[CPEO-MEF] Guard seeks quick action on extension

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Guard seeks quick action on extension
Adding 25 years to the lease raises old environmental concerns.

By KEVIN DENNEHY
STAFF WRITER
In coming weeks, National Guard brass will make a personal plea to
acting Gov. Jane Swift to keep them on Cape Cod through mid-century.

The military plans big improvements at Otis Air National Guard Base that
will enable the 102nd Fighter Wing to stick around for at least the next
four decades.

And they hope to transform Camp Edwards into a Homeland Defense Center
where soldiers can train alongside firefighters and police to face the
threats of the future.

But it may not happen, they say, unless the governor signs a lease
extension from 2026 to 2051, thus giving the Pentagon reason to believe
the Upper Cape base is worth any major investment.

Top Guard officials - who will describe their plans in a series of
public forums in the four Upper Cape towns next week - hope to persuade
the outgoing governor, with whom they've worked often through the years,
rather than take their chances with a new administration.

Major construction projects are funded only if 25 years remain on the
lease when construction is complete. The Homeland Defense Center could
take about 10 years to fund and build, according to Guard officials.

On the Upper Cape, however, where past military training and operations
contaminated billions of gallons of drinking water, the Guard's request
to stay through mid-century has again stirred the debate between
military readiness and environmental protection.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/guardseeks8.htm

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