Posted on 03/28/2005 2:32:25 PM PST by pabianice
BRUNSWICK, Maine — The last active duty military air base in New England faces an uncertain future as the Pentagon prepares to announce the closure of nearly a quarter of the roughly 420 domestic military bases.
As with countless other military installations, the Pentagon has reviewed Brunswick Naval Air Station in preparing a list of bases to close under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s long-term transformation of the military.
Such impending closures have prompted heated lobbying from supporters, including former airfield commanders, who argue Brunswick plays an important role in homeland defense, in addition to remaining the lifeblood for neighboring communities.
“There’s an increasing awareness that the nation faces a threat in terrorist attacks from the sea,” said Ralph Dean, a former Navy pilot and member of a task force working to save the base. “And when you look at any of those scenarios, patrol aircraft such as those at Brunswick have a huge role. They’re pivotal.”
Built in the 1950s to defend the nation against attacks from the Atlantic Ocean, P-3 Orions patrolled for Soviet submarines. Brunswick was one of four bases — one on each corner of the continental United States — responsible for surveillance and interdiction.
The base now supports five active duty and two reserve Orion squadrons, and since the end of the Cold War the propeller-driven surveillance aircraft have adapted to the war on terror through operational support in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some contend that its geographic location, as well as its ability to adapt to a new mission, bode well for the base’s future. They also note that plans are in the works to create an Armed Forces Reserve training center on the base.
“The Department of Defense is in the midst of formulating a new homeland defense strategy that calls for a greater reliance on maritime surveillance and interdiction,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “And the Brunswick Naval Air Station is ideally situated for maritime surveillance and interdiction.” Recent operations have demonstrated to ranking homeland defense officials, including Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul McHale, the Orion’s adaptability for defending the homeland and supporting future military operations, Collins said. Congress authorized the fifth round of Base Realignment and Closure — commonly known as BRAC — last year. While the list of proposed bases to be closed won’t be released until May, military experts say there is a strong case to be made for Brunswick.
“Because Brunswick really is the last fully operational military air base in the region, it can make a case with regards to the issues of homeland security that other places cannot,” said Loren B. Thompson at the Lexington Institute. “If there were multiple bases in New England, Brunswick would have difficulty.”
The base’s economic importance also has been cited as reason to keep it open. Brunswick employs about 4,800 military and civilian personnel, and puts approximately $187 million into the local economy, including $115 million in salaries. In recent weeks, support for the base has begun to resonate from nearby towns that depend on the economy the airfield generates.
“It would affect a large majority of our businesses in one way or another if it closed,” said Catharine Glover, president of the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber of Commerce. “Our sole focus is to keep Brunswick off that list.” Some business owners, however, question whether others have fully grasped the real possibility that the base could be closed.
“Because of its small size, people tend to discount the impact of the base. I don’t even know if I can say they’re moderately concerned,” said Wes Beal, owner of the Parkwood Inn near the base. “I haven’t seen a real effort to save it.” The Navy has spent more than $100 million at Brunswick Naval Air Station over the past four years, building 126 housing units, a 500-bed barracks, a new control tower and a six-bay hangar, as well as resurfacing the runways and making infrastructure improvements.
But modernizations don’t assure survival. During the 1980s, about $300 million was spent on upgrades at the Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. Improvements included a $25 million hospital that was completed in 1991, the same year it was announced that the base would be shuttered. Some including Collins saw the decision to close Loring as a mistake, and they worry this round of base closings has moved too fast to guarantee arguments to keep Brunswick off the Pentagon’s list of closures will be heard.
Said Dean: “Mistakes are going to be made. And we don’t want Brunswick to be one of those mistakes.”
I'm sitting a stones throw from the former NAS Memphis & Naval Air Technical Training Center, the former closed, the latter moved to NAS Pensacola in the mid 1990's. We did get most of the Bureau of Naval Personnel here which has helped to offset things some.
It's been a tough row for this town since then, but things bottomed 3-4 years ago, and we are starting to see some real diversified growth, as opposed to total dependence on the USN.
Plus we inherited one of the best landing strips in the state, and 19,000 or so acres of real estate for industrial development. It was hard on this little town (Millington, TN) but not the end of the world.
this is insanity! what is different about this than clinton's closings? nothing! anyone who has been thru sere or flown there on the skypigs knows how valuable this particular base is. this is really sad...
What happened to Hanscom AFB?
That one is still active.....
and so is Pease, which I thought was in New Hampshire....
My daughter and son-in-law are both stationed at Brunswick. After the length of winter, my daughter would probably recommend they close the base and move to a warmer climate.
Those planes take a beating in winter up there.
are they going to lease this one to the chinese too?
they use imported chinese 'slave labor' to work the former long beach naval shipyards that now belong to the chinese... our buddy, our pal... guess it doesn't matter which administration we have now, our military is being undercut before our eyes, modernization indeed!
Doesn't this create a serious air defense gap? I reckon the justification presumes that "there is no credible threat of aerial attack" or some such ... sort of our version of the ill fated "10 year rule" that nearly resulted in the UK being beaten by Hitler.
Well, I do know that there is now commercial aviation using Hanscom. Not sure what military if any, remains.
???
http://news.mainetoday.com/apwire/D893GROG0-85.shtml
I don't know where the title of the thread came from.
yeah I am almost certain there is still military at Hanscom...
hell they still have a military member or 3 at Ft. Ritchie, which was brac'd in 1995....
But that isn't the Federal Government's fault. The City of South Weymouth could have petitioned to take over the property and to develop it. It was a choice that apparently wasn't chosen. To insist that we continue to keep these little bastions of federal spending open have to cease. For a really sad journey, drive through Fort Ord sometime.
Pease shut down in 1991. It's a air national guard base now.
Why are they still closing bases? Who is going to get the land when its closed? In California we have seen corrupt crony deals with the closed bases, and one has to wonder if someone is pulling some political capital to close the base and make money off of it.
The bases are divided into lots and auctioned off one to a person to individual citizens. Instead some buddy of some corrupt politician will get the deal to develop it, and all the nongovernmental organizations that might squawk get their piece, but the average taxpaying citizen, who should be allowed the opportunity never gets a chance.
The bases that have historic significance should stay in the hands of the military, IMO. Mare Island shipyard was shut down a few years ago. It is mightily haunted by the past, with wonderful buildings and significant history to the pre-state days of California, the civil war days, and of course WWII and the liberty ships. Its a dirty rotten shame that the deal was negotitated to shut the place down and the cronies of the politicos were given the place. The whole place is falling into disrepair, historical buildings and factories will be unsalvagable soon.
One wonders if closing the bases is following the disarmament plans that inspired the base closures 20 years ago? Is our government following an international authority by closing these bases? One has to wonder, especially since the meeting last week to create the North American Community, a merger of Mexico, Canada and the US.
They are not replacing the P-3 Orion with a UAV. Wherever you got that information is very misinformed. The P-3 Orion is being replaced by the 737 MMA (Multi Maritime Aircraft).
I am currently stationed at NAS Brunswick, and while on the record I have no comment, off the record, I wouldn't read too much into this. I don't think this base is going anywhere.
They are not replacing the P-3 Orion with a UAV. Wherever you got that information is very misinformed. The P-3 Orion is being replaced by the 737 MMA (Multi Maritime Aircraft).
I am currently stationed at NAS Brunswick, and while on the record I have no comment, off the record, I wouldn't read too much into this. I don't think this base is going anywhere.
That would be a shame. When I was a Sea Cadet I attended several summer training sessions at NAS Brunswick and it was very pleasant. A really nice little base.
There is still Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, located on the Massachusetts Military Reservation along with Otis Air National Guard Base. CGAS Cape Cod has helos only, if I recall correctly.
In New England I believe CGAS Cape Cod would be the only active duty air station if NAS Brunswick closes.
I agree, but the headline is misleading, then.
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