagon can slice at least 24 percent of what it considers excess infrastructure. Planning ahead crucial

This round of closings, known as BRAC for Base Realignment and Closure, is the first in 10 years. Pentagon officials say it may be the last in 15 or 20. That means the cuts are expected to be deep enough to carry the military well into the first half of the 21st century.





That's why Browning wants each Georgia community that has a base to prepare as if it will be on the list, even if that seems unlikely.

"We would be imprudent managers if we didn't plan ahead for this," he said.

Later this month Browning will advise communities to begin putting together what are known as Planning Redevelopment Authorities. These serve as the local voices for base reuse and redevelopment if that base is on the closure list.

Georgia did not lose a single facility through the first four BRAC rounds that began in 1988 as the Cold War wound down and the military was down-sized. In fact, most have added missions and personnel.

Foremost among those are the Army's Fort Benning in Columbus and Fort Stewart in Hinesville. That growth has been a result of the Army transforming its basic structure by focusing on lighter, more mobile brigade-sized units, Browning said, and not because of BRAC.

This year, Fort Benning, home of the U.S. Army Infantry Center and the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), will grow by more than 5,500 soldiers.

The post will add about 3,800 soldiers from the 5th Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division and 1,700 to support additional training responsibilities.

Studies by base and Columbus officials have shown that that means about 15,000 more residents, an increase of about 5 percent for the area. That includes about 4,500 school-age children. Columbus officials are pondering where all the new schools will go, but they can't act until they figure out where the new housing will go.

Fort Stewart, headquarters for the 3rd Infantry Division, has also grown, adding a new 4,000-soldier brigade and helicopter units from Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Campbell, Ky. .

"We don't really know, but we would be surprised if [Fort Benning and Fort Stewart] are on the list because of the growth there," Browning said.

In past rounds several Georgia bases were on supplemental closure lists made by the independent base closure commission primarily for comparison purposes with similar facilities.

They included Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins (1993 and 1995), the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany (1993), Fort Gillem in Forest Park (1993), Fort McPherson in Atlanta (1993) and Naval Air Station Atlanta in Marietta (1995).

Only Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta (1991) made an initial Pentagon list. It was spared by strong lobbying from civic leaders and former Sen. Sam Nunn, then chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. No Nunn factor

Although the base closure process is supposed to be free of the taint of political influence, many believe Nunn's presence played a key role in Georgia emerging unscathed in the first four rounds. This year could be different.

"We could be a target," Browning admits.

When the Pentagon releases its list in May, the next step is for President Bush to select a nine-member independent BRAC commission to study the list.

The commission will hold regional hearings and could add to the Pentagon's list. The commission's final recommendations go to the president by Sept. 8.

Bush must either endorse or reject the recommendations in their entirety before sending the list to Congress, which must then do the same.

[USMCRET6391]

The lobbying has started I see, be interesting to see how GA does with two junior Senators instead of a Committee Chairman.

[Rusty24]

Well the AF made a big move by putting an AFSOC unit there and also adding pilot training because, the old training base was shut down on the last BRAC. Benning will never shut down, it's the birthplace of the AIRBORNE.

I think Robbins, McPherson and Gillem are the top three choices. What impact is McPherson going to have on Atlanta. It's a major city that continues to grow. Robbins would probably be bought by Lockheed or Boeing. They do Phase Maintenance on C-5's and the HOG.