Posted on 08/26/2005 10:55:02 AM PDT by CedarDave
BRAC commission just voted to keep Cannon AFB open until December 31, 2009, but with no mission. Existing fighter wings will be transfered as proposed by DOD. If the AF/DOD does not find a mission by that time, it will be closed. Vote was 6-1-2 recusals.
Links coming up
They could always put a refinery on it. I'm sure the locals would dig the jobs.
Thanks. I'm waiting to hear about Willow Grove Naval Air Station.
Open, with no mission. Gee, that sounds smart.
If there is no mission, why keep it open? With the units coming back from Europe, was there nothing that could be found for this base? Removing the active squadrons will mean the numbr of employees there will plummet; given that I would rather see it closed so the city can do something with the post, instead of having a big empty parking lot with a few dozen Air Force guards languishing there.
Cannon offers several great supersonic training ranges. Not quite as good as Nellis AFB, but good nonetheless. There are 4 ranges within a 10 minute subsonic cruise. One of the dangerous trends in the AF is that they seem to think that they can use maritime ranges for training. That is fine for air-to-air but our pilots still need to learn how to fly in terrain.
Is it the same two every time?
I don't get it!
A lot of times comission members will recuse themselves if they have some specific connection to the facility or the location being discussed. I think the female former General recused herself on some of the San Antonio-area votes yesterday becuase that is near where she lives now.
Yes, I was uncomfortable with that process; it certainly wasn't clean. From what I gather happened earlier, the votes to keep it open were there, but two of the members had to recuse themselves (don't know what for). This was a hastily crafted backup measure.
Governor Richardson was there and held a news conference at the lunch break. I suspect he did some arm twisting to get them to postpone making a decision until 2009. No doubt their decision was influenced by him.
Caller on C-Span -- enlisted man says CAFB was the worst assignment, rural and nothing to do.
Second caller can't believe they voted to keep open but no mission as of now.
"This BRAC is much more political than previous BRAC rounds ..."
That's my impression as well. This time, it seems that explicit attention has been given to the local economic (and, by extension, political) impact of a particular closing, which I thought was beyond the mandate of the BRAC process.
http://www.abqjournal.com/weblogs/beltway.htm
Cannon Air Force Base will remain open - at least for the next five years.
The BRAC Commission just voted 6-1 to approve a proposal offered by Commissioner Samuel Skinner that would give Cannon five more years to find a viable military mission.
Gov. Bill Richardson, who has been at the BRAC hearings for the past two days, boarded a plane for New Mexico an hour ago (about 11:00 A.M. MST). He called the five-year extension a "partial victory."
"I'm encouraged by the commission's action today," Richardson told reporters.
I'm still trying to ascertain all the details and implications of the vote, but it appears under Skinner's plan, Cannon would lose its F-16 fighter jets, but would remain as an open, working Air Force Base until 2010. If the Pentagon could not find a suitable use for the base by then, it would be shuttered for good.
It looks like Richardson and the New Mexico congressional delegation have plenty more work to do where Cannon is concerned.
It seemed from listening to the commissioner's comments today that the New Mexico officials' relentless lobbying for Cannon helped spare the base, at least for now.
Almost all of the commissioners were incredibly effusive in their praise for the people of Clovis. They also seemed genuinely disturbed by the devastating economic implications of shutting the base.
"I believe the people of Clovis and Portales demonstrated to BRAC that the economic impact would be severe," Richardson said.
While it's impressive watching on CSPIN, I wonder if airing our military capabilities on the various bases is giving too much info to our enemies.
Don't forget that even tho it's mandated that it's all or nothing when it comes to acceptance by the President, ole slick willie defied that and kept a base open to please one of his cronies.
Just realized this base is in New Mexico... perfect place to set up a large-scale detainment camp for illegal aliens.
Caller from Clovis says this leaves Clovis in limbo. Now for the next four years there will be uncertainty and planning for other base uses will be stalled. Says would have been better to axe outright.
Worked in Clovis N.M. (just out side Cannon) for a year or so. If you love the southwest, that is a good place to be.
For someone that like green, it was hell.
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